Creativity with a camera will be on display at a new exhibit at The Gold Coast Arts Center Art Gallery, called “Visions of the World.” The show, free and open to the public, runs through July 28. An opening reception with the photographers will be held this Thursday, June 12, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the gallery.
Among the exhibiting photographers is Adelphi University President Dr. Robert Scott, and noted photographers Fran Kaufman, Jean Timsit, Emily Corbato, Orestes Gonzales, George Adler and Annalisa Iadicicco.
“The work on view explores contemporary photography’s ability to describe and convey a sense of place and those that exist within it,” said Gallery Curator Jude Amsel. “Whether referencing an immediately identifiable location or one that is conceptual and abstract, each photograph encourages the viewer to contemplate or decipher the physical context in which the picture was taken. The photographers featured in the exhibition offer an individual and unique ‘Visions of the World’ through their compelling images.
“The tendency today to record pictures with iPhones, while giving instant gratification, does not reflect the intimacy between artist and subject that is achieved through the lens of the camera,” she said.
The work by Dr. Scott features faces and scenes from various parts of the world, including Africa, China and Panama, as well as the United States. “Faces fascinate me, although at times I think I have intruded into another’s private space,” he said.
Orestes Gonzales, another exhibitor, likes to capture life’s mundane events. He began taking photos in 1979 and switched to digital photography in 2001. He is currently creating a series on people with artistic spirit.
Photographer Jean Timsit likes to focus on serenity, beauty and happiness. “I express them through images which originate from my travels to the Kingdom of Bhutan, located in the Himalayan Mountains, hidden between China and India,” the photographer said. “I work with intense concentration, producing depth in my imagery rather than quantity, and slowly this process brings serenity to my own life, as well as to the viewer.”
While photographer Fran Kaufman is known for jazz and classical performer photos, last year she made a trip to northern India, not searching for the perfect image, but looking for people of that region at work and at home, and trying with her camera to find some essence of the culture. “In my continuing pursuit of documenting the essence of these people, I am certain I will make many more visits,” she said. “These photos represent a start.”
In 2006 photographer Emily S. Corbato traveled to Cuba with ten colleagues from the Women’s Studies Research Center at Brandeis University with permission to conduct research in their areas of expertise. Her project was to create a black and white photographic essay documenting the people and the environment, now included in the Gold Coast Gallery exhibit.
Exhibitor George Adler, a professional engineer and builder, always has kept his camera close at hand. “It was with me when I worked, when I traveled, it was glued to me like a second pair of eyes,” he said. “I have always had an eye to see the beauty and the mundane in nature, and the unusual things people do.”
Annalisa Iadicicco combines raw materials with photographs to build frames that create an “emotional environment” for the images. Using rusted corrugated metal, steel, reclaimed wood and rusty nails “I create sculpture that speaks to social injustices and environmental problems.”
Curator Amsel said all of the photographers document people in their cultures, and all are unique and different. “It is interesting to see how the artists can have similar subject matter, but all view their world differently. That’s what makes this exhibit so interesting.”
For further information about the show and gallery hours, call The Gold Coast Arts Center at 829-2570 or visit www.goldcoastarts.org. The Arts Center is located at 113 Middle Neck Road, Great Neck, with a main entrance facing the Maple Drive municipal parking lot.
