Exhibitions:
ALUMNI FOCUS: CHRISTIAN WEBER: Since the Millennium
DEPARTURES 2012: A Juried Student Exhibition
UCF THESIS EXHIBITION 2012: Graduating Student Photography from the University of Central Florida (Daytona Beach)
LYONIA GALLERY
Lyonia Environmental CenterDeltona, Florida
Events
ALUMNI FOCUS: CHRISTIAN WEBER: Since the Millennium
May 23 – September 16, 2012
Opening Reception: Wednesday, May 23rd, 5:00-7:00pm.
"As the births of living creatures are at first ill-shapen, so are all innovations, which are the births of time." —Francis Bacon
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
ALUMNI FOCUS is an exhibition of photographic works from distinguished alumni of the photographic studies programs of Daytona State College and the University of Central Florida (Daytona Beach) that is presented each year as part of the regular summer exhibition schedule of SMP. This year we are proud to present the photographic stylings of Christian Weber, a DSC photography alumni with an extensive and successful career in commercial and illustrative photography and video.
With publication credits in numerous important magazines including Details, Wired, GQ, Marie Claire, New Scientist, Communication Arts, AdBusters, Interview, French Photo, Harper’s Bazaar (both Italian and Russian editions), Newsweek and New York Magazine, Weber’s photographs are also frequently featured in exhibitions in the US and abroad. His film and video projects include work for major corporate and advertising clients including Audi, Bottega Veneta, the Ogilvy and Mather Agency, Time Inc. and a music video for the Nine Inch Nails. Some recent endeavors include A Man on Fire (video installation) on exhibit at the MUDAM as part of The Decoding and Deconstructing a Time Capsule show, the film Somatic, his first monograph Blackline, and a current work in progress A Study of Explosions.
ARTIST STATEMENT
“This collection of photographs represents the work that Weber has been producing since the turn of the millennium. The subject matter is vast but Weber's tone and visual perception remains singularly intent. Celebrity portraits, still lifes, landscapes, and hyper-real documentary images are woven together to dramatize Weber's open interpretation of "the subject."
These various subjects, whether profound or obscure are often shown in a kind of emphatic isolation, their eccentricities slowly revealing themselves to the viewer: unique details, blemishes, curiosities and other idiosyncrasies come to light under Weber's seemingly objective interpretations. While many historic and contemporary photographers have worked within the scheme of a series to organize the thematics of their work, Weber prefers to produce singular and iconic depictions of his subjects, placing importance and significance on the individuated images which compose the body whole.”
ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER
Christian Weber is a film-maker and photographer who is consistently recognized for challenging the conventional interpretation of beauty. Creating assured visuals, Weber's work demonstrates a raw elegance that is both profound and precise within the verve and spirit of contemporary life. Born in Ohio, he moved to Florida as a boy and began taking photographs at the age of fourteen. He attended the Southeast Center for Photographic Studies which in turn propelled him to New York City into a career in the arts. A purist in spirit, Weber uses a variety of enabling technologies to assist in creating work.
DEPARTURES 2012: A Juried Student Exhibition
May 2 - July 29, 2012
The greatest tool at our command is the very thing that is photography. Light... light is our paint brush and it is a most willing tool in the hands of the one who studies it with a sufficient care. - Laura Gilpin
Departures is a juried exhibition that highlights photography by recent graduates of the Daytona State College photography program. This is the seventh year that the Southeast Museum of Photography has had the honor of showcasing the work of these recent graduates and it will continue to be a yearly summer event at the museum.
