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Cortona Art Gallery Exhibit on Display February 2-27


“New York Obscured,” the next exhibit at Ashford University’s Cortona Art Gallery, will feature photographic images created using room-sized camera obscuras around the city of New York.

“I converted apartments with views into cameras by darkening their windows and installing a small lens which projected the exterior view onto photographic paper hung inside, said photographer Bailey Russel. “The images are an attempt to confront the strangeness of the every day world around us, to replace the normality that we regularly experience with a twinge of the surreality through which the city begs to be viewed. New York is one of the most written about and filmed locations in the world and yet has managed to remain a fairly elusive or at least malleable subject. I wanted to approach the city with my own filter and mold and try to shape it into this alien presence it could be.”

Russel, who received an A.B. in Art and Archeology from Princeton University and an M.A. in Photography from New York University, in conjunction with the International Center of Photography, said, “This mode of photography is a very labor intensive and craftsman-like endeavor and as such doesn’t seem to fit in the evolution of photography. I like to think about the way I create these images as a more encompassing experience, a zen-like action that’s almost necessitated by the long times sequestered in a darkened camera. In a sense experiencing the images like that is a good way for me to also experience the city that I live in and get to know it better.”

The artist’s work has been exhibited in a number of shows and galleries, most recently in Williamsburg and New York, New York.

“New York Obscured” will be on display in the Cortona Gallery from February 2-27 and an artist’s reception will be held on Monday, Feb. 2 from 4-6 p.m. in the same location.

The Cortona Gallery can be found on the second floor of Ashford University’s Clare Hall at 400 North Bluff Boulevard in Clinton. The Gallery is named for Sister Cortona Phelan, OSF, former president of Mount St. Clare College and former president of the Sisters of St. Francis. For many years, Sister Cortona influenced the quality of education at the College through her teaching of American history and her love of the arts. She also served as MSC Academy Principal and as Dean of Students at the College.

The Ashford University Cortona Art Gallery is open to the public, free of charge, every weekday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and for private showings by appointment. For further information, please call 563-242-4023. About Ashford University Founded in 1918, Ashford University is a coeducational institution regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, with programs in education, business, accounting, criminal and social justice, computer animation and graphic design, and other areas. The University offers undergraduate and graduate degrees, as well as a range of student activities and athletics, at its Clinton campus. Online degree programs are available in education, organizational management, business administration, and psychology. The University is known for its high quality yet highly affordable on-campus and online programs, with tuition fees among the lowest in the U.S. compared to other private institutions. Its tagline is: “Higher Education Made Affordable”SM. For more information, visit www.ashford.edu or call Shari Rodriguez, Director of Public Relations, at 858/513-9240 x2513.

by Dawn Zuidema, theCity1.com
January 16, 2009

 

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