Local photographers show vulnerability in self-portraits
Posted Feb 26, 2010 By Kimberly Lochhead
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Tweet ThisEMC Entertainment - Throwing all caution to the wind, a group of local photographers summoned the courage to reveal themselves in a new exhibit titled A Portrait of the Artist, currently on at the Arts and Architecture Gallery. Answering a call for submissions of self-portraits were Jinny Slyfield, Terry Sametz, Thomas Dagg and Ralph Nevins.
Len Ward, owner of the gallery, said he was looking for a broad interpretation of the idea and wanted to provide an opportunity for both amateur and established photographers to expose their inner self. His own pieces featured in the show are an homage to Fredrick Holland Day, an American photographer of the 1900s who was the first in the country to advocate photography as fine art.
"I chose to use a spot in Maine which was his summer residence and now run as a retreat centre for women with cancer," added Mr. Ward.
Photographing himself in various poses on a cliff side, he said he wanted to show the primal relationship between the natural elements and ourselves.
"I like showing the body integrated into the natural environment," he said. "We all came from it at one point in time and eventually we'll go back there. I think it's quite representative of me and much of the work that I do. I've always done a lot of work with the human form in a natural landscape and often in fairly rugged places."
Mr. Sametz chose a photograph of three hands holding different power tools to symbolize the generations of his family and background as a tradesman. Another piece, titled Beat of a Different Drummer, is a panoramic picture of his face distorted in varying expressions.
"This one was my original idea to have me moving through space and then as I started putting it together, I saw that it really showed the whole artistic process," he explained.
It wasn't an easy process, he said.
"Sometimes there's hair pulling, a sense of fun or an array of ideas. Most artists have more ideas than time to complete. I was trying to capture 20 ideas in one piece. I thought it would be an easy task but I had a whole pile of failures."
Thomas Dagg, an Algonquin College photography student, said the task of creating a self-portrait was challenging because he felt more vulnerable.
"The job of the photographer is to be subjective of the person in front of the camera and I found it really hard to open up and give something of myself to other people," he said.
His featured piece is a series of headshots showing the progression of dressing one's self.
"I don't see myself as different from anybody else so I decided to do myself getting ready, just like everyone else," added Mr. Dagg. "Most of my work seems really narrative, I like to have a message and story behind the actual work. I always like blank expressions too because I find you can tell more from someone's face than a smile. I don't want to force any opinion of myself on others, they can interpret it any way they want."
As a young and emerging photographer, he said he originally thought of becoming an engineer but after trying many different art mediums, found photography to be his best outlet of self expression.
"Photography allows you to show your view of the world," said Mr. Dagg. "This show is great because you get exposure and talk with other artists in the city instead of being isolated within a school environment."
Ralph Nevins, a local photographer known for his 360 degree angled pictures shot himself taking pictures and a series of himself in different poses among a line of trees.
"Nepean is great, I like being in the boondocks but I haven't been downtown very much," added Mr. Nevins. "I feel the more people who see my work downtown will hopefully translate into sales and more exposure."
Arts and Architecture is located at 1181 Bank St. Visit artsandarchitecture.ca.
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