'Altered Chapel Hill' turns vintage postcards into new art showing the town's history

Members of the Chapel Hill community have the opportunity to have their artwork displayed in Gallery 109 alongside the work of Felix Obelix, the artistic name of musician and artist Wendy Spitzer. The Town of Chapel Hill will host a workshop on Nov. 4 that allows locals to make their very own altered images alongside Spitzer. 

Then, save the date — Dec. 5 will be the opening of “Altered Chapel Hill” at Gallery 109 on Franklin Street. The gallery will be open Thursday through Sunday from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. until Jan. 5. The gallery is free and open to the public.

Altered Chapel Hill is a public art project featuring Spitzer, who creates adapted photos from vintage postcards.

“What Wendy does is unique alterations, and it's really cool. Aesthetically, they’re creative and we wanted a unique way to showcase the history of Chapel Hill,” Melissa Bartoletta, Chapel Hill's arts and culture marketing and communications coordinator, said.

Altered Chapel Hill is one of many endeavors that fall under the project "Chapel Hill 1819/2019." The Town of Chapel Hill, the Chapel Hill Public Library, UNC Arts Everywhere and many other Town offices have come together to celebrate the first development of government in Chapel Hill in November of 1819.

"It's all in conjunction with Chapel Hill 1819/2019, which is celebrating 200 years of getting better together and the different departments and divisions within the town that helped make our community thrive," Bartoletta said. 

Spitzer was recognized for this project because of the work she did on a bus shelter last year, Steve Wright, Chapel Hill's public art coordinator, said.

“As part of the Chapel Hill Art + Transit program that I did with the Chapel Hill arts and culture department this past summer, I installed five pieces at a bus shelter that's actually right next to Ehringhaus dorms on UNC’s campus,” Spitzer said. “And then from that, Susan Brown with Chapel Hill arts and culture invited me to do a larger pop-up art exhibit called 'Altered Chapel Hill'.”

The photographs that will be used in Altered Chapel Hill were all taken from the archives of the Chapel Hill Historical Society. They are all old photographs of Chapel Hill, from various time periods in Chapel Hill's past.

“I usually take some kind of vintage or antique image. And then I use collage and mixed media to alter them from using what I call vintage ephemera, which can be anything from old books or menus, business materials, photographs, etc,” Spitzer said. “I'm generally interested in historical themes in my work and how juxtaposing images from different eras can create a conversation between the viewer in the present and the place in the past. So this project was a natural fit.”

For those who missed the opportunity to sign up for the Nov. 4 workshop, there will be an interactive element to the exhibit that will allow visitors to contribute to a mass altered image.

“I believe that everyone who passes through Chapel Hill, or chooses to stay, makes a mark on the town, however small it may be," Spitzer said. "The collaborative piece is a chance for us to make and see those marks together."

There will be one enlarged image up for the duration of the exhibit. Throughout the month, people are invited to cut out images provided and stick them directly onto it.

Spitzer said that this event is important not only for locals but also for students. 

“For students, Chapel Hill as a town can feel very temporary, transitory or like a holding container for the University. But it's so much more than that," Spitzer said. "Chapel Hill is its own place with its own history, and the Chapel Hill of now doesn't even look like the Chapel Hill of 10 or 20 years ago. This exhibit is a chance to see Chapel Hill's transformation — transformed by the passage of time but also transformed through my eyes as an artist and through the eyes of the workshop participants who made pieces for the exhibit.” 

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