Carol Isaak says, "Sonya was my dear friend. 

She was someone whom I admired for her intelligence, for her leadership strength, for her insight and kindness. We celebrated birthdays together. Each day, when I left her bedside, I said,"I love you, my honey." She remains with me in her objects that I have incorporated into my life."

Carol Isaak is an East Coast transplant to the West Coast. In the context of her move, she has found entertaining ways to report on the visual world inspired by becoming a touring docent at the Portland Art Museum.  

Over time, she has accumulated images (from many locations), which are at once photographic and painterly, reflecting her education as a painter. 

Her work has been collected in China and in the US.  She has had three one-person shows in Oregon, one at the Griffin Museum of Photography in Massachusetts, and one as a guest of the Chinese government in Lishui, China. She has been published in both Chinese and American journals, and is a four-time “invitee” into the Blue Sky Northwest Viewing Drawers in Portland, Oregon where each portfolio of 10 images resides for a year. 

Currently, Carol has a photograph in a show sponsored by The Griffin Museum of Photography, in their Boston gallery called Tree Talk, and she has three images in a show (one an honorable mention) at A. Smith Gallery in Johnson City, Texas in a show named Chairs.

www.carolisaakphoto.com

Carson Barnes says, "Grief is the theme; the body of work I've been making for nearly four years as Muses of stone: women lost to time's embrace.

It’s a calling: to depict them is to celebrate them. I make prints from photos of statues of women of the past. They felt joy, grief, fury, terror, love; research finds who they were, what this moment was. I once used live models, now statues.  They don't move, so I must find their best views, on my back on cemetery gravel or mud, finding the gaze.  Several views are usually combined, even as we combine views of sculpture in our minds to comprehend them. 

I once used B&W film, litho film, and photosilkscreens; now, it's digital prints on the same BFK Rives paper, using all I learned about printmaking, composition, light, texture, and all about the figure that I can glean from the last 500 years of art history. 

What does it mean to bring them to life now?  The attitudes of the past are in their situations, and stories.  Culture has changed while human beings have… not so much.  

She comes alive and my breath catches; I see an illusion of faint motion when expression, light, color are all in harmony. I hope you can’t stop looking at them. They deserve remembrance, and celebration.

In more biographical detail, I noticed while fooling around with acrylic paint at eight that, to make the cliffs behind the dinosaurs (I was eight years old, after all) look right the horizontal strata had to be painted with vertical dabs of color. 

It was a revelation.  At 14, in 1968, an art teacher started an after school screen printing club, as there was a closet of materials but classes were 50 minutes long - enough time to set up but not print and clean up.  I was there every afternoon for three or four hours, and kept at that medium until my wrists gave out in the early 2000s.  An industrial shop in east LA was where I learned photo silkscreen processes at 20.  

I seriously picked up an SLR at 17 and photographed every damn thing for some years, working the photos into the printmaking, showing work in the 80s and 90s to some acclaim.  I’d been interested in photographing women, the mystery is why bodies should be so compelling, and worked with a few very compliant, inventive models throughout the 80s and 90s.

A trip to Bonaventure cemetery in Savannah was another revelation, in that there are three or four statues there that are portraits, not generic “cemetery angels” - among them Beulah Wheless Bliss, who was 14 when her portrait was made for her grandmother’s grave in 1944. 

It’s been intriguing finding out who they were.  The search has led me to working (5 hours’ sleep each night, walking up to 15 miles per day) trips to Vienna, Rome, Frankfurt, Munich, Koln, Paris, Buenos Aires, back to San Francisco where I lived for 33 years but hadn’t the interest in sculptures then, and to several cities in Portugal.  The stories are legion.  Many are heartbreaking.

I work from the raw images in Photoshop on an iMac, using layers much as I ever did in screen printing but more precisely; I’m printing on a cantankerous Epson 9600.  It’s a must to do the printing myself, so I can make adjustments,  It’s my job to make adjustments that nobody else would notice.  A video of my most recent piece shows how subtle some of the changes are - the last third looks like nothing’s happening but when frame 40 is compared to 60 the difference is obvious.

I moved from California in 2012, to rural Georgia, where I can have a sizable studio and living space, and space for my wife to garden as she likes to do, at a cost much less than California will permit any longer.  We’re rather enjoying the south."

CV

Carson Barnes, MFA

Born 1956; painting since 1964, printmaking 1971,  photography 1974.  Ruined wrists made me go digital.