For more than 40 years, Daytona State College graduates have taken their place among the nation’s leading photographers. The programs have grown into the largest, most comprehensive commercial photography programs in the southeastern US. The challenges of a rapidly changing aesthetic and commercial environment have been met by dynamic programs that stress the fundamental aspects of photography, the highest level of technical proficiency and professional judgment; and give an understanding of the techniques, materials and equipment used in the profession today.
| The following students are represented in this exhibition: |
Ann-Marie Bays
Aaron Beasley
Caitlyn Braswell
Matthew Caruso
Andrew Dahlberg
William Davis
Kevin Eubanks
Gabriel Fernandez
Cal Gaines
Corryn Goldschmidt
Sarah Kinmont
Grace Ann Leadbeater |
Preston McCready
Nicole Meehl
Michelle Mercado
Nicole Nesmith
Anthony Rollins
Anthony Russell
Quenby Sheree
Nicole Smith
Timothy Sonn
Dylan Todd
Jason Jack Underwood
Robert Wells
Jon Wes |
The Southeast Center for Photographic Studies is a joint enterprise of the photography programs at Daytona State College, the University of Central Florida (Daytona Beach) and the Southeast Museum of Photography. The Southeast Museum of Photography acknowledges the support and assistance of the Southeast Center for Photographic Studies in the organization of this exhibition.
UCF THESIS EXHIBITION 2012: Graduating Student Photography from the University of Central Florida (Daytona Beach)
May 2 - July 29, 2012
- Opening Reception: Wednesday, May 2, 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
| The following students are represented in this exhibition: |
Ann-Marie Bays
Aaron Beasley
Caitlyn Braswell
Matthew Caruso
Andrew Dahlberg
William Davis
Kevin Eubanks
Gabriel Fernandez
Cal Gaines
Corryn Goldschmidt
Sarah Kinmont
Grace Ann Leadbeater |
Preston McCready
Nicole Meehl
Michelle Mercado
Nicole Nesmith
Anthony Rollins
Anthony Russell
Quenby Sheree
Nicole Smith
Timothy Sonn
Dylan Todd
Jason Jack Underwood
Robert Wells
Jon Wes |
"The class of 2012, each student graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Photography degree from the University of Central Florida, presents here a broad spectrum of photographic imagery. The work has been inspired by topics as varied as fear, fashion, friends, family, food, and Florida itself. With the success of this exhibition, these newly affirmed graduates will emerge to celebrate the completion of an intensive program of photographic studies and begin their exploration of the endless possibilities that beckon from the world beyond the academic studio and classroom. We, the faculty and staff of the School of Visual Arts & Design in the College of Arts & Humanities of the University of Central Florida and the Photography Program at Daytona State College, are proud to affirm the successful conclusion of their academic study and the commencement of their futures as practitioners of the photographic arts." - M. Laine Wyatt, Associate Professor, University of Central Florida
ABOUT THE UCF PHOTOGRAPHY PROGRAM
The B.S. degree program in Photographic Technology at UCF emerged from a partnership between Daytona State College and the University of Central Florida’s photography programs. The UCF–DSC joint AS to BS Photography program offers a holistic photographic education which incorporates strong technical, creative, and critical skills to empower graduates for life long success in a variety of professional photographic fields. The UCF-DSC partnership provides students the opportunity to work with a diverse professional faculty in an environment that encourages excellence and innovative approaches to photography that will position graduates to compete in a rapidly changing industry.
The Southeast Center for Photographic Studies is a joint enterprise of the photography programs at Daytona State College, the University of Central Florida (Daytona Beach) and the Southeast Museum of Photography. The Southeast Museum of Photography acknowledges the support and assistance of the Southeast Center for Photographic Studies in the organization of this exhibition.
LYONIA GALLERY
Lyonia Environmental CenterDeltona, Florida
Beate Sass – TALL TIMBERS PLANTATION PROJECT
April 10 – July 31, 2012
“ I am fascinated with the people I meet, their experiences growing up in the South, and their connections to the land. Through my pictures, I strive to capture the essence of those experiences and the context in which they exist.”
—Beate Sass
About this Project:
Tall Timbers Plantation Project is a personal photographic and oral history project that emerged out of my curiosity about the few tenant farmer dwellings still standing on plantations in north Florida and southwest Georgia. When I discovered that Tall Timbers Research Station had restored a tenant farm house and obtained oral histories from former Tall Timbers Plantation tenants and their families, I became motivated to meet and photograph these individuals. I felt compelled to tell their story and to honor the important role their families played in the survival of the plantations after the emancipation and the contributions they made to the history of Southern agriculture.
