Using the Library - Art Galleries & Exhibit Spaces

The Cracovia Project paintings of Allyson Glenn will be on display in the Dolphin Gallery from June 6th to July 9th.

Allyson Glenn, an Ontario, Canada resident, holds a Master of Fine Arts from The University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta. Glenn is a figurative painter who works in a variety of genres such as the figure, interior, still life, landscape, and portraiture. The Cracovia paintings is comprised of figure narratives and cityscapes from the city of Krakow, Poland. Although strikingly historical, the images are contemporary. The Dolphin Gallery is open during library hours.

In the fall of 2005, I relocated to Krakow to research a project which would depict the Miesela Cafe

people of contemporary Poland . This body of work is entitled 'Cracovia' and is composed of sixteen figure narratives and cityscapes. The project was first initiated in the district of Kazimierz, The Old Jewish Ghetto, during an eight-month residence.

Poland is a rare example of a preserved traditional culture, unique for its dark history, remote location, and exclusive language. It is a place where all three living generations represent three dramatically different historical periods (Nazi, Communist, and Democracy). Naturally, this community must negotiate ideologies along side one another; thus it possesses an immense diversity in wisdom. With the joining of the European Union in 2003, Poland has faced the complex balance of maintaining old values with new and modern elements, and western influence. Simply stepping out into the street, one experiences this dichotomy visually, whether through billboards on abandoned or un-reclaimed Jewish buildings, priests and nuns eating donairs, or simply the assortment of goods in small kiosks. Many elements of its pre-twentieth century life such as family values, cultural ideology, food, traditions, and religion have been preserved. Yet, with the influx of western influence much change has ensued.

In this project, it is my intent to present ideas about Poland 's unique struggle to balance the emotional burden of its past with its modern existence, as this is an intrinsic element to its modern identity. By offering a contemporary image of Poland , I am also presenting ideas about the political, ideological, and theoretical issues, which have greatly influenced post-communist Europe . It is my hope to open a dialogue about history, culture and the procession of time.

Notes on images shown: Upper left is "Opposing Forces", oil on linen, 2007; painting to right is "Miesela Cafe, Markerta", oil on linen, 2007.

Fine art black and white photography of Robert William Streeter in Dolphin Gallery on July 11

An exhibition by fine art photographer Robert William Streeter will be displayed in the Dolphin Gallery beginning July 11 and ending August 6 2009 . Mr. Streeter will be present in the Dolphin Gallery during the afternoon of August 6 to speak about his work with gallery visitors. All of the images on display are produced using the traditional wet to dry silver gelatin photographic process. The exhibition may be viewed during library business hours.

Robert William Streeter was born in Redhill, Surrey, England and studied photography in London at Regent Street Polytechnic for five years. He graduated with honors in 1967 with a specialty in advertising and industrial photography. He worked for more than thirty five years as a professional industrial and advertising photographer. After first being employed by the Monotype Corporation and later working in various studios in and around London , and aboard ships for the Cunard and Norwegian Caribbean lines, he opened his own studio in 1978 in Crawley Sussex, England and attracted major corporate clients.

In 1989 he emigrated to the United States where he continued to pursue his profession in Tennessee for eight years before moving north to Rockport , Massachusetts in 1997 where he was able for the first time to engage in fine art photography. Mr. Streeter has gone on to exhibit his prize-winning photography in galleries throughout the U.S. His work is held in private collections in the U.S., Europe, and South Africa. For more information about Mr. Streeter visit www.robertwilliamstreeter.com .

I enjoy the challenge of obtaining images and altering them in my darkroom using strictly traditional darkroom methods. After years of working with large format cameras, my current interest is to work with 35mm color transparency material. I combine [by manual layering] images of suitable clarity and density to produce, with dodging and shading, a master black & white internegative . [This is when the photograph is actually produced in negative form, in the darkroom, which is just a large camera. For those persons accustomed to darkroom working the idea of actually entering a camera may at first thought seem ridiculous. But, when considered carefully that is all a darkroom truthfully is - a large camera ! ] At times I physically bend the film during the making of the black and white master negative which enables me to produce images with controlled distortion. It is only when I am as satisfied as possible with the master negative that I produce the silver gelatin photograph.

Japan Journey: the Photography of Jean Donohue in Clemens Gallery

Japan Journey : Photography of Jean Donohue

Japan Journey : the Photography of Jean Donohue" will be shown in the Clemens Gallery from June 6th through July 9th. The exhibit may be viewed during library hours.

Jean Donohue's exhibit consists of photographs and giclee prints from several trips to Japan during which Donohue experienced the culture of the country not just through the eyes of a tourist but also through living in a fishing village just south of Yokohama . The images will be a collection of photographs and giclee prints.

