Michele Manna

What the Frack?

2011-12-08T07:42:00.001-08:00

Mahoning River

Dead Fish

Mosquito Lake State Park

Preserving Ohio's Heritage

West Branch State Park

Air Pollution

Geneva-on-the-Lake State Park

Cleveland Lakefront State Park

Construction

Nelson-Kennedy Ledges State Park

Pollution

Lake Milton State Park

Livestock Kill

Tinker Creek State Park

Lake Erie

Punderson State Park

Pymatuning State Park

Artist Statement

This series of landscape photographs examines hydraulic fracture drilling inOhio state parks. Ohio has seventy-four state parks that provide an opportunityfor people to visit a safe, fun environment and to explore Ohio’s natural andcultural heritage. Fracking was made legal by passage of a recent bill andpresents several possible environmental concerns to the natural landscape. Thefull long-term environmental impact of fracking is unknown. The process iscurrently unregulated due to numerous exemptions in federal laws, and is athreat to our public health. Along with the drilling come fraccidents whichrange from catastrophic fish kills, violation of state carcinogenic andneurotoxin safety standards in local air, dead livestock and local wildlife,and has been connected to seismic activity. It has been linked to over athousand incidents of groundwater contamination across the US. The problem isthat neither industry nor government has done any long-term studies to aprocess that until recently was considered a radical procedure that was onlyused as a measure of last resort.

Large-scale digital printscomprise this body of work. The images were taken at state park locationsaround Northeast Ohio that are being consideredfor possible fracking. The images will be divided into two paired groupingsthat include panoramic images that document popular areas for visitorsalong with images of fraccident concerns revolving around this extremedrilling. The images are placed in a grid pattern that will be easy to read andare mounted to aluminum to appear to be floating off the wall.

Fracking is a personal concern. When I was younger,everything revolved around being outside and enjoying the great outdoors andhaving a love for nature. As I matured I became more conscience of how weneglect our environment and by extension an important part of our culturalheritage. Then, in high school I took a trip to Italy and saw firsthand how theItalian people are very invested in preserving their history, culture, andarchitecture. This is when I realized how different Americans are from peoplein other cultures; we are so quick to cut downforests, ruin the habitat of animals, and tear down historic buildings. AsAmericans we take our resources for granted and lose sight of what really isimportant and worth protecting. Fracking demonstrates neglect to theenvironment and our heritage that may not be reversible.

Michele Manna

F(10) Exhibition

2011-09-15T09:51:00.001-07:00

Studio Problems Final-Haunted Locations- Gettysburg, PA

2011-05-02T10:06:00.000-07:00

The Ridge

Sachs Bridge

Little Round Top

The Old Cemetery

The Jenny Wade House

Little Round Top

The Farnsworth House

Devil's Den

Death Valley

The Barn

Independent Studies- Abandoned Building Series

2011-03-09T08:42:00.000-08:00

Mini Project 2- Portraits of Family Members

2011-02-21T10:09:00.000-08:00

Phase 5- Do what you want

2010-10-18T14:57:00.001-07:00

Phase 4-Do the Opposite

2010-10-18T14:56:00.000-07:00

Phase 2-Jumping Into the Day

2010-10-18T14:55:00.001-07:00

Series on Failing Economy- Ohio

2010-10-18T14:52:00.000-07:00

Series on Failing Economy- Ohio

empty building

cord camera

circuit city

closing pet shop

closed dance studio

diy

linens-n-things

empty building

boston market

krispy kreme

empty tops

steve & berry's

tops

empty cell one

liquadation sale at closed sports store

hope

Reason for this series is due to the fact that I recently lost my job at Linens-N-Things where I have worked for 5 years. Seeing the affects of the economy first hand, I wanted to, in a way, document my experience and other businesses in my area that are closing or have been closed.

Digital Photo- Final Project

2010-10-18T14:51:00.001-07:00

Tattoos

2010-10-18T14:27:00.000-07:00

Junior Review- New Series

2010-10-18T14:21:00.000-07:00

Junior Review- Old Images

2010-10-18T14:18:00.000-07:00

Diptych- Paper Negative

2010-10-18T14:16:00.001-07:00

Bird- Paper Nagative

2010-10-18T14:12:00.001-07:00

Pin Hole Camera

2010-10-18T14:07:00.000-07:00