Monday, August 31, 2009

Photography exhibition to open at Phoenix Art Museum

Portraits are taken by both professional photographers and amateurs everyday. They document significant milestones, record special moments, convey credentials and when done well, provide an intimate view of the subject. But what do these photographs also say about the person behind the lens – the photo taker? On September 19, Phoenix Art Museum unveils Face to Face: 150 Years of Photographic Portraiture, a new photography exhibition that reveals the concealed stories portraits tell.

Face to Face
investigates nearly 70 portraits by 58 different artists by exploring the ways photographers express the essence of their subjects and the impact of personal, professional or cultural relationships. Drawn from the Center for Creative Photography, as well as local collections, this unique exhibition features evocative portraits by some of the greatest photographic image-makers of the 19th-, 20th-, and 21st-centuries including Southworth and Hawes, Gertrude Käsebier, Edward Weston, Dorothea Lange, W. Eugene Smith, Ansel Adams, Diane Arbus, Yosuf Karsh and Richard Avedon.

“Portrait photographers take the expressive potential of clothing, gesture, pose, facial expression and setting and expand on them by using photographic elements to create a picture about their subject,” commented Rebecca Senf, Norton Family Assistant Curator of Photography, Phoenix Art Museum. “Beyond the visible elements in a photograph, there are aspects of the portrait that may not be obvious. Uncovering those relationships or the circumstances through research enriches our understanding.”

Portraiture was one of photography’s earliest applications and has become the primary mode for capturing a person’s likeness. Face to Face spans the medium’s history, from the earliest form of photography – the daguerreotype, used in the mid 19th century – to works made in the last few years.

“By closely investigating the works presented in the exhibition visitors will have the enhanced ability to read a portrait, a style of picture-making everyone personally knows, and to see more in every picture of people they view,” commented Senf.

Exhibition Details

Face to Face: 150 Years of Photographic Portraiture is presented by Phoenix Art Museum and the Center for Creative Photography and will be on view in the Museum’s Doris and John Norton Gallery September 19, 2009 through January 10, 2010. Face to Face is organized by Phoenix Art Museum.

In conjunction with the exhibition, the Museum is hosting a special evening with photographer and author, Nick Kelsh on December 2 at 7 pm. Kelsh is the author of the popular “how to” series including How to Photograph Your Baby and How to Photograph Your Family. In addition to sharing best practices, he’ll discuss the life lessons he has learned from four decades of photography and the inspirations behind some of his most noted photographs. This is a free Museum event open to the public.

Admission to the exhibition is included in general museum admission, which is $10 for adults, $8 for senior citizens (65+), $8 for full-time college students with ID, $4 for children ages 6-17 and free for children under 6 and for museum members. The Museum offers free general admission for everyone on Wednesday evenings, 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. and for First Fridays, 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Some exhibitions have special admission fees.

Phoenix Art Museum is located in downtown Phoenix at the corner of Central Avenue and McDowell Road.

Museum hours are Wednesday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Thursday – Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday Noon to 5 p.m.; First Fridays, 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Some exhibitions have special hours. The Museum is closed Mondays, Tuesdays and major holidays. The Museum Store and Arcadia Farms at Phoenix Art Museum are open during Museum hours.

A Landmark Photography Partnership


In 2006, Phoenix Art Museum and the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona in Tucson inaugurated a highly innovative and unprecedented collaboration to bring the finest in photography to Phoenix Art Museum visitors. It established a vibrant new photography exhibition program at the Museum, while bringing the Center’s world-renowned collections to new and larger audiences.

The Center for Creative Photography is one of the world’s largest repositories of materials chronicling photography. Founded in 1975, it now houses 3.8 million archival items and 80,000 fine prints by photographers including Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Harry Callahan, Aaron Siskind, Frederick Sommer, W. Eugene Smith, Louise Dahl-Wolfe, and Garry Winogrand.

