Light Work to host exhibition on the Syracuse Symposium theme of "Justice"

A Just Image: Selections from the Light Work Collection

April 24-Dec. 15, 2007

Robert B. Menschel Photography Gallery, Hildegarde and J. Myer Schine Student Center,
Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244

Light Work welcomes the student-curated exhibition A Just Image: Selections from the Light Work Collection in the Robert B. Menschel Photography Gallery. The exhibition is the result of a collaborative effort by 31 Syracuse University students enrolled in Professor Mary Lou Marien's Art and Identity course and examines the Fall 2007 Syracuse Symposium theme of Justice. The students chose images from the Light Work Collection, considering the personal and societal meanings of justice. The students have created an interactive exhibition, where, as the students write in the exhibition catalogue, "Ironically ... the viewer is still judging."

A Just Image invites viewers to explore the photographs and rethink their definition of justice. As the students of the Art and Identity course discovered, though justice is a universal concept, it does not necessarily carry the same meaning for everyone. This can be seen in the different perceptions of stereotypes, families, occupations and leisure activities, which are some of the topics examined by the class. According to the students, "T he pictures we have chosen require more than just superficial judgment; they require the viewer to acknowledge their own stereotyped projections ... "

The Light Work Collection consists primarily of work made by artists who have participated in the Artist-in-Residence program and past Light Work Grant recipients.

More than 2,200 works of original art comprise the collection, including color and black-and-white photographic prints, alternative processes, computer-generated imagery, collages, artist books and installation pieces. Syracuse Symposium is a semester-long intellectual and artistic festival celebrating interdisciplinary thinking, imagining and creating, presented by The College of Arts and Sciences to the entire Syracuse community.

This exhibition will be on view in the Robert B. Menschel Photography Gallery in the Schine Student Center April 24-Dec. 15. It will be open and available for viewing during the MayFest celebration. Gallery hours for this exhibition are Sunday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m., except University holidays. Groups can also contact Light Work at 315-443-1300 to schedule an appointment. The exhibition is free and open to the public. Light Work is a nonprofit, artist-run organization dedicated to the support of artists working in photography and electronic media. For more information, contact Jessica Heckman at Light Work, 315-443-1300 or jhheckma@syr.edu.

Image information:
Alesandra Sanguinetti—
The Adventures of Guille and Belinda and the Enigmatic Meaning of Their Dreams, 2000