Nine Photographic Dreams

Time flies, and our opening is right around the corner. Some of the work is framed and ready, some on its way. We even managed to create 50 images for our additional group exhibit!!

If you have reserved the date yet - this is the time to do so. 

We will all be there on the opening night, proud and excited to show our art. 

For some of us it is the first step we take in the contemporary photography world, for others it might be the second or the third, but for all of us, this is one step closer to our dreams. 

Let's take an additional step forward and share our dreams with the world. 

Nine (+one) Photographic Dreams

1.  Rohina Gandhi - Traveling to VRINDAVAN, INDIA to meet and photograph the widows.

2.  Victor Ramos - To make consequential images that change the world.

3.  Miguel Angel Bejarano - Reaching my full potential as a visual artist wherever it takes me.

4.  Leba Marquez - Get a grant to do in-depth project on the Black Taxis in England.  

5.  Kristina Shires - To lose track of time while creating and having the time to lose ... 

6.  Iris Debelder - To find and express beauty in simplicity, keep on digging into that poetic soul.

7.  Cindy Crane - Drop everything, rent an RV and enjoy a long road trip across the U.S. and back.

8.  Sally Ann Field - To travel the world and share what I see. All expenses paid. 

9.  Amy Kanka Valadarsky - Return to Scotland and Ireland, immerse myself in myth and legends.

and our one and only Aline Smithson, the best teacher and mentor we could wish for

Aline: "Besides hanging in the Museum of Modern Art, my dream is to simply make the best work I can.--the kind of work that keeps me up at night with excitement and allows for new levels of creativity."

May all our dreams come true, and lets get ready to party !!!

 

Amy Kanka Valadarsky presents "Misthaven"

In “Misthaven,” named after the enchanted forest, Amy Kanka Valadarsky writes her own sequel to well-loved childhood stories by creating a magical world in which she explores the dark and light of growing up and experiencing the world on her term. The images in the “Misthaven” series reveal the complexity of memory, history and simply being human.

"Many years ago, when I still had two long braids tied with huge white bows, I fell in love with stories.Especially the stories which transported me to magical places where wild swans turned into princes, dark forests hid marble castles, and ancient columns were spotted by moonlight floating above the waves of stormy seas. 

With this project, "Misthaven", named after the enchanted forest in the TV series "Once upon a time", I change my role from reader to writer. Rather than being an observer in worlds created by others, I dare write my own story with lenses and light. There is still magic, but this time, I am the magician."

See more of Amy's work here

Leba Marquez presenting "A View from a Bus: Singapore Triptych"

Leba  Marquez’s photographic works focus on people around the world and their culture and environments.  In A View from A Bus: Singapore Triptych, she shares the images of the city in a mixture of colors, textures, and layers of emotion that provide the background.

 "View from a Bus: Singapore Triptych represents both the richness and confusion of being in a new place where things are both the same and different simultaneously. The kaleidoscope of colors, the chaos and crush of cities and transportation, the layered textures of history, the constant contrast of other lives and other places combine to make an atypical kind of portrait of a small City-State-Singapore. Far away and yet right in the room. Same-same and different. All captured in a moment of time."

See more of Leba's work here

"Picture.Window." by Sally Ann Field

The designer eye of Sally Ann Field is seen in her photographs. 

In Picture. Window. she studies the graphic lines and details that adorn windows she sees on her travels, and poses the question ­– is this glimpse from the outside a true indication of what might go on inside?

"Windows are more than architectural elements, 
they are metaphors for life, for curiosity, for hope. 
They reflect the beyond, the future and at the same time, 
they offer an opportunity to consider the past. 
In my travels, I photograph windows from a variety of cultures and where the architecture may vary, the universal desire for light and sunshine are evident in every structure."

See more of Sally's work here

Victor Ramos - "Reflections"

In his ongoing project “Reflections”, Victor Ramos attempts to capture the beauty and intrigue of the reflected and distorted light from the glass on large buildings. These images can be seen as a view into the duality of the human spirit.

"I’ve always been drawn to tall buildings.  In many ways, the vision and construction of these giants represent the best in humanity: creativity, cooperation, audacity, beauty, form, function and the drive to push against limit.

However, as with all things human, without moderation of these tendencies, the world may become distorted and unstable.

In this project, I attempt to capture the duality of these competing forces, how the drive for perfection may lead to distortion shown in the reflections of extreme architecture." 

See more of Victor's work on his Facebook page

Kris Shires on "California Manor"

In her series, California Manor, Kris Shires captures aptly named apartment buildings that forward the California brand of living. The photographs are a straightforward examination of a portrayed fantasy.

