Tim Donovan
Phantasmagoric
phan·tas·ma·gor·ic adj.
“Having a fantastic or deceptive appearance, as something in a dream or created by the imagination. “
Tim Donovan’s large format portraits are “Phantasmagoric.” If the eyes are the portal to one’s soul, then Donovan’s surreal portraits are as soulful as they are mysterious. Donovan takes the information obtained in his photographs and manipulates it, creating an alternative reality, a different viewpoint, a hypnotic portrayal of the unfamiliar. We are captivated by the eyes as we search for more detail, taking comfort in what is recognizable -- the innocence and tenderness of a young boy’s soft face and his penetrating blue eyes. The journey to decipher the information presented ensues as the viewer is engaged. “What is this? Is it real?”
Art allows me to respond to the world instead of relying purely on an innate or learned reaction. As an artist and an explorer, I take information and by artistic means, decipher and process it in order to create my own conclusion. I attempt to find out what that initial information really is. These works, limited in their accessibility by opaqueness are retained in their own environment, and presented as if spectacle, specimen or experimental topic. -Donovan
This is Donovan’s first solo exhibit.
Zoe Perry Wood
BAGLY Prom
Zoe Perry-Wood, a social documentary photographer for more than thirty years, photographs people in the context of the greater society and the groups they are a part of. How do we integrate into the mainstream? What do these groups indicate about the individuals within? Who is accepted, who is rejected? Intolerance at any age is threatening but to the young adolescent who is developing a personal identity, being labeled “different” can be frightening, stressful, and isolating.
For the last four years, Perry-Wood has been photographing the young people attending the BAGLY Prom. BAGLY , the Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth is the oldest and largest LGBT youth organization in the state, now in its 32nd year. BAGLY provides a safe haven for youth who are often, even in these progressive times, outsiders in their own youth culture and may not yet have a foothold in gay culture.
Perry-Wood’s portraits and party scenes of the prom catch the energy and enthusiasm of belonging, of being young and the freedom to be oneself -- kids being kids! The portraits are formal -- each individual or couple stands in front of a black background, looking directly into the camera trusting the photographer’s portrayal of their vulnerability. Perry-Wood’s sublime understanding, transcends the stereotypes and politics, nurturing the pride of being an individual.
Although they may not dwell in the mainstream of our larger culture, these kids are not exotic. I am not bringing an exotic subject matter to be observed (as in Diane Arbus & MEM), they are our kids, our children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews. Z P-W2012
Perry-Wood has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Massachusetts College of Art and degrees in social justice education and school psychology from the University of Massachusetts. She has been exhibited nationally, including The Danforth Museum in Framingham, MA, Soho Photo in New York, Photo Center NW in Seattle, Camera Obscura Gallery in Colorado, and Vermont Photo Workplace Gallery.