By Sophie Bross
Sir Roger Deakins and James Ellis Deakins
On Friday, October 18th, the Athenaeum Center had the pleasure of hosting acclaimed cinematographer Sir Roger Deakins and his lovely wife, James, for the opening of the Roger Deakins Photography Exhibition which runs through April 30th.
Sir Roger Deakins was born in the English county of Devon. His father ran a construction company and his mother was an actress and amateur painter. Deakins took up painting at a young age but eventually developed a passion for photography while studying in Bath, England.
After previous rejections he was finally admitted to the National Film School in 1972. Upon graduating he found work as a cameraman and worked his way up to become a prominent cinematographer whose work has heavily influenced the landscape of the film industry. Sir Roger Deakins is best known for his work on films such as The Shawshank Redemption, Fargo, O Brother Where Art Thou?, and No Country for Old Men, and Fargo. He has received over 16 Academy Award nominations and two Academy Awards. Deakins was named Commander of the British Empire in 2013 and knighted in 2022, the first cinematographer to receive these honors.
The gallery exhibit features over 40 photos, both published and unpublished. The selection was curated by Team Deakins in collaboration with the Athenaeum Center’s Executive Director, Lawrence Daufenbach, and includes photos spanning Deakins’ career, from 1971 to the present.
Deakins’ photography is, unsurprisingly, a masterclass in composition, but is also an arresting marriage of artistic prowess and genuine humility. His photos are the result of careful attunement to the beauty of the world around us and of an almost anachronistic virtue, patience.
When discussing the process of shooting still photography, Deakins describes the long walks he takes with his camera for company. He doesn’t take many frames–on a “good day,” he says, he’ll come back with two–but the walks cultivate a mindset of seeking beauty. He does not go out clicking his camera and come back to see if he’s shot anything worth seeing. He goes out walking in search of a visual worth photographing.
Sometimes, those visuals are the striking cinematic landscapes that echo the majesty of his films.
Power Line |
Longyearben after Midnight |
But others bring Deakins’ extraordinary attention to detail into conversation with the intimacy of street photography.
Caught in the Rain |
The Ghost Train |
Deakins’ photos, then, display his ability to see the beauty in things which, to the untrained eye, appear mundane. This ability manifests perhaps most obviously in his art. While we may not be able to see a striking photograph in an empty playground, Sir Roger Deakins does–but it’s also evident in the quiet artistic optimism that permeates his conversation and manner of being. He was a delight to meet in person.
Empty Playground
The Deakins exhibit at the Athenaeum is a must see for photography, art and architecture lovers alike especially since the Athenaeum building has been in existence since 1911. It is Chicago’s oldest continuously operating Off-Loop theater. The Athenaeum Center for Thought and Culture was founded in 2020 to reinvigorate the space and to restore the theater and this historic building to its original function: a space that encourages togetherness and community centered around art because art and beauty have a purpose.
“Beauty will save the world.”
-Dostoyevsky
Athenaeum Center
The Roger Deakins Photography Exhibition runs through April 30, 2025 at the Athenaeum Center at 2936 N. Southport in Lakeview, Chicago. The gallery is open for viewing on Tuesdays and Fridays from 12-4pm. You can reserve a ticket here. Private appointments for times outside the public windows can be made here.