Although the portraits were the most important component of my project, I realized early in the process that I could not tell the whole story without also photographing the Jones Family Tenant Farm, the landscape and the Beadel House (former plantation house). The rooms in the lower floor of the Beadel House have been restored and appear as if the Beadels still live there. I have photographed objects in the Beadel House that I believe tell the story of who Mr. and Mrs. Beadel were.
About the Portraits:
I elected to create the portraits of the former Tall Timbers Plantation tenants and their family members in a place that was of importance to each individual. Although most of the portraits were photographed in the individuals’ homes, they often chose a particular location where they spent a lot of time or a place that provided comfort to them. In preparation for our photographic session together I asked each person to select an object that was of special significance to him/her. The portraits are hung as diptychs with the portrait of the individual on the left and the individual holding the special object on the right. Lastly, I recorded each person's comments about the significance of the special object they chose. I found that supplementing the photograph of each individual with an oral account of the importance of that object imparted a richer understanding of the person.
About The Jones Family Tenant Farm:
I have always been fascinated by the interior of people’s homes. These intimate and personal spaces provide me with a glimpse into the lives of their occupants. The first time I visited the Jones Family Tenant House, I realized how closely connected the lives of the occupants had been to the land. The house was nestled in the woods and appeared to be under the protection of the majestic oaks that encircled it. As I walked through the interior of the house, I noticed how the landscape, as viewed through the open windows and doors, hung much like a painting on a wall. The outdoors transitioned into the home and flowed out again. I also imagined what it must have been like to live in such tight quarters.
About Tall Timbers:
Tall Timbers is situated in the Red Hills region of northern Florida on property that has a rich history. During the antebellum period, the land was cultivated. With the demise of the large cotton plantations after the Civil War, the property was purchased by Edward Beadel, a New York businessman. Being an outdoor enthusiast, he developed the property into a hunting plantation. In 1919, Edward Beadel’s nephew, Henry Beadel, and his wife Genevieve purchased the property and named it Tall Timbers Plantation. African-American tenant farm families continued to live on and farm the land, which in turn created a rich habitat for quail and other wildlife. Over the years, Henry Beadel, in partnership with local scientists and neighbors, was devoted to habitat management. In 1958, Tall Timbers Research, Inc. was founded for scientific and educational purposes. Today, Tall Timbers is recognized internationally for its research on wildlife, forest management, fire ecology and conservation.
Artist Statement
Throughout my life I have found it difficult to express myself through words. In my youth I was a cellist and expressed my feelings through music, but always struggled with the technical aspects of playing the instrument. When I discovered photography in my mid-forties, I realized I had found a way to express what I saw and felt in the most natural way.
I am drawn towards visual storytelling and am particularly interested in documenting the history and culture of the southeast region where I live. I am fascinated with the people I meet, their experiences growing up in the South, and their connections to the land. Through my pictures, I strive to capture the essence of those experiences and the context in which they exist.
Although I am mostly a self-taught photographer I have attended classes at a community college and participated in several workshops led by eminent photographers whose work I admire. After living 21 years in Tallahassee, Florida, in 2011, I relocated to Decatur, Georgia, where I now live with my husband, two children, and my daughter’s canine companion, Nathan.
Acknowledgements:
It has been a privilege to meet, photograph, and learn about the lives of the former Tall Timbers Plantation tenants and their families. Without the unwavering support and encouragement from Juanita Whiddon, the Tall Timbers’ archivist, and the patience and kindness of all those photographed, this project would not have been possible. My life has been enriched as a result of this collaboration; it gives me great pleasure to dedicate this project to them.
- Beate Sass
"I’ve been liking plants ever since I was a little girl because my Mom liked the plants and sometimes I think I must have taken after her… I like to set them out while they are small. I like to watch them grow…That is one of the things I like best in life, is in the garden planting plants…these roots you see I’m holding in my hand, they are so precious to me because I know they’re going to live with all these roots… I like to put them in the pot because I can set them anywhere and the other ones you just put outside. I can’t tell you how much I love pretty plants and pretty flowers. They are my favorite."
-- Rosa Brimm
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