It is springtime and photographs are blossoming on the walls of the New Wing galleries here. You may have heard – we’re doing a little exhibition!

Daniel Handal’s work is up (right between Greg Mac Gregor and Sharon Stewart), representing the community supported agriculture movement. Daniel is interested in revising our idea of what a farmer looks like. A farmer can be you or me or a twenty-something guy with tattoos. You can see a few images from this body of work on this website and in the show, including two that feature chickens. In one, a young woman crouches down in the straw among a bunch of baby birds; in the other, a young man, drenched from his work, dangles a featherless chicken carcass from each hand. These portraits show an engagement with our food supply, both in terms of care and affection at the beginning of life and the hands-on contact with the end of life.

We’re talking about the food supply in the gallery, too, as the installation progresses. Several of the preparators, the staff involved with the construction and hanging of the show, are serious gardeners and one of them keeps chickens in his backyard. Also, one of our curators has devoted much of her yard to growing vegetables. Down in Albuquerque, photographer and teacher David Ondrik is working on a series that explores the community supported agriculture movement there. May whatever you grow this season -- whether it be food, flowers, or a fresh perspective -- flourish.

My thanks to preparators Dan, Jamie, Paul, and Tim for their expertise in installing the exhibition and for their excellent company.