Gallery Photographers
Image City Feature Articles
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Peter's Picks of the Month Nameless February 25 - March 22, 2009
Peter Marr picked his favorite
photos of the show
All images copyright by the individual photographers
Water # 34 The timeless cascades so beautifully captured
by Mark Whitney in this outstanding exhibition, shows the sheer
majesty of nature, from its awesome power, to its most delicate
tracery, from its multi-colored splendor, to its dramatic black
and white presence. Using a wide-range of shutter speeds, he has
impressively conveyed his understanding and appreciation of his
subject with a selection of photographs that allow us to marvel
at intimate portraits of the interplay between water and rocks.
The magic of moving water and the vitality of an inert rock,
ranges from serene softness and ventureless beauty, as for
example in “Water # 20”, all the way to the “firework’s”
displays in “Water # 23” and “Water #2 9”.
I really love “Leaf # 2” -- aptly and imaginatively
chosen to illustrate and advertise this excellent show, but I
decided to pick “Water # 34” as my choice for some further
comments. Here, the interplay of light with the water
and the rocks gives us this magnificent kaleidoscope of rich,
striking colors, which cover virtually the whole available
spectrum of our visual field. We can only marvel at how nature
can outdo even the most renowned painters and artists, in giving
us both shapes and forms and motion and stillness, all within a
rich palette of unbelievable chroma. One feels that even the
water, as it cascades so effortlessly over the rocks, wants to
pause and even stop altogether, to behold and absorb the rich
vista that it has created so gloriously, under nature’s soft,
but vibrant directional lighting.
It is a truly gorgeous
image.
This is a very dramatic, almost surrealistic
image, superbly seen, photographed and presented. What makes this
photograph so outstanding is the symbolism of the hand reaching out
from the grave to the stained glass window, reaching through into
the sacred realm beyond. The artist has so poignantly captured the
shadow of the tree and its branches, and he then waited for just the
right moment for the light to pick out the blue glass of the window,
visible through the ornate bars protecting the stained glass.
In keeping with the overall image, these sinister bars
present a formidable barrier to penetrate, yet the eternal hope of
entering into a more divine edifice, through a visionary shaft of
light, is both intriguing and fascinating. The “hand” itself is too
large to encompass this task, yet the thought of what might be
beyond the stained glass, is a dramatic and compelling reason to
reach out, a reason to both embrace and to cherish. The stone gray
masonry of the wall and tombstone starkly and vividly contrasts with
the vibrant grass and colored leaves, enhancing the deep shadows
created by the tree, and reminding us that nature reflects for us
real life, rather than our thoughts of life beyond the grave. A
truly imaginative and thought provoking image, and reminding us that
what we see is often only what our past experiences tell us should
be seen, or what our desires want to see.
Black and White and Color
(Number 5 in the Series of 12)
Michael’s striking fashion portraits
exhibited in the East Gallery are captivatingly enhanced by his use
of minimal backgrounds, isolating his trendy and voguish subjects.
In doing so, he has intensified the emotional effect of our
perception experience, deliberately and fascinatingly provoking
visual concern in our traditional society mindsets. The end result
is that one has a heightened awareness, which gives drama and
atmosphere to Michael’s powerful, imaginative, and impressive
images.
All of the prints in
the East Gallery have an emotional, intuitive quality, and
especially masterful is Black and White and Color, number 5
which clearly succeeds by a modernity within a classical
framework. The antithesis of the model, from the expressive pose,
the dress, the stockings, the prominent lighted cigarette, etc,
against a pseudo-modern, mid eighteenth century Greek Revival
mansion, is just priceless. The irony here, is that we have a
stellar portrait of a model clearly representing today’s modern
culture, against an almost modern mansion that is reflective of
architecture in vogue many centuries in the past- the ultra modern
world versus the staid, grandiose past. The world is moving,
photography is forever moving, and we must capture every facet that
we can, before such details get swallowed up and lost in the past.
This image is a powerful statement of new versus old, and represents
a great tribute to Michael’s vision and artistic talent. | ||||||||||
Image City Photography Gallery ♦ 722 University Avenue ♦ Rochester, NY 14607 ♦ 585.271.2540 In the heart of ARTWalk in the Neighborhood of the Arts |