BA 1978, fine arts, printmaking, Haverford College, Haverford PA  (art history and printmaking, Bryn Mawr College);  studied with Fritz Janschka and others.
MFA 1989, printmaking, California College of the Arts, Oakland CA

Awards:

Awarded Best in Show, 1986, Triton Museum of Art printmaking and drawing annual, George Rivera curator, Santa Clara, CA.
First Place curator’s award, Eureka CA photographics exhibition, 1991.  
Third place curator’s award, Arts Clayton, Jonesboro, GA , April 2017
First place curator’s award, Arts Clayton, Jonesboro, GA , October 2017

Exhibitions (group except as noted):

Apr 2016  Ellington-White Contemporary Gallery, Fayetteville NC  
Jul 2016  Site: Brooklyn, Brooklyn NY  
Sep 2016  Hapeville Museum, Hapeville GA
Oct 2016  Williamsburg Historical Center, Brooklyn NY  
Apr 2017  Arts Clayton, Jonesboro GA (Juror’s award)  
Sep 2017  Hapeville Museum, Hapeville GA  
Sep 2017  SE Photography Center, Greenville SC  
Sep 2017  Atlanta Photographer’s’ Group, APG Buckhead, Atlanta GA
Oct 2017  The Photo Show, Arts Clayton, Jonesboro GA (curator’s FirstPrize)
Oct 2017  Providence Ctr for Photo Arts, Providence RI (Julie Grahame, curator)
Nov 2017  SE Photography Center, Greenville SC  
Dec 2017  Atlanta Photographer’s’ Group, Atlanta GA
Jun 2018  BG Project Space Gallery, Santa Monica CA
Nov 2018  Novel Experience, Zebulon GA  (one man)
May 2019  Danville (Virginia) Museum of Fine Arts and History (one man)

www.carsonbarnesart.com
 

Catherine Druken says, "When my life took a sharp turn, so too did my work.

In the fall of 2016 my mother fell into the unwavering grip of metastatic breast cancer. The doctor projected years left in her life, and in the chaos that is cancer, years turned into weeks.

I spent two months by my mothers side, along with my four sisters and my father. Throughout the entire process I felt compelled to document everything, while still respecting my mothers privacy and dignity in dying.

From the winding, endless hallways of hospitals to my mothers beautiful hands, grief felt like a labyrinth of beauty and pain. In all of the noise, I found safety in the bath tub. I’ve always thought of self portraits as visual journal entries, so every few days I would set the camera on the ledge and take a photo of myself, in whatever state I was in. This became a habit anytime I took a bath.

Looking back, I can taste the feelings in those moments. I see a girl who was heavy with the weight of a dying mother. My mother died in the morning on December 30th, 2016 in the home I grew up in. I opened the window like I had read about in a book. I think of her every day, and am thankful for my art, photographs, and poetry as tools to continue to process grief."

I am a visual artist specializing in illustration, photography, and painting. After receiving a bachelor's degree in landscape architecture I spent two years working for a large design firm in Boston, Massachusetts. 

When an opportunity arose to move west I decided to leave landscape architecture and pursue a very different lifestyle. I spent the following two years working in a small coffee shop on the coast of southern California, loving every minute of it.

While in California I started my career as a freelance artist. About a year into my time in California my mother became very ill. I spent the winter in Rhode Island, and returned for one more year in California after she died. 

I have returned to my roots in Rhode Island, and am currently working as a freelance artist and landscape designer. I am living in the house I grew up in and that my mother died in. I am continuing to learn about the lawless ways of grief, and how best to channel my emotions into creative work.

CV: 

Education:

University of Rhode Island | Kingston, RI | 2013 Bachelor of Landscape Architecture
Minor in Community Planning

2017-current
Design high end landscapes from small scale residential to large scale campus plans. Create powerful visual graphics for project concepts. Draft landscape plans from schematic design through to construction documentation. Project manager who works closely with surveyors, site engineers, and architects throughout the design process.

Freelance Photographer | 2016-current
Provide photographic services for lifestyle, fashion, and product photography for local businesses. Responsible for organizing shoots, styling, and post production. Imagery is used for business websites and social media.

Revolution Roasters | Barista & Social Media Manager | Oceanside, CA | 2016-2017
Demonstrated the ability to interact efficiently with customers in a fast paced environment. Performed managerial duties, such as store open/close and making nightly deposits. Employed social media strategies to promote companies' products and service.

