Almost Alice: New Illustrations of Wonderland by Maggie Taylor

opens Saturday, February 20, 2010 at the Florida Museum for Women Artists

It All Seemed Quite Natural

Almost Alice: New Illustrations of Wonderland by Maggie Taylor opens Saturday, February 20, 2010 at the Florida Museum for Women Artists

A provocative new interpretation of a classic tale will be presented at the Florida Museum for Women Artists when “Almost Alice: New Illustrations of Wonderland by Maggie Taylor” opens Saturday, February 20, 2010. The exhibition will feature 45 digital inkjet prints illustrating Lewis Carroll’s famous work “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.”

The prints on display are innovative in both content and technique. They are composite images that usually begin with an original photographic portrait—often a daguerreotype or tintype from the mid-19th century. The artist then uses 21st century digital processes and Photoshop montage techniques to layer multiple images to create the final prints, which are simultaneously historic and contemporary. Taylor’s radical manipulation of her source images but retention of photographic realism results in an ironic visual surrealism that perfectly complements the verbal wit and irony of Carroll’s writing.

Explain yourself!, 2006, archival pigment inkjet print, 22 x 22 inches

Maggie Taylor lives in Gainesville and has a MFA in photography from the University of Florida. She is one of the most innovative and respected artists working in digital imagery. Her work is in the collections of numerous museums including The Art Museum, Princeton University; The Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University; Harn Museum of Art, University of Florida; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Santa Barbara Museum of Art, California; and The Museum of Photography, Seoul.

“Taylor’s surreal vision is ideally suited to depicting the fantasy world created by Carroll and is sure to challenge, delight and sometimes even disturb viewers both young and old who might have thought they knew Carroll’s classic story,” said Tom Southall, curator of photography at the Harn Museum of Art at the University of Florida.

It's always tea-time, 2006, archival pigment inkjet print, 30 x 30 inches

Almost Alice: New Illustrations of Wonderland by Maggie Taylor will be on display until May 2, 2010. A new edition of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” featuring Taylor’s illustrations has been released by Modern Books on the occasion of the exhibition.

A Florida Museum for Women Artists Membership Preview Reception will take place on Friday, February 19, 2010.  For more information please call the museum at (386) 873-2976.

Almost Alice: New Illustrations of Wonderland by Maggie Taylor is organized by Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, and toured by Curatorial Assistance, Pasadena, California.

Call the next witness, 2008, archival pigment inkjet print, 22 x 22 inches

The Florida Museum for Women Artists is a 501(c)(3) organization. The mission of the Florida Museum for Women Artist is to identify and promote women artists and educate the public about women in the arts.

The Florida Museum for Women Artists is located at 100 N. Woodland Blvd in DeLand Florida.  Gallery, Museum Shop and Café hours: Tue-Thursday: 11am to 6pm, Fri-Sat: 11am to 7pm, Sundays: 1pm-5pm Closed: Mondays and major holidays.  Travel time is approximately 1 hour from Orlando, 1.5 hours from Jacksonville, 4 hours from Tallahassee, and 3 hours from south Florida areas.

For more information, please see:

http://www.floridamuseumforwomenartists.org/