Exhibition #2
N.Y. Photo Curator: Global Photography Awards- 'Where Photography & Philanthropy Meet' Exhibition #2
1980 SERMON by Ellen Mahaffy
N.Y. Photo Curator: Global Photography Awards- 'Where Photography & Philanthropy Meet' Exhibition #2
BOOTS & ME by Ellen Mahaffy
N.Y. Photo Curator: Global Photography Awards- 'Where Photography & Philanthropy Meet' Exhibition #2
BROWN JACKET by Ellen Mahaffy

Ellen Mahaffy says, "What is loss? What is memory? How does one live their life? What do they leave behind? What is their worth? This art installation, A Life Undone, connects to my earlier installation work, Nothing Was Ever Said (1993). These bodies of work excavate artifacts from two generations of two interconnected lives within my family. 
 
Worn By My Father: My father never threw things away, maybe from living in a rural area with no garbage service. Or because he grew up with influences of reuse or repurpose. I was surprised to find items from his father, a Presbyterian Minister, kept in place: brochures from the ministry and his mineral collecting avocation, gloves still in the pockets, grocery store receipts, cigarette butts... My father built things as a woodworker, carpenter, gunsmith. The t-shirt may have been worn while he toiled with raw lumber for future gun stocks; the hunting vest with handloaded gunshot shells; and the tweed suit jacket worn to his mother’s memorial service.

Nesting: After my father's passing, I began archiving what remains photographically and finding ways to tell a story. I found multiple collections of small items in boxes along with school work, he was a life long learner. My father proclaimed the title gunsmith during a graphic design class at a two-year college. He worked in the trades a woodworker, carpenter, and blacksmith and would make his own rifle stocks. His love for guns apparently was for markspersonship though a longterm NRA member. As a queer person, I was never comfortable "coming out" to him and became estranged in fear of potential rage."

Ellen Mahaffy grew up in a rural town just twenty miles south of  Rochester, New York. She earned her BFA in photography from Maryland Institute College of Art (1987). In 1993 she earned her MFA from the Visual Studies Workshop, which was affiliated with State University of New York Brockport. Her Visual Studies degree focused on artists’ books, multimedia, and photography.

Currently, she is a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire teaching visual communication and photography for the Department of Communication and Journalism.

Mahaffy’s artistic interests are surreal landscapes, abstracts, still life, and artists’ books. Her current work circles back to an earlier project, Nothing Was Ever Said (1993), which explored familial relationship with her Presbyterian Minister grandfather and his adopted son, her father. Her father’s passing in 2019 inspired her to resume an investigation of her familial roots, and rethink ideological differences from sexuality to gender to religion and belonging.

Mahaffy’s work has been shown in a several solo shows, group exhibitions, and variety of juried shows. Among the notable jurors are Jess Dugan, Joyce Tenneson, Carol Erb, Fran Forman, and Julian Cox. Her latest work, Worn By My Father, received best of show at Confluence of Art: Annual  Exhibition (2022). She also received first place at both Abstracted (year) and the National Juried Photography Exhibition (year) at 1212 Gallery. Recently, she was awarded an internal university grant to support her ongoing project, A Life Undone.

IMAGES FOR SALE-

1980 Sermon 
17 x 25" W
Archival paper
$350 unframed
Limited edition of 5
Signed on back

Worn by My Grandfather: Brown Jacket
17 x 25" W
Archival paper
$350 unframed
Limited edition of 5
Signed on back


Worn by My Father: To His Mother's Memorial Service 
17 x 25" H
Archival paper
$350 unframed
Limited edition of 5
Signed on back


Nesting
17 x 25" W
Archival paper
$350 unframed
Limited edition of 5
Signed on back


Discarded Davenport
17 x 25" W
Archival paper
$350 unframed
Limited edition of 5
Signed on back


Boots & Me
17 x 25" W
Archival paper
$350 unframed
Limited edition of 5
Signed on back

