Island Mountain Glacier - Photographs by Anika Steppe opens at TCPL January 9, 2015

TCPL's first exhibit during a Year of Art at Your Library, 2015 will be Island Mountain Glacier:  Photographs by Anika Steppe.

This exhibit is curated by Danielle Mericle, Coordinator Digital Media Group, Digital Scholarship and Pereservation Services, Cornell University Library and showcases  Anika Steppe’s photographic meditations from a winter stay in Iceland.  Steppe, an Ithaca College alumnus, explores, through her photographs, the poetries and possibilities of Iceland’s harsh, yet beautiful terrain and searches for a trace of what the Iclandic people refer to as huldufólk “hidden folk.” 

Steppe explained that her photographs became a type of metaphor for her stay in Iceland—showcasing the contrast between natural beauty and uninhabitable tundra, real and mythical.

“When the weather was bearable, Iceland seemed like the most expansive and forever-surprising place, yet on the windy days, it couldn’t have seemed smaller,” Steppe said.  “Being in a country known for its acceptance of mythical beings, such as the huldufólk, I felt compelled to search for traces of another’s existence; for a subtle energy that can’t quite be placed. It wasn’t exactly a search for mystical creatures prancing around; it became about confronting our limited ability to understand reality - about allowing myself to not immediately write off something that is considered outlandish - about earnestly entertaining the belief that there is something else.”

An opening reception will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. during Downtown Ithaca’s Gallery Night, Friday, January 9. Both Steppe and Mericle will be available to discuss the exhibit with participants.

After-hours access to the Library is available through the BorgWarner Community Room entrance, adjacent to TCAT’s Green Street bus shelter.

This exhibit is made possible in part through grant support from the Community Arts Partnership of Tompkins County and the Tompkins County Public Library Foundation.