Brigid Finn Fine Gardening | Estate Gardener | Newport, RI | Summer 2015
Cared for a diverse range of tropical trees, shrubs, and perennials in a greenhouse. Performed seasonal pruning, clean-up, and transplanting on private properties.
CRJA-IBI Group | Landscape Designer | Boston, MA | 2013-2015
Produced design studies and developed design concepts prepared by self and others. Prepared site grading, planting, layout, and materials plans for design development and construction documents. Practiced problem- solving skills, such as isolating and defining problem areas, and developed different and viable conceptual solutions. Developed accuracy in estimating time for task completion. Met commitments, accepted direction and contributed to the project team.

URI Landscape Architecture Department | Office Assistant | Kingston, RI | 2010-2013
Assisted students, staff, and faculty in the department office. Duties included Photoshop work, AutoCAD drawing, large format plotting, scanning, and equipment maintenance.
Smithsonian Institution | Grounds Administration Intern | Washington, D.C. | Summer 2012
Collected data to support an American Association of Museums accreditation, a Smithsonian Gardens Grounds Operations Manual, and a Professional Grounds Management Society certification for Smithsonian Gardens. 

www.lovici.com
 

Chehalis Hegner says,"Photography is a moment-by-moment collaboration with life.

Through this voice I archive the evidence of our collective human story as I see it. Responding to the beauty of those who are willing to trust me with their vulnerabilities, I photograph moments that are vulgar, humorous, mundane, triumphant, beautiful, or a combination of all these things.

When a bridge is built between mylens and the unfolding moments in time when my eye begins to deeply converse with the infinite possibilities of perception, that is the Melting Point -- the place where lens, eye, and subject merge into one.  For the most part, I am committed to being the Anti-Project sort artist who embraces an Eclecticism (a la Wolfgang Tilmans).  I prefer my freedom, rather than to be restrained by the chastity belt of market trends and/or ideologies that hold the key to an artist's creativity. I realize this comes at a price, and I am willing to pay it."

Chehalis Hegner was born in Chicago in 1961 and began studying music at age six. She spent the first half of her life as a professional musician. In 1997 when she lost the use of her left eye due to an infection, she turned to the camera as a way of urgently translating the expressive principles of music into visual language.
 
Her early years were strongly influenced by her mother's political involvement in the women's movement and her father's interest's in Playboy culture. This dichotomy continues to inspire an interest in creating viewer experiences that encourage meaningful dialog in the arena of human relationships. 
         
In 2005 Chehalis Hegner received her MFA in Photography at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  In 2010 Chehalisreceived the Gjion Mili Photography Prize (Kosovo.)

She has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in the United States and Europe. Selected exhibitions include The Photographic Resource Center (Boston), The Art Institute of Boston, Maryland Art Place (Baltimore), St. Gauden’s National Historic Site (Cornish, NH), The Cultural Center (Varigotti, Italy), Perspective Gallery (Evanston, IL), Interlochen Arts Academy (MI), the MIT Museum in Cambridge, The Rey Center (Waterville Valley, NH), The Griffin Museum of Photography (MA), The University of Massachusetts (Lowell), University of Texas (Austin), The Institute of Contemporary Art (Portland, ME) and the National Gallery of Art in Kosovo. 
    
Chehalis served as a faculty member within the Department of Art and Design at The University of Massachusetts until 2015. She currently works as a full-time artist/owner at  Halo Hill Farm Studios, LLC, near Chicago. 
     
Hegner has served on jury panels, taught photography workshops, and is a member of the American Society of Media Photographers and The Society of Photographic Educators. 

While living in the Boston area, she served on the board of directors at The Photographic Resource Center at Boston University where she focused her energies on development, strategic planning, and programming. 

Chehalis is a co-founding director at Halo Hill Farm, a new Chicago-area Creative Lab/Artist Residency program in its early development stage.

Lasting Impression:  I made this photograph right after they took my father's body away. This picture feels both comforting and impossibly difficult to bear. We think a lot about first impressions, but it was this gentle crater in his pillow that illustrated to me how powerful last impressions can be. 

www.chehalishegner.com

"Myrrh and Sour Wine: During the final days of my father's hospice, his thirst was poignantly met by his nurse's attempts to comfort him with a little sponge carefully moistened with water. It reminded me of Christ's final moments on the cross in this passage from Matthew 27:  "They came to a place called Golgotha, which means, 'The Place of the Skull.' There they offered Jesus wine mixed with a bitter substance; but after tasting it, he would not drink it."

