Featured on Lenscratch
About: Photography has been my life-long practice. My photographic education includes photography in teaching (graduate school), workshops and classes. Currently, I participate in critique groups led by Jane Fulton Alt and Sarah Krepp (Dialogue Chicago). I have pursued my craft with courses at the Chicago Photography Classes and international workshops (Mike Langford, New Zealand). My work has been shown nationally and internationally.
My passion for photography continued through my career as an educator. Holding a doctorate in educational psychology (Loyola University of Chicago), a masters in teaching (Harvard Graduate School of Education), and a bachelors in history (University of Wisconsin), I was a principal and a school superintendent. I taught middle school and, later, as an adjunct professor, taught graduate students at Loyola University of Chicago, Roosevelt and DePaul Universities.
As a teacher, my photography was integral to my classroom. On family camping and backpacking trips out west (U.S. and Canada), my tripod and equipment accompanied me on long mountain hikes. On a yearlong trip around the world, I photographed relentlessly.
My work spans various genre. Landscapes, both real and altered, have captivated me. Environmental portraiture includes Latino landscape workers and Afghan and Thai truckers. Current projects include series on memory (the Holocaust) and abstractions of viewer’s interactions with art.
Solo Shows
The Art of Viewing.. Art, Perspective Gallery, Evanston, IL, August 2020
Identity, Firecat Projects, Chicago, IL, August 2019
Beyond, ARC Gallery, Chicago, IL, June 2019
Peering into the Rainforest, Cultivate, Evanston, IL, November 2019 – January 2020
Four by One, Works by Nelson W Armour, One Grove Gallery, Buffalo Grove High School, Buffalo Grove, IL, March - April 2018
At Work/At Home, En el Trabajo/En Casa, Art on Armitage, Chicago, IL, January 2015
FilterPhoto 2012: Eight Photographers, Eight Solo Shows, in Eight Chicago Neighborhoods, October - November 2012, Dollop Coffee and Tea, Chicago, IL
Art Residencies
Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts, Saratoga, WY, October 2019
Chicago - Lucerne Sister City Art Residency Program, Lucerne, Switzerland, Spring 2021
Two-Person Shows
Oblique: Streetscapes of Chicago, Nelson W Armour and Jordan Scott, 1100 Florence, Evanston, IL, August 2019
Pre-Existing – Portraits by Nelson W Armour and Michael Kreuser and their stories of Pre-Existing Health Conditions, Uri Eichen Gallery, Chicago, IL, December 2018 – January 2019
Surface Tension, Saugatuck Center for the Arts, Saugatuck, MI, January – February, 2018
Surface Tension, The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, Chicago, IL, January – April, 2017
Surface Tension, artNextlevel, Chicago, IL, May – June 2017
Surface Tension, Evanston Art Center, Evanston, IL, July 2017
Group Shows
We’re All in the Same Boat…Are We? Stola Contemporary, Chicago, IL, July 16 – August 16, 2020
Portraits of Self-Isolation(Juried by Aline Smithson), PhotoPlace Gallery, Online Gallery Annex, Vermont Photography Workspace, Middlebury, VT, August 2020
Platforms Project, Independent Art Fair, Athens, Greece. Due to Covid, the exhibit was a virtual exhibit.
7th annual international 2019 FL3TCH3R Exhibit: Social and Political Engaged Art, Reece Museum, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN, September – December 2019
2019 DUMA Biennial, Dubuque Museum of Art, Dubuque, IA, June – September 2019
31st Annual Member Show, Chicago Alliance of Visual Artists, Bridgeport Arts Center, Chicago, IL, April 2019
Later Impressions 2018, Exhibit Award of Excellence, Chicago Alliance of Visual Artists, Old Town Art Center – Leslie Wolfe Gallery, Chicago, IL, September 2018
Vicinity Show 2018, Perspective Gallery, Evanston, IL, July 2018
Impermanent Lands & eco-ART - The Art of Human Interaction with the Environment, The Art Center, Highland Park, IL, May – June 2018
Walkout! 1968 and 2018 School Walkouts (October 2018) and April 1968 and Today: Police and Military Occupation of Chicago (May 2018), Uri Eichen Gallery, Chicago, IL
Capturing the Light (Juried by Laura Moya), PhotoPlace Gallery, Online Gallery Annex, Vermont Photography Workspace, Middlebury, VT, April 4 - 28, 2018
The State of America (Juried by Jim Richardson), PhotoPlace Gallery, Online Gallery Annex, Vermont Photography Workspace, Middlebury, VT, January 3 – 27, 2018
The Access Room. A small works exhibition, Art NXT Level/33 Contemporary, Chicago, IL, November – December 2017
Portals (Juried by Aline Smithson), PhotoPlace Gallery, Online Gallery Annex, Vermont Photography Workspace, Middlebury, VT, August 16 - September 9, 2017
Art Encounter Gala (Invitational), Ovation, Apr 2017, Chicago, IL