Contact:
Ellen Mahaffy
emahaf@yahoo.com

http://www.redcatphoto.com
http://www.instagram.com/emahaf
N.Y. Photo Curator: Global Photography Awards- 'Where Photography & Philanthropy Meet' Exhibition #2
DISCARDED DAVENPORT by Ellen Mahaffy
N.Y. Photo Curator: Global Photography Awards- 'Where Photography & Philanthropy Meet' Exhibition #2
MEMORIAL JACKET by Ellen Mahaffy
N.Y. Photo Curator: Global Photography Awards- 'Where Photography & Philanthropy Meet' Exhibition #2
NESTING by Ellen Mahaffy
N.Y. Photo Curator: Global Photography Awards- 'Where Photography & Philanthropy Meet' Exhibition #2
THE STITCHING HOLDS US TOGETHER by Marissa Nicole Stewart
FIRST PLACE

Review by curator shauna Caldwell:
"I can feel the time that you have spent moving through this work, and it does truly feel like an emerging archive– of your story, your family’s story, and how you want to weave yourself into that, as well as how you wish to share it with others. There’s a spiraling movement through that palpable time, with this past that you’ve “bloomed” into the present. In this series, you have activated the future of these stories to be held and cared for. I love that you have very carefully omitted information in these images–  that kind of agency is really important to acknowledge in the spaces between familial/communal archiving and their re-presentation to the public eye. I understand, as I grow closer to learning about you and your family through these images, that there are stories here that are not meant for me–  and there is so much beauty in that. Your work is necessary.

While there is so much vibrancy in the rest of the series, the colors in this piece are muted which speaks to the quiet part of me that is deeply curious and ever-dreaming. I love how the tape on the wall echoes the pieces missing from the photograph on the far right and the adhesive tape on the hand of your beloved in the center– a contemporary and poetic altarpiece of sorts. This piece requires a delicate and close looking which illuminates your subjects, who you say, “have their history embedded in their appearance and their stories written in the wrinkles of their skin.” Through these tender, beautiful, and– at moments– heartbreaking images, there’s an underlying roar of your spirit as you “Navigat[e] through identity and understanding the process to keep a family history intact when the systems it exists within are designed to keep it apart.” This radical act against that domination is a welcome and inspiring approach. 

Thank you for your artistry,

shauna
 
*quotes from https://www.marissanicolestewart.com

Caldwell asks Stewart, "What do you hope viewers will gain through experiencing your work?"

Stewart says, "When viewers take the moment to experience my work, I hope they feel a sense of discovery, warmth, strength, and longing to be heard. With my work I aim to lift the experience of the individuals who have trusted me with their identity, their image, which in turn is also their legacy and place in this world. The viewers who chose to engage with my work I hope will take away not with necessarily a understanding of my family archive, but acknowledgement of movement, time, struggle and triumph of collecting and re-piecing fragmented familial history."
 
Caldwell asks, "Your work feels like documentation of a ritual– in remembering, honoring, and grounding your matrilineal story in histories past and present– do you see your artistic practice as ritualistic? If so, in what ways does this work hold you and vice versa? If not, how do you approach your creative practice through this work?"

Stewart says, "The work is very much ritualistic, indexical, and documental all wrapped together, as much of my work is. Specifically, when working in the archive it is much like meeting my family for the first time as a stranger and experiencing these lived lives with fresh ideas. The work allows for a space of exploration and creatively within the images of Black folks and Black families. Often that kind of space is not granted as images of Black people can have specific ideals and themes attached to them."

Caldwell says, "One image that holds me is the polaroid with the tears, cracks in the emulsion and the remnants of tape. The act of taping together a damaged photograph on the surface level can be seen as a simple act. But it’s much more complex than that, the care into a singular, material item that contains the image of a loved one, the act of trying to keep the image intact and for what reason can only truly be known to the person who carefully placed the tape. My approach to my work has always been done in steps, carefully invested in each one, the process thoughtful and pointed."
 
Caldwell asks, "What are you working on lately? How do you see this project growing and continuing to move into the future?"

Stewart says, "Currently I am working on a project that focuses on my experiences as a Type 1 Diabetic within a material, installation-based format paired with a photographic counterpart. Rarely do I focus the camera on myself, or my personal experience and I believe in order to continue the project(s) I’ve been working on it is time to include myself in the familial timeline that I have been crafting and preserving.
 