About Phoenix Art Museum


Phoenix Art Museum is the Southwest’s premier destination for world-class visual arts. Popular exhibitions featuring artists such as Rembrandt, Norman Rockwell, Annie Leibowitz and Monet are shown along side the Museum’s outstanding collection of more than 18,000 works of American, Asian, European, Latin American, Western American, modern and contemporary art, and fashion design. A community epicenter for nearly fifty years, Phoenix Art Museum presents festivals, live performances, independent art films and educational programs that enlighten, entertain and stimulate. Visitors also enjoy PhxArtKids an interactive space for children, vibrant photography exhibitions through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography, the lushly landscaped Sculpture Garden, dining at Arcadia Farms at Phoenix Art Museum, and shopping at The Museum Store.

To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum, visit PhxArt.org, or call the 24-hour recorded information line at (602) 257-1222.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Under the Influence
Overcoming Addiction with Hope

by Barbara Nicholson-Brown

There is nothing unusual or special about my story—it happens every day. Women, men, children, young adults and teens all over the world struggle from the same disease I have: addiction. Not only does this disease destroy families, relationships and careers, it also claims thousands of lives through overdoses, illness, auto fatalities and violence.

Addiction affects 23 million people of all ages in the United States alone. Two-thirds of Americans have friends or family who struggle with addiction. It’s estimated that 5.3 million women in the U.S. drink in a way that threatens their health, safety and general well-being. Alcohol and drugs are incredibly destructive; long term chronic drinking or drug use ravages the body, mind and soul.

In a few more days, I’ll have been clean and sober for 19 years. One of my purposes in this recovered life is to let others know it is possible to live without being chained to a bottle, glass or pill—there is a special freedom that comes from not being under the influence.

Addiction dragged me into the shadows of darkness, hopelessness and isolation. While I was filled with embarrassment and shame for years, asking for help and having to admit to this “problem” seemed unbearable. What would everyone think? Then, one remarkable day after years of hangovers and blackouts, I surrendered. It took time, but I slowly began to understand, feel and believe that I was not alone.

Today, recovery from addiction is more openly talked about. Celebrities and the media have begun making a concerted effort to raise awareness, and little by little, inch by inch, the stigma associated with addiction is slowly lifting—but we have a long way to go. Many people still feel that they must hide their addiction out of fear or shame. I believe that part of my responsibility is to offer the message that hope exists by extending myself to others who have felt the struggle and putting a face to this disease.

Five years ago, in my quest to be part of the larger solution, my husband and I created the Art of Recovery Expo. We envisioned a day when we would have the opportunity to open the doors of the Phoenix Convention Center to the general public. Here, anyone and everyone would have the chance to meet the leading treatment providers, counselors, therapists and professionals in the field of mental health and addiction at no cost.

We would bring in highly recognized speakers and offer workshops, resources, education and—most of all—hope. Today, the Expo has grown to be one of the largest recovery events in September as the nation celebrates National Recovery Month.

As members of our community, we need to speak up about the successes that occur and talk about the realities of this disease. We need to make a difference by removing the stigma addiction still carries. I know for a fact that miracles are abundant for those who make the choice to change. It’s not an easy task, but it is possible. It happened for me in my worst moment of despair; I was offered something as simple as a glimmer of hope. I invite you to join us at the Expo this year and see the smiles that recovery brings. Today, my life is under a new kind of influence: hope.

Visit the 5th Annual Art of Recovery Expo
This year’s presenting speaker at the Art of Recovery Expo will be Christopher Kennedy Lawford, the first-born child of President John F. Kennedy’s sister, Patricia, and famous Rat Pack actor, Peter Lawford. Lawford is an actor and bestselling author who struggled with addiction for many years. Sober now for 22 years, he shares his personal story with others in his memoir, Symptoms of Withdrawal, Moments of Clarity and Healing Hepatitis C, in hopes of making a difference.


5th Annual Art of Recovery Expo
Saturday, September 19, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Phoenix Convention Center, Hall G
480.767.7880
www.artofrecoveryexpo.com


Barbara Nicholson-Brown is Founder of the Art of Recovery Expo and Publisher of Arizona Together, a monthly publication with a focus on addiction recovery.