Scott McCarney: Visual Books

SCOTT McCARNEY–VisualBooks
Light Work Main Gallery
November 1 – December 16, 2011
Gallery reception: November 3, 5-8pm

Light Work is pleased to announce the exhibition VisualBooks, featuring work by Scott McCarney. This unique and beautiful exhibition explores the book as a sculptural object that employs a variety of image-making processes. McCarney’s carefully hand-bound editions and found-altered books incorporate photographic imagery and utilize the space of the gallery to explore reading as display (on pedestals and shelves, hanging from the ceiling, mounted on the wall).

McCarney creates his sculptural objects and photo-based editions as one-of-a-kind, hand-made pieces as well as small runs of print-on-demand books. According to Hannah Frieser, director of Light Work,”Scott McCarney rethinks the book form, considering books as a starting point rather than a mere vehicle for information and images.”

The gallery reception on Nov. 3 (5-8 pm) celebrates the exhibition, and also serves as the kickoff event to the Society of Photographic Education (SPE) Northeast/Mid-Atlantic regional conference titledPhotographers + Publishing, which will be hosted by Light Work and Syracuse University. Light Work is publishing a special conference edition of the award-winning publication Contact Sheet in a run of 250, which will include original art by McCarney.

About the Artist
McCarney’s work has been exhibited internationally, including at the Center for Book Arts and Printed Matter Inc. in New York City; Tower Fine Arts Gallery in Brockport, NY; Minnesota Center for Book Arts in Minneapolis; University of the West of England, Bristol, UK; and other locations throughout the United States, the UK, Australia and more. He received his BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA, and his MFA from SUNY Buffalo and Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester. He has received numerous awards, including the New York State Foundation for the Arts Fellowship (printmaking/drawing book arts) and multiple Special Opportunity Stipends from NYFA/Rochester Arts & Cultural Council). McCarney’s work is featured in many permanent collections, including those of the Getty Center in Los Angeles; Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago; the Museum of Modern Art Library, New York; and the Photographic Resource Center in Boston, among many others.

Also on view at this time is 2011 Light Work Grants, an exhibition of work by the winners of the 2011 Light Work Grants in Photography Competition: Neil Chowdhury, Danielle Mericle and Ahndraya Parlato. In addition, bobCollignon:Outdoorsman is on view in the Community Darkrooms Gallery.

Gallery hours for these exhibitions are Sunday to Friday, 10am-6pm. (except school holidays), and by appointment. To schedule an appointment, please call 315-443-1300. Both the exhibition and reception are free and open to the public. Paid parking is available in Booth Parking Garage.

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 CMAC, the Coalition of Museum and Art Centers at Syracuse University.

For more information, please contact Jessica Reed at Light Work, 315-443-1300 or jhreed01@syr.edu.