Public Project
Gallery Show: Living in America
Summary
“Living in America” | Photography Exhibit Curated by Jon Lemons
Exhibition Open July 10 to August 8, 2025Gallery Hours: 11:00 to 4:30, every weekday
Opening reception July 10 from 6:30pm to 8:00pm.
Living in America explores the ever-changing landscape of a nation defined by both motion and memory.
“Living in America” | Photography Exhibit Curated by Jon Lemons
Polk County Heritage Gallery: 111 Court Ave, Des MoinesExhibition Open July 10 to August 8, 2025
Gallery Hours 11:00 to 4:30, every weekday
Opening reception July 10 from 6:30pm to 8:00pm.
Living in America explores the ever-changing landscape of a nation defined by both motion and memory. Work from photographers Charles Borowicz, Brittany Brooke Crow, Stephanie Brunia, Trenton Chesling, Tyler Erickson, Mike Hiatt, Jon Lemons, KC McGinnis, Rachel Mummey, Phil Roeder, Griselda San Martin and Annick Sjobakken.
I made these photos while on assignment for various news organizations. As I looked for photographs from my archive that might fit the theme of Living In America, I noticed the recurring presence of major American food brands like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and McDonalds, all of which depend on our state's immense agricultural output. At venues like the Iowa State Fair, where Iowans come to celebrate our state's small-scale agricultural heritage and see the world's best produce, we mostly eat the same fried carnival food we could find at a festival anywhere else in the country. The nation's best cattle await the approval of Ronald McDonald, and the new Fair Queen, wearing a royal blue sash, seems to inaugurate her reign under the watchful banner of Pepsi. Elsewhere in the state, an animal rescue expert heals an injured bald eagle who likely suffered from lead poisoning after scavenging the remains of a deer that had been shot with lead ammunition, and a mother cradles her infant at the polls, where she will vote for policies that may decide our state's approach to food and nutrition.
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