Bill Edwards introduces Nathan Lyons at Spectrum Gallery in Rochester, New York
Nathan Lyons is a Rochester luminary as well as internationally renowned photographer. He spoke tonight for about an hour with very few notes at the closing party for his current show at the Spectrum Gallery in Rochester. Once you’ve seen a lot of his photos it’s easy to picture him wandering around urban areas and grabbing the “Nathan Lyon shots.” They are just out there waiting for him to click but there is much more to his work and it was a joy to hear him talk about it. And that’s the thing, it doesn’t need any explanation. He is stimulated by poetry and sees all sorts of metaphors and connections in images and develops thematic groups ofthem as books. I love his keen cultural observations but often I just love the photo the way I love a painting.
Jason Bernagozzi sound installation, part of “Transitions Rochester” exhibit at Visual Studies Workshop
Even vital cities can be revitalized but gallery shows centered around this theme can make for some pretty dreary art. The program notes for “Transitions, Rochester” at Visual Studies Workshop lay out the facts. “Rochester’s days as a company town are over and urban sprawl and ineffective city planning have left a disabled core surrounded by middle-class wealth.” Curators Rick Hock of Visual Studies Workshop and Alison Nordström of Eastman House have put together a show that drenches dreary in urban beauty. This is a sister show or (maybe the parent) to Rochester Contemporary’s “In The Loop” and there is an upcoming, related show at the Eastman House.
At the VSW I especially liked Dan Verenka’s video shot from a slow moving car as he cruised Rochester’s so called Urban Renewal projects. And Jason Bernagozzi has a room devoted to the sounds of underground Rochester, recordings he made downtown below street level. This piece looks and sounds gorgeous.
Visual Studies is an underutilized space and Rick Hock is determined to change that. He has put out an All Points Bulletin. They are at an exciting juncture over there as the city tears up the street in front and ArtWalk extends it’s strolling grounds. They’re sitting on a fantastic trove of visual resources, a worldclass collection of photo publications and a box with Robert Frank’s shoes (he did a workshop here in ’72 and donated the shoes he wore while photographing the “The Americans”). Who knows we may even see init.three over there.