One Inspired Evening (juried benefit) Jurors' Prize (3rd Place), Moonlight Studios, Chicago, IL, March 2017
Member's Show, Chicago Alliance of Visual Artists, Old Town Triangle Association Leslie Wolf Gallery, April - May 2017
Art in City Hall, The Art Center and the City of Highland Park, Highland Park, IL, January - April 2017
Art Encounters, Studio Visit: Kathy Weaver and Nelson Armour, Highland Park, IL, November 2016
Later Impressions, Evanston Art Center, Evanston, IL,October - November 2016
Dialogue Chicago: Full Force, Bridgeport Art Center, Chicago, IL, June – August 2016
Shared Creations, Bridgeport Art Center, Chicago, IL, August – October 2015
Beauty and Fragility in Lake Michigan, Health in the Arts Gallery Clinic, University of Illinois – Chicago, June – August 2015
Field Study, David Weinberg Gallery and Filter Photo Festival 2015, curated by Katherine Ware and Meg T. Noe, Chicago, IL, August – early October, 2015
2nd Annual Photography Show, Zia Gallery, Winnetka, IL, August 2015
Supermarket 2015, Stockholm Independent Art Fair, Stockholm, Sweden, April 2015
The Golden Hours: At Dawn and Dusk (Juror Eddie Solway), PhotoPlace Gallery, Middlebury, VT, June 2015
LENS 2015, juried by Paul Berlanga (Stephen Daiter Gallery), Perspective Gallery, Evanston, IL, March 2015
Park Avenue Beach, Nest Furniture Art Gallery, Chicago, IL, January – May 2015
Photography, Zia Gallery, Winnetka, IL, August 2014
Find the Light (Juried by Don Ross), PhotoPlace Gallery, Online Gallery Annex, Vermont Photography Workspace, Middlebury, VT, July 2014
Stormy Weather (juried exhibition), 1650Gallery, Los Angeles, California, April 2014
Mountains and Sea (Juried by Alan Nyiri), PhotoPlace Gallery, Vermont Photography Workspace, Middlebury, VT, September 2013
750 Show, Zia Gallery, Winnetka, IL, July 27 - August 31, 2013
Multiple Exposures: The Jane Fulton Alt Photography Group, Bridgeport Art Center, Chicago, IL, May – June 2013
The Magic of Light (Juried by Aline Smithson), PhotoPlace Gallery, Vermont Photography Workspace, Middlebury, VT, March 2013
WithinInSight Gallery, Fall 2011 Group Show, October 2011 - May 2012, Chicago Photography Classes, Chicago, IL
Selected Publications/Press:
Surface Tension, Artists' Talk on YouTube at Art NXT Level/33 Contemporary, Zhou B Art Center, June 16, 2017, Chicago, IL
Surface Tension, Exhibition Catalogue (Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, artNXTlevel, Evanston Art Center), Chicago, IL, January 2017
Nature in Chicagoland, "Photo Exhibition Tells the Tale of Two Lake Michigans—and Reinforces the Need for Good Environmental Stewardship," April 11, 2017
Chicago Sun-Times, February 26, 2017, http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/art-and-the-environment-photography-for-lake-michigan-health/
East on Central, Volume 14, 2016 – 2017, Fall 2016, Highland Park, IL
East on Central, Volume 14, 2015 – 2016, Fall 2015, Highland Park, IL
Elizabeth Avedon Journal, November 18, 2015, http://elizabethavedon.blogspot.com/2015/11/filter-photo-festival-2015-portfolio_28.html
Lenscratch, Fine Art Photography Daily, June 20, 2015, http://lenscratch.com/2015/06/surface-tension/
The Golden Hours: At Dawn and Dusk, PhotoPlace Gallery, Vermont Photography Workshop, 20125. Middlebury, VT
Chicago Reader, March 12, 2015, Visual Arts, print edition, p. 33
LENS2015, Perspective Gallery's 5th Annual International Juried Photo Exhibition, Evanston, IL
http://chirpradio.org/blog/art-on-armitage, Chirp Radio Blog, Shawna Kaiser, January 14, 2015
http://highlandpark.chicagotribune.com/2015/01/09/highland-park-photographer-turns-lens-landscape-workers/, Highland Park photographer turns the lens on landscape workers, Highland Park News (Chicago Tribune), January 9, 2015
http://www.artonarmitage.com/past-shows/?offset=1447686000988, Art on Armitage, Mary Ellen Croteau, January 5, 2015
http://artistsofchicago.com/post/95459991531/nelson-armour, Artists of Chicago, Nancy Strahinic, August 22, 2014
http://filterphoto.tumblr.com/post/90511821891/all-images-from-the-series-park-avenue-beach, Image 37, W. Tanner Young, July 1, 2014
Finding the Light, PhotoPlace Gallery, Vermont Photography Workspace, 2014, Middlebury, VT
Stormy Weather, 1650Gallery, 2014, Los Angeles, CA
Mountains and Sea, PhotoPlace Gallery, Vermont Photography Workspace, 2013, Middlebury, VT
The Magic of Light, PhotoPlace Gallery, Vermont Photography Workspace, 2013, Middlebury, VT
Education
Chicago Photography Classes
Seven courses (2010 – 2018)
Loyola University of Chicago
Ed. D. in Educational Psychology (January, 1983)
Photographic Workshops (Chicago, Peter Gold, 1970)
Harvard Graduate School of Education
M.A.T. in the Teaching of Social Studies (1968)
Harvard Principal Center (summer 1995)
University of Wisconsin-Madison
B.A. with Honors in Major Field (1967)
Major: American Intellectual History. Minor: English