PARSONS CAPTURES NEW TALENT AT SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHY SHOW

(New York, NY—April 25, 2003) The Parsons School of Design Department of Photography will hold an exhibition of innovative work from more than 50 graduating seniors at the School's two Greenwich Village galleries on 66 Fifth Avenue and 2 West 13th Street, opening April 30th and running through May 9th. Photographers, design professionals and the general public are invited to preview, free of charge, the works of some of the freshest and brightest talents coming into the field of photography.

"This year's class is adept at seamlessly blending tradition and technology, and concept and technique," says Photography Chair, Michelle Bogre. "The resulting images are neither modern nor postmodern. Rather, they are bold and audacious, just as the students are."

The 2003 show comprises over 400 photographs as well as video installations and artist books. Photographers to watch for include Gabriela Maj, who recasts two photographic clichés: the landscape and the nude. Posing nudes in the most unlikely landscapes—on a rocky, snowcapped beach or under power lines, the tiny figures almost lost—her images have modernist overtones, but a postmodern sensibility. Helen Eriksson photographs odd, discarded or contemplative moments: rumpled purple sheets; someone sleeping; an older couple sitting at a dock. Regardless of the subject matter, the pastel color palette and the remarkable stillness of the image distinguish these photographs. Annick Rosenfield photographs her family and friends, managing to create images that are both familiar and unfamiliar. In these pictures, a man with an eye patch reads That Champion Season in bed; a woman eating a loaf of bread walks out of the frame; a young girl wears a brown fuzzy garment the same color of her hair and the bale of straw she lays on, peering at us, upside down. These images explore the territory between the recognizable and the unknown.

"The display of talent among these students is impressive," says Parsons Dean, H. Randolph Swearer. "Better yet, the annual show gives these young photographers the satisfaction of seeing their work reach a wider audience."

In addition to the exhibition, the Photography students will be releasing their annual promotional piece, which this year will be printed on tree-free "paper" that is both waterproof and tear-proof, making it the first-ever design school "catalog" made on synthetic materials.

"There has never been a promotional piece from any art school printed on this material," says Bridget de Socio, Creative Director of Paper Magazine and founder of the design firm Socio X. De Socio lead the design team of photography students who designed and produced this project, made possible through the generous donation of materials from the Yupo Corporation and printers Teagle and Little in Norfolk, Virginia.

Department of Photography
BFA Exhibition
April 30—May 9, 2003
Opening Reception: Wednesday, April 30 from 6-8 pm
Arnold and Sheila Aronson Galleries
66 Fifth Avenue and
The Gallery at 2 West 13
2 West 13th Street
Gallery Hours: Mon-Fri 9-9; Sat-Sun 9-6

Exhibition Closes at noon on the final day