For this project I envision it taking new forms and branching into more visual forms that include installation, 3D processes, audio, and video. I would like the work to grow into an expansive experiential project that can make an attempt to cover, even if only a small portion, the richness, love and care that my archives hold."

More about Stewart:

Marissa Nicole Stewart is photographic based artist residing in the Midwest. She was born in Toledo, OH and is 30 years of age. Her practice is based on ideas involving Black families, matriarchal lineage, race, oral history, aging and health. The root of these ideas take shape through traditional and experimental storytelling practices. Navigating through identity and understanding the process to keep a family history intact when the systems it exists within are designed to keep it apart.

She received her BFA from Bowling Green State University, her MFA from Ohio University and most recently was awarded a Greater Columbus Art Council Grant for Individual Artist.

Marissa’s work has been shown in mosaicARTs Gallery in Fairfax, VA, Ohio University Art Gallery, Southern Ohio Museum, Hopkins Hall Gallery at The Ohio State University, The Neon Heater in Findlay, OH, Praxis Gallery in Minneapolis, Minnesota and will be a part of a show at East Window Gallery in Boulder, CO in November.

www.marissanicolestewart.com
https://www.instagram.com/marissanicolestewart/ 
 
N.Y. Photo Curator: Global Photography Awards- 'Where Photography & Philanthropy Meet' Exhibition #2
DEAR MOTHER by Marissa Nicole Stewart


 
N.Y. Photo Curator: Global Photography Awards- 'Where Photography & Philanthropy Meet' Exhibition #2
GETTIN' MY HAIR DONE by Marissa Nicole Stewart
N.Y. Photo Curator: Global Photography Awards- 'Where Photography & Philanthropy Meet' Exhibition #2
MOMMA PARTY OF ONE by Marissa Nicole Stewart
N.Y. Photo Curator: Global Photography Awards- 'Where Photography & Philanthropy Meet' Exhibition #2
MOTHER'S LOVE by Marissa Nicole Stewart
N.Y. Photo Curator: Global Photography Awards- 'Where Photography & Philanthropy Meet' Exhibition #2
WE ARE ONE, GRANNY by Marissa Nicole Stewart
N.Y. Photo Curator: Global Photography Awards- 'Where Photography & Philanthropy Meet' Exhibition #2
CALL MYSELF A GRUNT by Ryan Mitchell
N.Y. Photo Curator: Global Photography Awards- 'Where Photography & Philanthropy Meet' Exhibition #2
DRESS BLUES by Ryan Mitchell
N.Y. Photo Curator: Global Photography Awards- 'Where Photography & Philanthropy Meet' Exhibition #2
GAS MASK by Ryan Mitchell

Ryan Mitchell says, "An exploration of memory. Frustration, anger, and violence that created the emotional withdrawal and physical stress within experiences of military service are depicted within these personal images, along with personally written entries that are captured in moments of training for a war that will never see the fruition of experiences.

Facing the transitional phase of being thrown out into a world after the military, memories now haunt you with regret and self-doubt of never realizing your full potential to come to terms with seeking out a purpose."

Ryan Mitchell has been passionate about the visual arts since childhood. Upon graduating high school, however, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He served in the infantry rising to the rank of Corporal and deploying twice on noncombative deployments that entailed training other militaries of various countries and peace-keeping operations.

 After serving honorably for four years, he attended and graduated from Savannah’s College of Art and Design in 2021 obtaining a BFA. He is currently a graduate student at Syracuse University pursuing an MFA in Art Photography. His work has been published in various online publications such as Undivided Magazine and Toy Photographers Publication; as well as gallery exhibits in SCAD Open Studio, Atlanta Photography Group, and LightWorks.

