Lecture and Panel Discussion

Thursday, April 24, 5-6pm

Panelists: Bill Gaskins, Holly Greenberg, Sarah McCoubrey
Moderator: Doug Dubois

Please join Light Work for a panel discussion and lecture featuring Bill Gaskins, Holly Greenberg, Sarah McCoubrey, and moderated by Doug Dubois. The concept for this panel was directly inspired by an article that appeared in Art in America, in May 2007. The article, titled "Art Schools: A Group Crit," featured essays about a range of issues confronting today's booming art schools and university art departments. According to the article, "The education of artists has become a growing topic of conversation, both in the media and within academia itself, and many educators and students feel the field is in a transformative phase. Driving this conversation are both larger issues, such as technology, elitism, cultural diversity and globalization, and more art-specific ones, such as the runaway growth of the contemporary art market."

The lecture and panel discussion will be presented on Thursday, April 24 at 5:00pm in Watson Theater. This event is meant to generate a dialogue among teachers, students, and administrators about the past, present, and future of training artists. The forum will also allow students, artists, and scholars to offer their divergent views.

Light Work is currently featuring an exhibition titled Educating Artists: Photography Programs in Review. This invitational juried exhibition was also inspired by the article in Art in America, and features photographs by undergraduate and graduate students from colleges and art programs. The work was submitted by artists and teachers of photography who have participated in Light Work's programs. The lecture and panel discussion were spearheaded by Doug Dubois in the College of Visual and Performing Arts. The event was supported by by a Division of Student Affairs UEncounter Grant.

John Clark Mayden

John Clark Mayden is dedicating his time at Light Work to printing his black-and-white images of city life in Baltimore, MD. Mayden's images capture, in his words, "the realities of black people living in low income cities." His work depicts the wide range of experiences found in inner city life, from good times and joy to drugs, misery, social injustice, and crime. Mayden feels that photographers are put in the unique position to record life as they see it, and that they should maintain the skills of documentation, composition, and printing so that future generations can see accurate pictures of life during a certain time, in a certain place. He has used photography his whole life to address social injustices, and has worked frequently with organizations whose mission is to serve low income communities, families, and children.

Mayden has worked in Baltimore's Law Department for twenty-six years. He obtained his BA from Ohio Wesleyan University and his Juris Doctorate from the University of Baltimore School of Law. His photographs have been exhibited nationwide, and are featured in permanent collections at Baltimore Museum of Art and Ohio Wesleyan University, among others.

Cristina Fraire

Argentinean photographer Cristina Fraire will be using her time at Light Work to work with images from her The Austere Life, Shepherds at the End of the Millennium photographic essay. Fraire's images capture mountain shepherd communities that are isolated high in the Cordoba province-communities that do not use electricity or telephones, don't have roads, and depend on sheep as their single economic resource. According to the International Center for Photography, "In the barren and rocky terrain, the ancient connections between generations remained unchanged until urban ways were introduced by tourists and solar-powered televisions. Fraire's pictures reflect this blending of the ancient and new, but also assert the distinctive features of the shepherds' natural landscape." She will use her residency to evaluate the photographs, oral testimonies, and texts for printing and the potential creation of a book dummy.

Fraire's work has been featured in both solo and group exhibitions internationally. She studied psychology at Universidad de Buenos Aires and fine arts at the Argentine Society for Fine Arts Artists, then went on to teach fine arts to children. When she discovered photography, she decided to quit teaching to dedicate her life to photography full-time.

Light Work is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Assistant Director. The Assistant Director will work in all areas of Light Work's operation, and the successful candidate will be an individual who understands and champions the organization's commitment to supporting emerging and under recognized mature artists. He/she will possess demonstrated skills and experience in this key area. The position requires the ability to work as part of a team of seven professional staff members, and the proven ability to take initiative, be a creative problem solver, as well as a skilled administrator.

View online application and job description at http://www.sujobopps.com/ (under staff opportunities).

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Light Work News | 316 Waverly Avenue | Syracuse NY 13244
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