Dana RampollaThe hazy sunrise, the soft collage of colors, the ethereal mood, and the leading lines conjure a feeling of peace on the cover of this year’s issue of the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) art and literary journal, 1807. And the art within the latest journal does not disappoint.
Sixty-seven artists’ creations were chosen for the third issue from over 235 pieces of artwork submitted. The journal showcases a variety of types of art including photography, images of varied and visual arts, and written works. Many of the works — including poetry to memorialize the dead, digital art representing loss, paintings of Black women, and photographs of nature, just to name a few — were inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic and the country’s recent social and political strife.
The cover of the third issue, which was released this fall, engages you at first glance. Cover artist Christopher Frisone, MSN, a certified registered nurse anesthetist at Sinai Hospital and an alumnus of the University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON), said he was “absolutely floored” to have his photographic image Tranquil Morning selected. Notably, he is the first UMB graduate to have artwork chosen for an 1807 cover.
Landscape Photo Hobbyist
Frisone describes himself as a landscape photo hobbyist. He surmises that the subdued sunrise image is what remains of a pier near Nags Head, N.C. The image spoke volumes to this year’s review team.
“The image was captured using a 10-stop neutral density filter to smooth out the large ocean waves,” he said.
Frisone has been an amateur photographer for many years. He learned camera basics on a film camera while in high school and college.
But Frisone’s professional trajectory strays far from the photography field. He earned his bachelor of science degree as one of the only male nursing students in his graduating class at Salisbury University on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. After graduation, he worked at the University of Maryland R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center. Then he became a flight nurse (while still working part time at Shock Trauma) for STAT MedEvac based in Hagerstown, Md.
He flew full-time and worked part-time at Shock Trauma for a number of years — both were high-pressure, trauma positions that allowed little time for personal photography endeavors. As time evolved, he looked for continued growth opportunities, which led him to UMSON and graduating as a certified registered nurse anesthetist.
By then, it had been several years since he had picked up a camera for the sole purpose of creating something artistic. So having a bit more free time because his formal studies were complete, Frisone decided to purchase a digital camera. The new digital platform presented a different type of learning curve. As he began dabbling in photography again, he continued to be drawn to landscape portraiture.
Primarily a self-taught digital photographer, he asserts that “online classes and lots of practice” have helped him grow in his mastery of skills. He and his wife enjoy traveling, which affords him many quiet mornings and evenings to find solace in nature. He describes that he often finds himself looking for the “perfect shot” at sunrise and sunset, when the sun is low in the sky and provides the perfect warm light that photographers seek.
‘We All Deserve a Hallelujah’
Jennifer Litchman, MA, senior vice president for external relations; founder and chair, Council for the Arts & Culture; and 1807 editor-in-chief, extends a warm congratulations to Frisone and all of the artists who took the time and had the courage to submit entries this year.
In the foreword, Litchman summarizes, “I think that we all deserve a hallelujah — for what we have been through, alone and together, and for how we have come together to endure the last year and a half, as a society, as a community, as a family. And for how art has helped transform our grief and isolation into a celebration of healing, renewal, and hope for the future.”
Submissions will open in December for the fourth edition of “1807.” The next issue will be published in 2022.