"Soldier:  My father silently worked to redeem himself after the killings he was forced to participate in during his World War II service.  He planted some 400,000 trees on our farm, converting over-cropped and depleted land into a verdant forest. I believe he was his planting trees, one by one, for all the souls who died as a result of his actions. My father's land weeps with me as I look at this fallen soldier of a tree that, like my father, was left out in the fog for so many years after the war ended."

Clay Burch says, "When approaching my photographic work, my mission is to capture a scene that is rarely, if ever, experienced by the viewer and present it in an approachable way.

I have succeeded if the viewer can relate to a scene or find beauty in situation that typically might not invoke thoughts of beauty. I start with the fundamentals of photography: light, color, and composition.

Often creating my own handmade lighting equipment and color gels, I strive to use atypical sources of light to paint a more dynamic and interesting image. Much of my photographic work revolves around the portrait as I am interested in the human experience; specifically the experience of the queer male and their place in society.

As a queer man who emigrated to an urban environment, I seek to tell my own story through photography by referencing the stories of those who came before me and made my work possible."

Burch, born in 1987 in Dallas, TX, is a New York City based artist specializing in digital photography. A graduate of Oklahoma City Univeristy’s BFA Acting program, he moved to NYC to pursue a career as a classical
actor and found his creative voice in the camera. He takes inspiration from literature, queer history and culture, and photography masters such as Sherman, Mapplethorpe, and DeSana. His work has been seen at Midoma  Gallery in New York City and Visual AIDS: Postcards from the Edge.

 www.clayburch.com
 www.clayburchphoto.com
 

From a series entitled, 'Leaving No Broken Hearts' and inspired by Allen Ginsberg's 'Howl'. The series is an exploration of Ginsberg's original themes from a modern perspective. His controversial work resonates in today's socio-political climate and this series of photos seeks to expound and expand upon Ginsberg's narrative and highlight it's relevance in modern American society."

From a series entitled, 'Leaving No Broken Hearts'. Inspired by Allen Ginsberg's 'Howl'. The series is an exploration of Ginsberg's original themes from a modern perspective. His controversial work resonates in today's socio-political climate and this series of photos seeks to expound and expand upon Ginsberg's narrative and highlight it's relevance in modern American society."

Connie Vepstas says of her work, "Being a self-taught photographer and traveling has influenced my artistic images.  

A basic Bachelor of Arts degree and international biennials and museums has developed my artistic endeavors.  

James O’Reilly past actor and director of many residential theaters in Chicago directed the Body Politics Theater where Art Move a group of Chicago artists and I exhibited our art works at his theatre productions. 

In 2016 work was included as in previous exhibitions in the Midwestern Biennial a survey of contemporary art at the Rockford Museum of Art in Illinois.  

Photographs from Greenland and Iceland were exhibited by the New York Center for Photographic Arts at Noho Gallery in New York of the photographer’s photo tour in which I participated..  

A photograph is included in Best of Photography 2015 a book published by Photographer’s Forum.  I Have shown works in shows at fund exhibits for Arc Gallery which with Artemisia Gallery were the first woman’s cooperative in the Midwest, an intense art scene in Chicago. 

 A work was included in “Beyond Rosie the Riveter, Woman and Work” an exhibition at Koehnline Museum of Art in 2016 and their International Woman’s Show in 2017 “Women and Anger” also included one of my images.  

An image Questions was included in Surrealism Salon 10 exhibition at the Baton Rouge Gallery center for Contemporary Art in Baton Rouge Louisiana January 2018.  The college of art and design at Louisiana State University in conjunction with Baton Rouge Gallery gave an informal lecture by the curator Ron English about the Surrealism Salon Show. "

Constance Vepstas manipulates photography.  Recent works have developed to surrealistic images which have been noted to be unreal, magical and dream-like.  She has created unborn ideas that may leave the viewer wanting to change some part of their reality.

Vepstas says, "Art may be seen as a mirror and by photography it is recorded.  Yet through photographic manipulations reality can be expressed with ideas of different truths according to where the mirror has been placed. Art enables the artist to make translucent many cultural and politically views.

