Blake Fitch Exhibition and Gallery Reception

Exhibition Dates: April 1-July 18, 2008
Location: Light Work, 316 Waverly Avenue
Reception: Thursday, April 10, 5-8pm

Light Work is pleased to announce its new exhibition, Expectations of Adolescence, featuring the work of Blake Fitch. Please join us for a gallery reception celebrating the exhibition on Thursday, April 10 from 5-8pm. The artist will be in attendance.

The images in this exhibition follow the lives of Kate, Fitch's youngest sister, and Julia, her cousin, as they have grown from adolescence to young adults. The 10-year project captures the physical and emotional changes in the two girls in celebration of youthful beauty.

According to Fitch, "I hope to have captured the simple moments in their search for their own identity as it becomes publicly displayed—at a dance recital or simply by the way they look at themselves in the mirror—and then subsequently informs the various traits that are either incorporated or discarded on their way to becoming an adult."

While it can be said that all works of art are in some way autobiographical, this notion seems particularly true when the subject is the artist's family. Fitch has been able to draw out an autobiographical aspect of photography by shooting candid and intimate images of her family. And through this, has found a way to look back at her own teenage years from an adult perspective.

Fitch received a BFA in Photography from Pratt Institute and an MS in Arts Administration from Boston University. She also participated in the MFA program in Photography from The School of the Arts Institute of Chicago. Her work has been exhibited internationally and is also featured in various permanent collections. She participated in Light Work's Artist-in-Residence program in 2006.

Also on view at this time is an exhibition titled Educating Artists: Photography Programs in Review. Gallery hours are Sunday to Friday, 10am-6pm, and by appointment. To schedule an appointment, please call 315-443-1300. The exhibitions and reception are free and open to the public. Paid parking is available in the Marion Parking Lot and Booth Garage.

Light Work is also featuring an exhibition titled As it Happens: Recent Artists-in-Residence at Light Work, which is on view in the Robert B. Menschel Photography Gallery in Schine Student Center.

Light Work invites groups and individuals to schedule tours and gallery talks of the exhibitions and facility.

More information

[Image by Blake Fitch - Katie Looking Out Window, 1997]

Exhibition Dates: April 1-July 18, 2008
Location: Light Work, 316 Waverly Avenue
Reception: Thursday, April 10, 5-8pm

Contact Sheet 145, featuring the work of Don Gregorio Antón, is running late. Due to delays in production it has been held up much longer than we anticipated, but should be shipping to you soon. We assure all of our subscribers that you will receive all five issues of Contact Sheet for 2008. Thank you for your patience and continued support of Light Work. We apologize for the delay.

Light Work is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Assistant Director. The Assistant Director will work in all areas of Light Work's operation, and the successful candidate will be an individual who understands and champions the organization's commitment to supporting emerging and under recognized mature artists. He/she will possess demonstrated skills and experience in this key area. The position requires the ability to work as part of a team of seven professional staff members, and the proven ability to take initiative, be a creative problem solver, as well as a skilled administrator.

View online application and job description at http://www.sujobopps.com/ (under staff opportunities).

After spending the month of March working hard photographing, printing, and scanning, Light Work's Artists-in-Residence Deana Lawson and Xaviera Simmons have both completed their residencies in the past week.

Deana Lawson: Lawson used her time in Syracuse to scan and print large-scale exhibition and portfolio prints. She has also taken advantage of her time and new location to connect with Syracuse subjects for portrait shoots that expands on her series involving individuals and families photographed in their homes or the studio. Her work stems from an interest in the "realness" of the family snapshot, but her large-format scale brings a certain grandeur and intensity of detail to the snapshot aesthetic, allowing the viewer a close proximity to comprehending a subject's connection to their external and internal worlds, i.e., family, home, and identity.

Xaviera Simmons: Simmons used her residency to work on multiple projects, including a portrait series that featured herself with models she came in contact with while in Syracuse. Her portraits are either set in constructed studio settings, or in outdoor settings, both urban and rural. Xaviera makes powerful and compelling statements that put questions of constructed African-American identities and their relationships to their settings squarely on the shoulders of her viewers. Xaviera is profoundly adept at using recognizable vernacular, as well as acutely executed humor, to drive her explorations in the subjectivity of constructed identities.

Light Work welcomes new Artist-in-Residence John Clark Mayden, and looks forward to the arrival of Cristina Fraire.

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