| BLAKE FITCH
Expectations of Adolescence
April 1 – July 18, 2008
Gallery Reception: Thursday, April 10, 5-8pm
Life comes at us at a maddening pace. Seasons come and go. We grow up, mature, and soon notice next generations pushing up from behind us. We too were the youngest once, and remember those days fondly as we help the next generation through their struggles of adolescence. This is the cycle of life, but most of us would prefer slowing down the changes within and around us.
Blake Fitch alters that pace by allowing us a look at the gradual transition of two girls into young women. The images convey the respect the photographer has for Katie and Julia, and the celebration of their youthful beauty. Shown as snippets of life, the photographs capture an age span during which many changes occur both emotionally and physically. The images fast-forward through different points in the girls’ lives as their self-image changes along with their bodies. While the photographs capture the intense friendship between the two girls, who are cousins, the images also suggest a high level of trust toward the photographer, who is Katie’s older sister. When the girls look up in the picture, they see someone very close to them, not the mechanics of the camera. Sometimes the collaborative effort of creating the images takes the shape of a playful performance, such as in the photograph of Katie dancing in the driveway, while in other images the camera is graciously invited to share quiet and private moments. The girls have allowed the camera into their lives, and it is in this trusting environment that the girls’ growth and maturity unfolds.
Hannah Frieser
Director
Light Work
Major exhibitions at Light Work are published in the award winning publication, Contact Sheet, available by subscription or individual order. In addition to the exhibition catalogue for Expectations of Adolescence, images by Blake Fitch are included in the 2007 Light Work Annual, featuring artists who participated in Light Work's Artist-in-Residence program in 2006. The Annual includes an essay on Blake Fitch by author Alison Nordström.
Other information on Blake Fitch can be found in the Light Work Online Collection. Fitch participated in Light Work’s Artist-in-Residence program in 2006. More of her photographs can be viewed at her website www.blakefitchphotos.com.
Light Work's 2008 Fine Print Program features the signed, limited edition print Dorothy, 1997 by Fitch. All purchases from the Fine Print Program include a complimentary one-year subscription to Contact Sheet. Details about print
Large photographs by Blake Fitch are available through Clampart, www.clampart.com.
Light Work invites groups and individuals to schedule tours and gallery talks of the exhibition and facility. Light Work is a nonprofit, artist-run organization dedicated to the support of artists working in photography and electronic media. Light Work is a member of the Coalition of Museum and Art Centers at Syracuse University (CMAC).
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