Gale R. Farley has been a highly respected member of the Central NY photo community for many years. He holds a B.S. in Photography from Sam Houston State University and an M.F.A. from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. He has been a teacher and professional photographer in this community for twenty-six years and currently teaches at Herkimer County Community College where he helps to prepare a new generation of professional photographers, as well as to help a wide variety of students attain a higher level of visual literacy.
According to Farley, ” I believe that photography has the power to help people explore, understand and enjoy their world and their place in it to a much fuller extent than if they had not investigated photography beyond the everyday snapshot. By teaching photography, I help people see things they would have not noticed, experience more from other visual media, and by practicing it, express their unique connection to life, their own creativity and humanity. ”
Following are Gale R. Farley’s selections and critical comments from the Kirkland Art Center Photography Show. Thank you to Gale Farley, Annette J. Clarke, the Director of the Kirkland Art Center, and Niel Chowdhury of Cazenovia College who juried this exhibit.
Your comments are requested regarding this critique. Comments are also requested regarding the KAC Show or photographs that you feel deserve mention from the show that are not mentioned here. Use the “Leave a Reply” box that is located at the end of the critique.
The works that follow are presented in the order of merit:
“Sand Pattern, (Death Valley)” © Nancy Oudheusden www.viewfindphoto.com/
The strong light and shadow creates a three-dimensional feeling in these forms that reveals the strong undulating pattern created by the sand. The nature of the light also creates a surface alive with tactile texture, not like soft sand, but more like granite that was molten and cooled flowing into these ambiguous organic shapes. These shapes could be the fingers of a stone sculpture or an aerial photograph of a barren rocky landscape. Careful composition and strong print quality also contribute to the success of this image.
The photograph is compelling in its movement and formal elements and open to many rewarding interpretations.
“Distressed Patriotism” © D Shadowman
This color photograph has what I call a “sense of place.” Athough I have never been there, I can feel its nature in the image and wonder what was its purpose before it was abandoned. We can see the refrigerator is from another era, adding to the idea that time has stopped in this place. Below the surface reality of this picture is a substructure of inter-related rectangles and squares of red, white, blue, and black. It is not a far stretch to invoke the term “Mondrian like.” The composition is crucial to the success of this image and is well handled by the placement of the brightest rectangle with the red fabric in a key position within the frame. The muted primary colors also contribute to the mood and mystery of this photograph. Even though the photograph is composed of red, white, and blue it is for me a stretch to give it any political, national, or patriotic connotation.
“Behind Bars” © John Vriersema
This photograph is a good example of the figure used not to shock or titillate, but presented in its pure natural state as a form and surface on which light and shadow may work to exemplify the beauty of human form. The comparison and contrast between the hard-edged shadows, textured wood and the soft, smooth, rounded figure are formal elements that always interest the eye. The shadows create a dramatic geometric pattern and as they wrap over the figure, they create movement and an interplay of light and shadow not unlike what we experience in the previously discussed “Sand Patterns” of the Oudheusden piece. Although the photograph is crafted in the well established tradition of twentieth century nudes like those of Edward Weston, Paul Strand, and Imogene Cunningham, I do not feel it is clichéd or trite. The print quality is well handled to support the image. This photograph is overall a classic nude study, well printed, and composed to explore the formal elements of art and the beauty of the human form.
“Three Girls, Mashhad Iran” © Roset Khosropour
In this engaging photography we see the faces of three beautiful young girls looking back at the photographer and us, with some wary shyness and also delightfully flattered in the attention being paid to them. We see in their eyes the beauty, innocence, and promise of every child. This is a photograph that speaks to a universal humanity. The interest here is not about the nationality or difference in dress, but in a moment of unpretentious human interaction that reminds us all we are part of a greater human family. The composition is wonderfully effective as it creates an asymmetrical balance between the larger child and the two smaller figures. The three heads form an inverted triangle that holds us firmly in the photographs and brings us into the compelling eyes of the central figure.
“Shadow Invaders” © Jan Coffin
This photograph is interesting on many levels. First it is a fabrication of unseen figures casting shadows to interact with markings made by the photographer on what appears to be a concrete surface. They have the playful quality of a Keith Haring piece and also the mystery of what could be glyphs left by some forgotten people on stone walls or boulders that mark some ritual or event. The figures move diagonally rising from lower left to upper right in the frame. Their postures suggest a dance of some kind as their limbs create a visual rhythm.
For a complete list of accepted artists and their entries click this link: kirkland-photo-show-07.pdf
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