Travel and world changing events can bring the world together or force it apart by religious and historic ideas. Being able to feel other people’s ways of approaching their life happenings can enable a better way to live our dreams understanding theirs by the artist recording them for us. Let’s go see what is going on."
 
www.constancevepstasdigitalphotographer.com 
 

Dawn Watson says, "My work is inspired by my deep connection to nature.

My former career as a dancer and choreographer has influenced my art-making, and fueled my interest in how we inhabit both our interior and exterior worlds.

As an environmentally conscious artist, I use photography and artist books to explore our changing environment. I am drawn to the process of both becoming and diminishing—not just in life's flourishing peak compositions, but in the inevitable process of decomposition. Each stage has intrinsic beauty as it transforms shape and content to reveal a different truth. I use photography to make sense of our off-kilter world.

Grief lives with us each day as we lose what we had, those we love, a future dreamed. We ask why, hands turned towards the heavens. We stand and weep at the water's edge, consoled by the vastness that is larger than ourselves. We move on, make new out of what is left behind."

Dawn Watson is an artist and activist. Her work examines the fragility of both the natural environment as well as our relationship to it and to each other. After twenty-five years as a dancer and choreographer, Watson transitioned to photography, finding affinity in the visual storytelling offered by both live performance and the captured image. She has exhibited her photographs and artist books throughout the United States including The Griffin Museum of Photography, Albrecht-Kemper Museum, Tilt Gallery, Tang Museum, and a solo exhibition at the Los Angeles Center for Photography.

CV: 
Awards:

Los Angeles Center of Photography, First Prize Solo Exhibition, Message from GRACE, Los Angeles, CA 2017 (Paula Tognarelli, Executive Director and Curator of the Griffin Museum of Photography)

Los Angeles Center of Photography, First Prize Juried Member Exhibition 2017, Los Angeles CA 2017 (Paula Tognarelli, Executive Director/Curator of the Griffin Museum of Photography)

New York Center for Photographic Arts, Honorable Mention "Wandering Curves", New York City NY 2017 (Ellen Denuto, VP - ASMP New Jersey)

Features:Lenscratch: Art + Science: Women and Earth: Dawn Watson, Message from GRACE, 2018 (LInda Alterwitz, Art + Science editor for Lenscratch, photographer and visual artist)

What Will You Remember, Witness, FlashPoint Boston Portfolios, Boston MA 2017(Elin Spring, writer/photographer; What Will You Remember blog)Elizabeth Avedon Journal, Message from GRACE at LACP, 2017 (Elizabeth Avedon, writer and curator, photography book and exhibition designer)

A Photo Editor, Message from GRACE, Best of LACP Portfolio Reviews Part 2, 2017 (Johanthan Blaustein, photographer, writer and educator; a Photo Editor blog, Lens Blog/NYTimes)

What Will You Remember, Message from GRACE, Altered States, Photolucida 2017 (Elin Spring, writer/photographer; What Will You Remember blog)

Center for Fine Art Photography Featured Artist, Cheeky Chicks “Animalia”, 2017 (Hamidah Glasgow, Executive Director/Curator, Center for Fine Art Photography)

Don’t Take Pictures blog, Photo of the Day, “Message from GRACE”, 2017 (Kat Kiernan, Editor-in-Chief of Don't Take Pictures, Director of Panopticon Gallery)

www.dawnwatsonart.com
http://www.dawnwatsonart.com

Dennis Santella has a rich background in the sciences and fine arts. Studies in Neuroscience and Behavior and graduate degrees in Environmental Health Science and Visual Arts inform his photographic work. In addition to his academic background, craftsmanship has and continues to be an important part of his life.

Born in New York City, he was raised across the Hudson River in Teaneck, New Jersey and currently lives and works in Brooklyn. His work has been exhibited and collected nationally and internationally. His first monograph, This, My Garden, Has Been to Me was published in 2016 by SPQR Editions.

