Cover image: Michael Marshall, Geometry of Flight. Pigment print, wood. 43 x 43

Photography professor Michael Marshall is exhibiting work at his alma mater, Arizona State University (ASU) in Phoenix, Arizona. The exhibition Reimagining Earth at the Northlight Gallery at ASU Herberger Institute's School of Art features the works of artists who explore the experience of the human animal and the non-human creatures that share this earth.

Artists employ philosophy, science, environmental research, and political policy to consider the potential for transforming land, sea, air, and space as the effects of the Anthropocene continue to influence everything from weather and the migration of animals to the chemical composition of the atmosphere. These artists search for meaning, marvel at the nearly invisible world of insects, consider Manifest Destiny’s influence on space exploration, elucidate the threat of familiar household habits on our waterways, and document human interventions in the landscape.

Exhibition Dates

September 8, 2022 - October 8, 2022

Michael Marshall, Magnolia Poem. Pigment print, wood. 31 x 38

About Northlight Gallery 

Northlight Gallery at the ASU Herberger Institute's School of Art exhibits a broad spectrum of photo-based work by emerging, underrepresented and internationally recognized artists. The gallery serves the university community and the public with exhibitions and gallery talks by national and international artists and is vital to the education of students earning a degree in photography. Northlight Gallery was founded on the Tempe campus by Professor Jack Stuler and MFA photo students in 1972 at a time when the medium was struggling to be recognized locally as a fine art. Now over 4 decades later, photography and related digital technologies dominate contemporary art as well as our daily lives. The new Northlight Gallery is housed at the Grant Street Studios building in downtown Phoenix, offering greater visibility and possibilities for public engagement.

Northlight Gallery’s permanent collection and the Solari Foundation collection on long-term loan include the works of internationally renowned artists such as Ansel Adams, Eugene Atget, Thomas Barrow, Manuel Alverez Bravo, Henri Cartier Bresson, Harry Callahan, Linda Connor, Van Deren Coke, Betty Hahn, Eikoh Hosoe, Mary Ellen Mark, Ralph Eugene Meatyard, Aaron Siskind, Frederick Sommer, Paul Strand, Andy Warhol and Edward Weston.

Artist Bio

Michael Marshall is Associate Director of Curriculum, Director of the Social Ecology Studio, and Professor of Art at the Dodd. Originally from Ohio, Marshall developed his craft in photographic practice over three years of study and work at the Maine Photographic Workshops. He completed his graduate studies at Arizona State University where he also worked on the collaborative Third View Project, engaging place, culture and time across the landscape of the American West. He started teaching at the UGA in 2001. For fifteen years his personal work explored the intersections of science and the left brained sensibility of intuition and emotion, a mirror of his undergraduate degrees in Physics and Studio Art. Over that time his work ranged from delicate platinum prints to mixed media constructions of digital printing, encaustic and wood. His newest research encompasses social practice, utilizing art to engage issues of the environment, sustainability and reslience, intersecting with community enrichment and vitalization. Professor Marshall is a passionate teacher, drawing out the personal aspirations of his students, and helping to guide and challenge their development. His special topics courses have included historic and alternative photographic printing techniques, as well as topical classes on community engagement and sustainability. He is a recipient of UGA’s Service-Learning Teaching Excellence Award, UGA's Sustainability Outstanding Faculty Award and an Southeast Honored Educator Award from the Society for Photographic Education.