(Milwaukee, WI) In conjunction with the Fifth Annual International Arts Festival in Milwaukee and the American-Scandinavian Foundation, the Haggerty Museum of Art will present the exhibition Faces and Figures: Contemporary Scandinavian Photography from January 24 through April 1, 2002.  The exhibition opens on January 24 with a 6 p.m. lecture by noted photography critic and distinguished writer and teacher A. D. Coleman. A reception from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Haggerty Museum follows Mr. Coleman's lecture.

Faces and Figures: Contemporary Scandinavian Photography features the work of eleven photographers from all five Nordic countries.  The works, consisting of both color and black and white photography, focus on the human form in psychological, emotional, and environmental contexts.  Each piece explores themes of identity and disguise, the contrast between inner life and outer appearance, and the role of history in the life of the modern individual, always capturing moments that comment on humanityís place within society.  Various photographic practices are represented, from photojournalism and documentary to ironic social critique, personal expression, and lyrical art photography.  This exhibition provides a rare opportunity to see contemporary developments in photography from a Scandinavian perspective.

"The Haggerty Museum is pleased to participate in the Fifth Annual International Arts Festival by presenting this exhibition of Scandinavian photography," says museum director Curtis L. Carter.  "This will continue the Haggerty Museumís commitment in representing artists from a variety of cultures in order to create awareness and understanding of their work."

Faces and Figures: Contemporary Scandinavian Photography has been organized through the efforts of Øivind Storm Bjerke, director of the Norsk Museum for fotografi-Preus fotomuseum, Horten, Norway; Ann Sass, director of cultural and educational programs and chief curator at Scandinavian House, New York; The American-Scandinavian Foundation, New York; The Hasselblad Center for Photography, Sweden; and the National Museum of Photography, Denmark.

Representing Iceland in the exhibition are photographers Ragnar Axelsson, Einar Falur Ingólfsson, and Spessi (Sigurtór Hallbjörnsson).  Axelsson and Ingólfsson are well known for their work as photographer and photo editor for the Icelandic newspaper Morgunbladid.  Axelsson's photographs range from portraying elements of happiness in Rowing to a birthday party, between two of the Faeroe Islands (1998), to the troublesome A farmer gathering sheep before a storm hits, North Iceland (1991).  Ingólfssonís work features a selection of self-portraits from the series he began in 1992.  Spessi is a respected commercial photographer whose artistic work blends portraiture with conceptual performance.  For his series entitled Heroes, he returned to the town where he grew up to photograph retired seamen and housewives he knew as a child, emphasizing the heroic qualities of surviving a life of fifty seafaring years.

Late Norwegian Kåre Kivijärvi's (1938-1991) high-contrast prints represent a range of moods, from the nervous moments of a bridegroom and his friends in Before the Wedding, Helsinki (1965) to a grim portrait of the photographer himself bundled against the weather in Self-Portrait, East Greenland (1966/1991).

Danish photographer Krass Clement is known for his works in both contemporary art and photojournalism.  Clement focuses on portraits of the so-called "ordinary people" of residential neighborhoods, examining the drama he believes exists everywhere.  In  Drum, 1996, he analyzes a bar patron through the use of cinematic, repetitive framing, which he uses to seek out the "beating heart" behind the loneliness of the subject.

Other artists in the exhibition include Jim Bengston, from Norway;  Esko Männikkö and Jorma Puranen, from Finland; and Christer Strömholm, Sune Jonsson, and Lars Tunbjörk, from Sweden.

The International Arts Festival is held annually and hosts exhibitions and events featuring works by artists from around the world.  The festival is supported by Milwaukee World Festival, Inc. and The Greater Milwaukee Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The Haggerty Museum is also pleased to host a wooden shoe carving demonstration by skilled craftsman Bob Siegel, Jr., "Sieg" in conjunction with Faces and Figures: Contemporary Scandinavian Photography. Called traesko in the Scandinavian countries, wooden shoes  keep feet dry and warm and traditionally offered farmers and laborers protection against the elements and falling objects or the force of farm animals' hooves. Mr. Siegel's carving demonstration will take place at the Haggerty Museum on Sunday, January 27, 2002 at noon, and is free and open to the public.

In addition, the Haggerty Museum of Art looks forward to hosting a concert of Scandinavian music performed by the group Lekspel on Thursday March 7, 2002 at 7:00 p.m. in the Museum galleries. Lekspel will perform a selection of music from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland.

For more information on these special events, please contact Lynne Shumow at (414) 288-5915.