Selected Curriculum Vitae

Education:

2009
MFA, Visual Arts, Columbia University, School of the Arts, NY, NY

2005
MPH, Environmental Health Science, Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, NY, NY

2003
BA, Neuroscience and Behavior, Columbia University, Columbia College, NY, NY

Selected Exhibitions, Publications, Lectures, and Grants:

2017
Shared Ground, Streetroad Artist Space, Cochranville, PA, May – June, 2017

A New World: Contemporary Art Exploring Dorothy Day's Vision of Social Justice
Sheen Center, New York, NY

2016
NET 2.2 Romantic Comedy,Oranbeg Press, 2016

This, My Garden, Has Been to Me. SPQR Editions, Brooklyn, NY, 2016

2015
The Photo Show Podcast Interview, Episode 7,www.thephotoshow.org

WORK: Curse or Calling? CIVA traveling exhibition

Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL; Grove City College, Grove City, PA

2014
Liberalis, Novella Gallery, New York, NY

Japan Camera Hunter, In Your Bag feature
www.japancamerahunter.com/2014/10/bag-1018-dennis-santella

2013
PANNAROMA, LeRoy Neiman Gallery, New York, NY

WORK: Curse or Calling? CIVA juried traveling exhibition

Schnormeir Gallery, Mount Vernon, OH; Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago, IL

Alive and Well, Brass and Bellows, Marine, MN

2012
Puffin Foundation Grant Award

Unexplained Spaces Marked Off,Lipani Gallery, New York, NY

Frenzy into Folly, Church of St. Paul the Apostle, New York, NY

WORK: Curse or Calling? CIVA juried traveling exhibition

Gordon College, Wenham, MA; Calvin College, Grand Rapids, MI
 

Diane Fenster says of her series, 'Asleep in the Arms of Morpheus', "I was invited to be one of five women who witnessed the final two days of a dear friend’s life and prepare his body after his death on the third day.

During this time, I was also kindly given permission to photograph the process in between my times actively assisting.

There are two sets of photographs concerning the death of my friend. One group of photos are of his life as he lay dying, sleeping away his final hours, dreaming whatever dreams the administered soporific gave to him. They are also about the care and love given him as he faded. They capture a light that lurked beneath his flesh, as his blood still flowed slowly in his veins, and his breath became shallow. The second group of photographs were taken after his death.

As I pondered these images I wondered if you could see the difference between the life and death images. Did they record some fleeting difference? They also witness the process of how his family and friends honored and loved the person now stretched out naked before them, ready for oil and scent, for prayers and protection, for flowers and a swath of cloth. There was this magnificent and powerful intimacy that cannot be measured. Once you have washed the dead, death is experienced differently.

This series has a direct relationship to the post mortem photography of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when death often occurred at home, not hidden away in nursing homes or hospitals and the photographs were cherished mementos of a departed family member."

Diane Fenster's art first received notice during the era of early experimentations with digital imaging.

Her work has been called an important voice in the development of a true digital aesthetic.

She views herself as an alchemist, using digital tools to delve into fundamental human issues. Her work is literary and emotional, full of symbolism and multiple layers of meaning.  Her images have appeared in numerous photographic publications.

She has been guest lecturer at many seminars and conferences, her work has been internationally exhibited and is part of museum, corporate and private collections. Her images appear in numerous publications on digital art including the APERTURE monograph METAMORPHOSES: PHOTOGRAPHY IN THE ELECTRONIC AGE, WOMEN, ART AND TECHNOLOGY published by MIT press, ART IN THE DIGITAL AGE edited by Bruce Wands, School of Visual Art, NYC and her work has been internationally exhibited and is part of museum, corporate and private collections. 

Recently however, Fenster has been moving away from the digital photomontage style that has brought her so much recognition and is venturing into an exploration of starker imagery that has its roots in toy camera photography,
alternative process and photo-encaustic.

Her work was exhibited in the 4th Biennale of Fine Art and Documentary Photography in Berlin, she was a finalist in the Alternative Process category of the 9th Pollux Awards, a finalist in the Alternative Process and Portraits categories of the 7th Julia Margaret Cameron Awards, a finalist in the Alternative Process and Fine Art categories of the 8th Julia Margaret Cameron Awards, included in the Illuminate exhibit curated by Elizabeth Avedon, the Alternative Process exhibit juried by Christopher James at the Center for Fine Art Photography and published in the DIFFUSION ANNUAL 2016. Finalist in both the Fine Art and Nude & Figure Categories of the Second Charles Dodson Awards. Recent exhibits include FotofFoto gallery’s 13th National Competition, Let There be Light and Shadow at the Umbrella Arts Gallery in New York, Photography as Response at The Center for Fine Art Photography, Intimate Portraits exhibit at the SE Center for Photography, The Essence of Monochrome International Photo Competition sponsored byThe Stockholm Diary and exhibited in Budapest, SohoPhoto Alternative Process exhibit at the SohoPhoto Gallery in New York and recently received an Honorable Mention in the LAPhotoCurator competition THE TANGIBLE PHOTOGRAPH juried by Blue Mitchell.

www.lensculture.com/diane-fenster
 

Donna Bassin says, "Since the election of Donald Trump, I have been inviting people into my studio to respond to the current state of the country through the creation of photographic portraits.