Temple Artist's Statement:

A visit to Japan can be like stepping into a time machine. Japan is the most modern of countries and yet one in which the echo of a previous age is still part of every day life. From your seat in a Shinkansen ( “ Bullet Train ” ), zipping past the Japanese countryside at 180 miles per hour, you catch a glimpse of farmers working in a rice field. The scene looks remarkably similar to one in the book of 18 th century prints you just purchased. You pass a shop in Kyoto filled with the latest electronic gadgets (many of which were developed in Japan), turn the corner and there is the massive wooden gate of an ancient shrine. You walk into the courtyard and stand respectfully as a Shinto priest leads a wedding party in traditional dress through a beautiful garden. On a Sunday afternoon, at the entrance to a park in Tokyo, women in kimonos gracefully glide past teenage girls wearing orange wigs and black lipstick. You know that Monday morning, all of them will be back at work, in conservative business attire, the orange wigs and the silk kimonos put away until the next dress-up day.

I have made two visits to Japan. I stayed with my daughter and her family, who were living in a small fishing village

about fifty miles south of Tokyo. On our walk to the beach, we might stop at the local temple and offer a coin to the Oranage Girls Buddha. At the small grocery store, my daughter would buy our lunch, using a combination of gestures and beginner ' s Japanese. Or her landlord, who lived next door, might take us out to eat at his favorite restaurant. No tourists ever found their way to the village so the restaurant had no need to accommodate itself to a Western palate. The food was delicious, even if I did not always know what I was eating (or perhaps wanted to know). The Japanese are very willing to try the cuisine of other countries. So we might head for the local Italian restaurant, which, except for the wait staff, would not look too out of place in the North End.

The exhibit is an attempt to capture a sense of Japan, from the modern to the traditional to the experience of every day life. It is such a big subject, no single exhibit can give you a comprehensive look at this remarkable country but perhaps I can at least give you a glimpse.

About the Photographer: Jean Donohue is a professional photographer, associated with the George M. Loring Studio in downtown Hingham. She specializes in portraits and in work with interior designers, architects and contractors. She is also a painter, with a degree in Fine Arts from Boston University.

This is her first solo exhibition. Her photographs have appeared in other exhibits, on Italy, California and Antarctica.

Jean Donohue says. “this is an exhibit I have wanted to do for a long time. Japan is a fascinating place, a culture of beautiful traditions and cutting edge technology and wonderful energetic young people, warm, outgoing and generous. “

Julia Bykowski's Visions of Poe: photographs inspired by Edgar Allan Poe in Clemens Gallery on July 11

Weymouth artist Julia Bykowski will exhibit Visions of Poe, a collection of her photographs inspired by Edgar Allan Poe in the Clemens Gallery from July 11 through August 6. Her work is done with digital photography and manipulated in Photoshop, a photo-editing software tool. Ms. Bykowski uses color and texture to make a photograph that emotes the feeling's of Poe's words to her. An artist reception will be held in the Gallery on Saturday, July 18 from to 4:30 PM. The public is invited to attend. Visions of Poe may be viewed during regular library hours. Photograph below is "Spirits of the Dead".

Artist's Statement

Spirits of the Dead "I was first introduced to Poe when I was in the fourth grade by my teacher. During October she read a story by him every few days. I remember everyone shrieking and hiding under their desks while I listened intently. It's safe to say this was when I was bitten by the Poe bug.

After taking photography for two years in high school I decided that photography was my calling and I began my college education at the Art Institute of Boston. My work right from the beginning could be considered very dark, to say the least. What inspired me was the darker side of life. During my senior year, I was working on a thesis of photographs based on journal entries I had written from the perspective of a murderer. In my second semester I hit a wall. I had been reading Poe all throughout college but it wasn't until then that I realized what I had sitting in my lap the whole time.

Edgar Allan Poe was a gifted writer who wrote poems and stories of life's loves and losses for us to obtain. Poems of the few he loved in life show us his intensity and frailty. His words weave through tales of grotesque murders and depression in an eloquent manner that is irresistible. Poe's madness seduces me. The words have painted images in my imagination that I seek to photograph. His writing is a beautiful darkness that I try to grasp within my own medium. These photographs are the images I see in my mind that Poe inspires. I hope to keep his words alive after all the years that have passed from when they were written."

Artist Biography:

I was born in Boston and raised in Weymouth, Massachusetts . After graduating from Weymouth High School in 2004 I then went to the Art Institute of Boston. There I studied under Christopher James, Jack Lueders-Booth and Jane Tuckerman, among many other amazing mentors. In addition to their support I am also here due to the support of my friends, my parents and siblings, and my gigantic extended family. I graduated in May of 2008 with a BFA in Photography.