IMAGES FOR SALE-

"I Can Call Myself a Grunt"- 20"H x 30" W
Inkjet Print 
$150 unframed
Limited Edition 1 of 1
Signed on back


Ryan Mitchell
mitch.ryn@hotmail.com 
"Gas Mask"- 20"H x 30" W
Inkjet Print 
Limited Edition 1 of 1 
$150 unframed
Signed on back

Contact-
Ryan Mitchell
mitch.ryn@hotmail.com

https://ryanmitchell.work/
https://www.instagram.com/tiermir/ 
N.Y. Photo Curator: Global Photography Awards- 'Where Photography & Philanthropy Meet' Exhibition #2
IN COUNTRY by Ryan Mitchell
N.Y. Photo Curator: Global Photography Awards- 'Where Photography & Philanthropy Meet' Exhibition #2
KICK UP by Ryan Mitchell
N.Y. Photo Curator: Global Photography Awards- 'Where Photography & Philanthropy Meet' Exhibition #2
TREELINE PATROL by Ryan Mitchell
N.Y. Photo Curator: Global Photography Awards- 'Where Photography & Philanthropy Meet' Exhibition #2
FOUR LADIES by Stephen Mimms

Born in Louisville, Kentucky, StephenMimms  now resides in Silver Spring, Maryland with his wife and two dogs.   Stephen's photographic skills were self-taught, beginning with film photography as a hobby, learning traditional film development techniques and darkroom skills through self-study, practice and patience. 

After retiring as a project manager for the government, he discovered digital photography and the passion for his craft continued.  

Stephen's images are designed to inspire and create art.  His works represent and reflect a unique style and point of view, showcasing various interests in travel, nature and architecture.  

www.instagram/stmimms/
 
N.Y. Photo Curator: Global Photography Awards- 'Where Photography & Philanthropy Meet' Exhibition #2
LUTHER by Stephen Mimms
N.Y. Photo Curator: Global Photography Awards- 'Where Photography & Philanthropy Meet' Exhibition #2
NOT MARRIED YET by Stephen Mimms
N.Y. Photo Curator: Global Photography Awards- 'Where Photography & Philanthropy Meet' Exhibition #2
PRIVATE JESSE by Stephen Mimms
N.Y. Photo Curator: Global Photography Awards- 'Where Photography & Philanthropy Meet' Exhibition #2
SANDWICHES by Stephen Mimms
N.Y. Photo Curator: Global Photography Awards- 'Where Photography & Philanthropy Meet' Exhibition #2
WILLIAM PHELPS by Stephen Mimms
N.Y. Photo Curator: Global Photography Awards- 'Where Photography & Philanthropy Meet' Exhibition #2
HOME= COME AND SEE by Traci Marie Lee
SECOND PLACE
N.Y. Photo Curator: Global Photography Awards- 'Where Photography & Philanthropy Meet' Exhibition #2
DAD & MOM KNOW I CAN NOT VERIFY by Traci Marie Lee
N.Y. Photo Curator: Global Photography Awards- 'Where Photography & Philanthropy Meet' Exhibition #2
GUESS YOU KNOW ME by Traci Marie Lee

Traci Marie Lee says, "In this body of work I am appropriating slivers of images, text, and artifacts from the familial archive. There is an obstructed rationale of what a photograph is and does, as well as a displacement of the contexts of photographic processes. Incorporating multiple image-making properties and practices, the process of how we contextualize a photograph's objectness and our associations in relationship to photographic material is exposed.

The original content, the index, becomes secondary - taking its unaccustomed place on the periphery of significance. Distinct passageways emerge and are found within the distillation of expectations and longings attached to any familial or institutional space.

Each individual work incorporates alternative processes, such as the kallitype and collodion, as well as various methods of collage. These mediums string together disparate images and artifacts to create an entirely new, complex image.

The success of the Archive represents only half of the material – the half that has survived. The matter lies somewhere in between what is present and what is missing. Perhaps these instances are the keys – the markers connecting bodies and identities, generations and histories; the physical indication of an unidentified connection."

Traci Marie Lee is a graduate of the Corcoran College of Art + Design in Washington, D.C., with a BFA in Fine Art Photography, as well as a Master of Fine Arts in Photography and Integrated Media graduate from Lesley University College of Art & Design in Cambridge, MA. She is also the Owner and Creative Director of TM Creative, LLC.

In her work she is interested in the implications and consequences of the Snapshot and the Constructed Image on memory construction and preservation. The compulsion to excavate and curate leads to finding new methods of holding onto brief, constantly changing realities, as well as confronting her own tendencies and obsessive drive to collect, as a process of examining loss. 

www.tracimarielee.com
www.instagram.com/tracimarielee