In the safety of the studio, with an array of props and myself as a partner to create with, we use cultural, art history references, and our bodies to manifest personal experiences of the United States’ historical traditions of xenophobia, nativism, racism, sexism, militarism, and homophobia. 

Using collaborative art making as a problem-solving strategy to mirror, amplify, react, and resist, the resulting “staged” photographs will riff off the present-day climate of turbulence, anxieties, grief, and dread.

These portraits create scenes that tell the subjects’ emotional truths. The opportunity to “think together” and make meaning is my attempt to support freedom of thought, imagination, and the power of witness in these dark times."

Donna Bassin is an artist and clinical psychoanalyst residing in Montclair, New Jersey.

She has held multiple solo exhibitions in the Montclair area since 2003, beginning with The Afterlife of Dolls at the Montclair Art Museum. She has also participated in several group exhibitions ranging from New York all the way to Los Angeles. Her award-winning documentary, Leave No Soldier, has been screened at various film festivals in the tri-state area.

Her most recent film, The Mourning After, has received a 2017 Gradiva Award from the National Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis.

CV: 

Photography and Film
Film and Video Projects

2015-2016   The Mourning After, Documentary, PEP Video

2014   Leave No Soldier, Re-edited Documentary R.T (53 minutes), Director and Producer leavenosoldier.com

2008    Leave No Soldier, Documentary. R.T (83 minutes) Director & -Producer. Documentary. ShrinkWrap Productions.

Screenings include: Film Festivals (See awards) The International Federation For Psychoanalytic Education, The Stephen Mitchell Center for Relational Psychoanalysis in conjunction with the Creative Arts Therapy Graduate Program at Pratt Institute, The American Association for Psychoanalysis in Clinical Social Work National Conference, The Massachusetts Institute for Psychoanalysis, The American Psychological Association Division 39 Spring Conference, IARPP International Conference in Tel Aviv and The Chicago Association for Psychoanalytic Psychology.

2004    Dollhouse, Recipient of Experimental Television Center Finishing Fund Grant.

2003   Dollumentary: The Origins of Dolls, Montclair Art Museum, Montclair, NJ

Solo Exhibitions

2004   Playing Around, Pierro Gallery, South Orange, NJ

2004   Memories: Ascending/Descending, Montclair Art Museum, Montclair, NJ

2003-2004  The Afterlife of Dolls, Montclair Art Museum, Montclair, NJ

Group Exhibitions

2017  Art Connections 13, George Segal Gallery, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ

Street Photography, Blank Wall Gallery, Athens, Greece

2016  Trois Poissons in a Big See, Sterling Sound, New York, NY

Viewpoints 2016, Aljira: a Center for Contemporary Art, Newark, NJ

 Art Connections 12, George Segal Gallery, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ

2015  Mirrors of the Mind 4: The Psychotherapist as Artist, Art Share LA, Los Angeles, CA

2008  The Spontaneous Gesture Realized, The Rubelle and Norman Shafler Gallery, Brooklyn, NY

Awards and Grants

2017    NAAP Gradiva Award for “The Mourning After”

2014  Psychoanalytic Electronic Publishing, Video Grant for “The Mourning After”

2008   Leave No Soldier, Director/Producer. Documentary. Official Selection of the Rhode Island International Film Festival, The Big Muddy, New Filmmakers Festival, Best Director at the First Glance Film Festival and Merit             award at the Accolade Film Festival

2007   The American Psychological Association, Division 39 Section IX Achievement Award

2005  The National Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis, Gradiva Award for Artwork Contributions to Psychoanalysis

Book Covers and Photo Art

2014  “Hand” Cover photograph for Holding and Psychoanalysis second edition, J. Slochower, Routledge Press

2013  “Waves” Cover photograph for Psychoanalytic Collisions, second edition, J. Slochower, Routledge Press

2006   “Listening to Laurie”, Cover Photograph for Being and Doing: Essays on Gender, ed. D. Franco, Ph.D., Mental Health Resources

2005   “Inside Dolly: A Still Live Revisited.” Almost Human: Dolls and Robots in Contemporary Art. Hunterdon Art Museum. Clinton, NJ

2004  “The Afterlife of Dolls.” Catalogue by Mary Birmingham. The Montclair Museum of Art, Montclair, NJ.

