Exhibition Dates: June 20, 2013 – September 8, 2013
New Visions: Contemporary Artist Series
This series presents the work of three emerging photographers: Sissi Farassat, Jim Reynolds, and Edmund D. Fountain. These artists approach the possibilities and history of the photographic medium differently, responding sensitively to the varied contexts in which they work.
Sissi Farassat is an Iranian-born photographer who lives and works in Vienna. Drawing from the Middle Eastern history of pattern making as well as the Viennese legacy of Art Nouveau, Farassat embellishes her photographs with meticulous sewing and beadwork. By altering each work with her delicate and hand-stitched patterns, she also challenges one of the foundations of photography: the ability to create multiple prints. Instead, she makes unique works of art incorporate elements from the fine and applied arts.
Jim Reynolds is a New York-based photographer whose images examine the legacy of Modernism and contemporary consumerism. Reynolds explores scale and place in his images that treat individuals and architecture with equal attention.
Edmund D. Fountain lives in Tampa and photographs for the Tampa Bay Times. As a photographer, he fuses his photojournalism training with a keen sense of artistic exploration. For these photographs, he traveled to the panhandle to document the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys, a notorious state-run institution. Fountain photographed the site and captured portraits of now-grown men who had attended the school as youth.
Edward S. Curtis Photogravures
from the Collection of Deli Sacilotto
Ethnographer and photographer Edward S. Curtis is best known for his ambition to chronicle the lives of Native Americans at the turn of the twentieth century. Curtis was born in Wisconsin, in 1868, and raised in Minnesota and Washington State, where he developed a deep appreciation for the American landscape. During his twenties, Curtis established a successful portrait studio in Seattle, which established his reputation. Fusing his interest in nature with a passion for exploration, Curtis’s expeditions ultimately led to numerous interactions with Native American tribes. In documenting various tribes across the country, Curtis gained national recognition, which helped him procure funding from J.P. Morgan.
The series on view represents just one portion of the twenty-volume photographic portfolio Curtis created as he traveled across the Southwest, where he focused his lens on the daily lives and rituals of the Apache, Navaho, Zuni, and Yuma. Although his images are praised for their composure and beauty, Curtis has been criticized for romanticizing the traditional culture of Native Americans by manipulating scenes and even erasing examples of European clothing on his subjects. Above all, Curtis’s images document an American fascination with Native American cultures.
