Rest In Peace Long Time Art Professor, Joseph Jachna

"In the era before digital manipulation of images, photographer Joseph Jachna used time exposure, natural light, mirrors and a distorting lens to create surreal and often mystical images. A 1958 graduate of the Institute of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Jachna studied under Harry Callahan, Aaron Siskind and Frederick Sommer, among the first artist-photographers in the Midwest.

The Chicago-born photographer's work won him an international reputation and numerous grants, as well as fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1976 and the Guggenheim Foundation in 1980. Jachna, 80, of Oak Lawn, a professor of photography at the University of Illinois at Chicago for more than three decades, died of pancreatic cancer on March 14, at Lexington Center, a nursing facility in Chicago Ridge.

Jachna, whose photographs often captured the ethereal abstractions found in the patterns of trees, rocks, shadows and water, took many of his photos during family camping trips throughout the Midwest and Colorado, along with places as far-flung as Iceland. "One thing I became aware of as I looked through years of contact sheets is that I photographed my family's feet everywhere we went — on a log, on a rock, at the beach," he told the Tribune in 1994.

 "When I look backward to many picture-making sessions, I'm aware of two things simultaneously," Jachna wrote in an essay in the late 1970s for the catalog of the exhibit "Spaces" at the Museum of Art at the Rhode Island School of Design. "Firstly, that I was often extremely uncertain about what I was doing and even less certain about the result. ... At the same time, I must have been acting under some very clear subconscious directives and with precise intentions."

In 1961, Jachna signed on as an instructor at the Institute of Design, before joining the faculty at UIC in 1969. He retired from teaching at the university in 2001. His photos have been featured at numerous galleries throughout the city, as well as many others around the country. His work, most recently, is being represented by the Stephen Daiter Gallery on the North Side.

In addition to his wife, Jachna is survived by two sons, Timothy and Jody; a daughter, Heidi; a brother, Roger; a sister, Shirley Brady; and three grandchildren."

The Celebration of Life visitation for Joseph Jachna will be held on Saturday, May 21, 2016 at Chapel Hills Garden South Funeral Home, 11333 S. Central Ave. Oak Lawn, IL 60453 from 9:30 am until time of service at 11:30 am.
For more information: (708) 636-1200 or www.chapelhillgardenssouth.com

The Luncheon will follow the service at 1:00 pm at Stony Creek Banquet Facility, 5850 W. 103rd Street, Oak Lawn, IL. If you are planning on attending the luncheon please RSVP as to the number and names of people in your party. His family will be catering the event, and since the facility is not a restaurant, they will need to provide the caterer with an accurate count to make sure they order enough meals. There are both vegetarian and gluten-free entrees available, so please let me know in your RSVP if you would like either of those options. RSVP emailing his daughter, Heidi, at: hjachna@yahoo.com