2002   “Listening to Laurie”, Cover photograph for Being and Doing: Essays on Gender, ed. D. Franco, Ph.D., Mental Health Resources

Interviews and Reviews

2015    Fog of War, State of the Arts, NJN TV

2005    “Childhood”, State of the Arts. NJN Public Television. Featured Artist

2003   “Therapist’s Imagery: Psychoanalyst Uses Dolls to Explore Relationships.” The Star Ledger, December 5, 2003

Artist Talks

2015   The Emerging Veterans Art Movement, NYU

2007   Soho Photo Gallery, New York, NY

2005  Images of Memorial Activity, Memory, Memorials and Collective Working Through Conference New York Freudian Society, New York, New York,

Professional

President of the Board of Directors: New Jersey Combat Paper Project and Frontline Arts

Assistant Professor of Art Therapy, PRATT Institute

www.donnabassin.com

 

Eddie Lanieri says, "After my grandmother passed away, I was gifted back my very first pair of shoes.

Occupying a space her dresser, throughout my life, I always thought of them as belong to her. With this returning of gift after death, I became intrigued by the idea of how an object can be used mnemonically.

This ongoing series re-purposes the tradition of documenting family through photography by approaching both the subject matter and the physical material of the photographic print.

Recording the relationship between material remains, and social bonds I am photographing objects that were gifts from me to my grandparents that were then returned to me after their deaths. Creating a ritualized treatment or transformation for each gift, through “mummification”, placing it in an “ossuary” container or even a sacred burial, I am exploring how mortuary treatments of material culture are used to reconstruct social relations, and how objects can become sacred or embedded with “magical” qualities through performative acts.

After the object has been transformed, I photograph each offering. Re-imagining the idea of the photo itself as an object, the film is then scanned to create a digital print on specialized archival ink jet paper that allows the print to be adhered to glass that is adorned with silver leafing. This design performance transforms the glass prints into portable reliquaries and a record of the intimate relationship between the ritual and social bond. The final image is a one of a kind object."

Originally from Long Island, for the last 11 years, I have been an active professional artist and educator in New Orleans. As a visual artist, I use photography to create bodies of work that explores ideas of identity through the framework of culture, familial relationships, and memory.

My interest at looking at identity is rooted in my navigating the tensions between my American identity and the Italian cultural traditions in which I was raised. Living in the American South has also provided a further filter on my image making and Louisiana, in particular with its cultural heritage of expressing dichotomies.

With my practice, I primarily continue to shoot medium or large format black and white film, as well as combining analog and digital photography to create digital negatives to make prints from historical or alternative processes."

My photographs are held in collections at major institutions, including the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, and the Contemporary Art Center in New Orleans.

Her work has been the subject of several solo exhibitions, as well as numerous international group exhibitions including Ginza Art and Concept Laboratory, Tokyo, Japan, Goldsmith University, London, England. Complex Magazine named her one of the top 20 artists of New Orleans. She has been an invited guest speaker to discuss issues of gender identity in photography as several universities, and her work was subject of discussion in 2016 at Sun Valley Center for the Arts
 

Eileen Clynes says of her series. 'The Battleground', "In 2006, I lost my mother to cancer.

It was a long and painful, but beautiful journey. I was her caretaker during her illness and laid in her hospital bed with her as she passed. This experience and loss changed me forever.

In 2012, I found myself back in that same hospice room I lost my mom in, but now with my step mother. As painful as it was to relive what happened to my mom, I knew there was a reason we ended up back there. After helping my step mother with her journey, I needed to make peace with the room.

I held my step mother's hands as she passed. After her body was taken from the room, I asked to be alone to make my peace. I made the bed and laid two flowers to honor them both. They were brave soldiers who fought a long hard fight with cancer and now they share this battleground."

Eileen Clynes is a Boston based photographer and Army Veteran from Albany, NY. 

Clynes is a recovering Catholic whose work meets at the intersection of her first exposure to religious art, her imagination, and her own definitions of spirituality.

She has studied at Saint Thomas the Apostle-Bible study, Sage College, and New England School of Photography. She has exhibited her work at several venues, including the Griffin Museum, Darkroom Gallery, and Panopticon Gallery.

www.exceptionalholiness.com