Bi-monthly, the library features a different artist or group of artists on the Gallery Wall and in the display case on the 2nd floor. Please email the Adult Programming Coordinator with questions about the Gallery Wall. Artists interested in displaying their art can submit an Art Display Proposal form.
On the Wall and In the Case
Multimedia exhibit by Chicago concert and fine-art photographer Jennifer Rosiere
What is the artist’s connection to Glen Ellyn?
Jennifer Rosiere has called Glen Ellyn home for five years, alongside her husband, Luke, and their two daughters. Her girls are growing up in the D41 schools, and she is an active, familiar presence across the school and the greater Glen Ellyn community. Closer to home, her work can be seen and purchased at Mudroom Records and Oak & Steel in Glen Ellyn.
What is the title or theme of the collection?
Live Music and the American Voice
Briefly describe the collection
Marking America’s 250th year, it pairs black-and-white concert photography with watercolor and fused-glass artwork to explore live music as an act of freedom: the moment a crowd of strangers becomes one, and the voice of the stage becomes the voice of the people.
What type of media is used in the collection?
Photography, fused glass, watercolor painting
What was your inspiration for the collection?
Live music’s power to set us free. From the photo pit, I have watched a crowd of strangers become one breathing thing, fully present and fully themselves. In America’s 250th year, I wanted to celebrate how lucky we are to gather, to sing, to express ourselves, and to honor the artists who use their gifts to stand up for human dignity. Re-imagining those images in fused glass, in partnership with Brenda Bickett and Local Glass Studio, lets me hold that very light up to the room.
What inspired you to become an artist?
I have always found that bearing witness to the human experience is one of the greatest honors we are given. I feel most alive in communion with a crowd, all of us free together at a live show. Photography became my tool to hold onto that feeling, to stop time and share something intangible, and to help others tap into their most raw, honest selves.
How did you reach the current point of your career?
My path has been anything but straight. I started as a young journalist drawn to the power of images, took a sales and marketing detour through the music industry at WXRT, and eventually found my way into the photo pit, shooting live shows for the station. Ten years later, a glass class introduced me to Brenda Bickett at Local Glass Studio, and now we re-imagine concert photography as fine art in gorgeous fused glass.
How has art influenced your life?
Art and music can change the world. They are a mirror, reflecting both our deepest shadows and our brightest highlights. They hold up hope and inspire us to unite.
What do you like most about being an artist?
Making art is when I feel most free.