"I came of age in the 90’s and was fifteen when the hit show Melrose Place aired for the first time. The apartment building in the show sported a courtyard pool and was populated with next-door friends: my idea of ‘California Cool’.

Years later, having made Los Angeles my home, some of the magic has worn off, replaced by life’s realities. Those apartment buildings with their names alluding to paradise, however, still elicit those feelings I had at fifteen: dreams of California and endless possibilities."

Cindy Crane on "What does it feel like to be here?"

In her ongoing project, What Does It Feel Like to Be Here?, Cindy Crane

attempts to pull an open ended narrative into a dimensional visual. By

using a variety of images shot from different perspectives and focal points,

the documentation of space creates a sensory experience that provides the

viewer with a a richer and more varied interpretation of "here".

"Most people look at photographs and see images as ambiguous moments

of an open ended narrative. My ongoing project, What Does It Feel Like to

Be Here? attempts to pull the narrative into a dimensional visual.

It is made up of multiple sets of visual

impressions and explores the relationship between the viewer and the

photographer. The results are sensory, reflecting an experience of being in

a three dimensional space, encapsulated into a two dimensional

interpretation."

see more of Cindy's work here

Iris Debelder - "If you ever find yourself in the wrong story...leave"

In this photo noir project, Iris Debelder created a collection of dark, poetic images, that reflect the noir genre. Each image feels aesthetically mysterious, and together they suggest a story.

"I have always had a fascination with fine crafted cinema. It is to me a visual feast and

often a projection of inner feelings.

As a child I embraced soft, pastel colors, and joyful imagery. My early years were happy

and carefree in bucolic surroundings.

Later in life, when living in urban areas, I discovered “film noir” which engendered

maturity and complexity in the images I was drawn to. Currently I see the world in a

darker and more poetic way, with stark contrasts, mystery and motion. However, my

work continues to embrace aesthetics and beauty."

see more of Iris work here

Miguel Ángel Bejarano on "Photographic Prose: Poetic Visuals without Rhythm"

Miguel Angel Bejarano on his series 

"Photographic Prose: Poetic Visuals without Rhythm"

"When I was a teenager traversing through troubling times, I thought the only way I could cope with life was to write -- transforming my state of mind into words.  I would carefully craft poems into songs with the help of my friends in a band.  It helped to feel detached from my own words while someone else sang them.  

It was an indescribable feeling when people would say that they loved a song I had written.  When I touched someone through my lyrics and they felt the way I did, I knew I wasn’t the only one who felt that way.  As I wrote about broken hearts, deceptions, or illusions, I discovered a sense of completion and I could move on, leaving that memory behind."

 "Now, as an adult, I am less secure in sharing my feelings, thoughts, and heartbreaks.  

I dread being exposed and vulnerable.  But now, I let the camera be my vehicle for expression.  My project, Photographic Prose: Poetic Visuals without Rhythm, is a visual voyage into my deepest thoughts and emotions; a psychological journey of sorts.  In this venture I write my songs with photographs, without a thought to rhymes or time signatures."

See more of Miguel's work here

Rohina Hoffman on "Mothers and Daughters"

Rohina Hoffman’s photographic series: MOTHERS+DAUGHTERS explores the complicated, nuanced relationship between her subjects at a critical time in their lives as the girls enter their teenage years. It is a collective voice for how mothers and daughters grow together and apart.

"My daughter Maya is the inspiration behind this project.  When she was little she would play in my closet and try on my high heels. I told her that she could borrow a pair for her 6^th grade graduation.  When the graduation came, her feet were two sizes bigger than mine and I knew that the connection through wardrobe was simply a happy memory. That moment had passed.

It was then that I started photographing Maya, her friends, and their mothers, and have continued to explore those relationships over the years, now focusing on the mother/daughter connection in particular."

See more of Rohina Hoffman's work here

Introducing: mIXed - Nine Photographic Visions

mIXed, Nine Photographic Visions represents the artistic journey of nine Los Angeles-based photographers. Brought together as members of the 2016 Next Step 2 program at the Los Angeles Center of Photography, under the guidance of Aline Smithson, this wide-ranging group comes together with the unified intention of presenting fresh ways of interpreting the world.

The exhibit "mIXed, Nine Photographic Visions" will be on display at the Los Angeles Center of Photography between March 18th and April 15th, 2016. 

Join us on opening night March 18th between 7 - 10PM, meet the artists over a glass of wine!