
Photo by Michael Schultz
Rock of Ages Quarry
Polycor, Rock of Ages Quarry, Vermont, 2022
The beauty of nature and the beauty of industry fold together in a unique way in “On the Edge: The Labor and Environment of Dimensional Stone Quarries.” “On the Edge” is a gallery of photographs from quarries across the U.S. (and Portugal) that rise above simple documentation to an aesthetic level.
The new exhibition is the fourth time the work of photographer Michael Schultz has been seen at the Grohmann Museum. “The subject matter first of all,” begins James Kieselburg, the museum’s director, explaining how Schultz’s interest in industry and labor coincides with the Grohmann’s mission of displaying art that depicts human labor. “But just as important is his skill and quality as a photographer. He has great reverence for his subjects.”
Schultz’s previous Grohmann exhibits, “Foundry Work” (2010), “Forge Work” (2015) and “Electric Steel” (2021), focused on the manmade tools and materials undergirding the industrial age. With “On the Edge,” he turns to nature, the marble and granite hewn from the ground on industrial scale for constructing buildings.
The exhibit’s striking images were taken with 35 mm and medium format digital cameras. Schultz pays close attention to details as well as overall compositions. The stark geometry of quarry walls prepared for harvesting suggest cubism in stone. Human figures and their machinery are visible, often as tiny matchbox images working against the immensity of their task.
Kieselburg adds that quarrying is “part of the Grohmann Museum’s DNA,” given that its founder, Eckhart Grohmann, came from a family of German quarry owners, Schultz comes to his projects from a different perspective. Exhibited in museums and galleries around the U.S., he came to photography after a career in dentistry. According to Kieselburg, Schultz’s industrial photos “capture the size and scale of industry” as well as “the role of the workers,” whether foundry workers or quarrymen. “With his eye for monumentality, he gives a complete view of an industry in scale and size, and in so doing, a celebration of industry and the workers.”
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“On the Edge: The Labor and Environment of Dimensional Stone Quarries” opens on Gallery Night, 5-9 p.m. Friday, Jan. 17. There will be an artist talk at 7 p.m. “On the Edge” runs through April 27. The Grohmann Museum is located at 1000 N. Broadway.