ANN ZELLE

Only two cameras have had such a mesmerizing influence on photographer Ann Zelle’s decorated career, the Diana and the Polaroid SX-70. Her two tools act as an extension of the body, recording and processing the world around her into her own unique visual language. She feels most comfortable in a square frame, for “The square format contains an aggressive space which swells at the center and pushes against the edges. It can set up a dynamic tension, but it can also make the image flow sensuously within the bounds of the frame.” (Zelle). We invite you to step inside Ann Zelle’s inquisitive and distorted frame as we discuss work from her previous exhibition “Remember When…” held at Dot Editions in 2020.

Born in 1943, Ann E. Zelle is a retired professor from American University’s School of Communication, where she directed the photography program for two decades, from 1982 to 2002. Her teaching career also included positions at Northern Virginia Community College and the Smithsonian Institution. Prior to her work in academia, Zelle spent the 1960s and early ’70s working in museum education and administration. During that time, she contributed to institutions such as the Illinois State Museum, the Newark Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art and ART & SOUL in Chicago, as well as the International Council of Museums under UNESCO. Her work has been shown both nationally and internationally. She now resides in WNC where she focuses on her ceramic sculpture.