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INVISION PHOTO FESTIVAL RETURNS WITH EXPANDED LINEUP & MORE EXHIBITS

DATE: Sept 22, 2011
CONTACT: Mark Demko, ArtsQuest, 610-332-1300, ext. 342, or mdemko@artsquest.org

Festival, Set for Nov. 3-6 in Bethlehem, Pa., Kicks Off First-Ever Lehigh Valley Photography Month Celebration

BETHLEHEM, PA—Presentations by internationally renowned photographers including National Geographic legend Sam Abell, former United Nations Photo Unit Chief John Isaac and portrait and documentary photographer Michael Soluri, as well as dynamic exhibitions by Mark Cohen, Theo Anderson, Vicki DaSilva and others, highlight the second InVision Photo Festival, set for Nov. 3-6 in Bethlehem. The festival, which will take place at the Banana Factory community arts center and the new SteelStacks arts and cultural campus, will also kick off the first-ever Lehigh Valley Photography Month, during which more than 40 venues throughout the region will showcase high-quality photography exhibits and events.

EXHIBITIONS

When guests arrive at InVision, they will be greeted by the work of InVision Artist in Residence Mark Cohen, whose images will be featured outdoors on the SteelStacks campus, as well as in Banko Family Gallery of the Banana Factory. A resident of Northeastern Pennsylvania, Cohen gained international attention in the 1970s for his aggressive style of street photography in which he abruptly approaches strangers and takes their photos with a wide-angle lens. The artist has had solo exhibitions at The Museum of Modern Art in New York, The Art Institute of Chicago, the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and his work is also in the permanent collections of the Whitney Museum of Art in New York, The Museum of Modern Art and The Fogg Museum in Cambridge. The giant black & white prints at SteelStacks and the images in the Banko Family Gallery are taken from an iconic body of work made over an almost 40-year time span and featured in powerHouse Books' 2005 book, Grim Street.

Also on display during InVision will be Theo Anderson's "Cowboy," which features a selection of work from Anderson's ongoing "Cadillac" series. A graduate of Temple University in Philadelphia, with a bachelor's degree in political science, Anderson discovered photography while attending graduate school at Lehigh University in Bethlehem. Self-taught, his work is represented in private and public collections including The Museum of Fine Art Houston, Lehigh University, The Free Library of Philadelphia, Lehigh Valley Health Network and The Kresge Museum of Art at Michigan State University. The large-scale photographs in "Cowboy," appearing in the Banana Factory's Crayola Gallery, were all printed by Anderson and will be shown in the manner in which he views the work in his studio, allowing for a compelling and intimate encounter.

Other exhibitions featured at InVision include "Allentown State Hospital – A Different View" by Frank Smith and David Rehrig, which offers an inside look at the now closed Allentown State Hospital; the 2011 InVision Photo Festival College Photography Contest, showcasing the work of emerging photographers from some of the Northeast's top universities; "Photographic Light Painting Projections" by DaSilva; and the work of the Banana Factory's resident photography artists, Rick Holt, Olaf Starorypinski and Bruce Ward.

SPECIAL EVENTS AND PRESENTATIONS

On Nov. 3, 7-11 p.m., at the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks' Musikfest Café, ArtsQuest and the internationally renowned SlideLuck Show kick off InVision with the SlideLuck Lehigh Valley Show, a photography-focused party during which dozens of images by established, emerging and non-professional artists will be shown 'slide-show style' on the Musikfest Café's screens while guests enjoy light refreshments and live music by rockers That Being Said. The random nature of the slide presentation means that the images of a person who has never displayed his work publicly before may follow the photographs of a renowned fine art photographer, making for an amazing blend of images and ideas.

On Nov. 4, InVision continues with a free open house at the Banana Factory from 5:30-10 p.m. Highlights of the evening include a presentation and exhibition by the students and instructors of ArtsQuest's Photo Design Project, a unique job training skills program that's teaching photography, graphic design and desktop publishing to at-risk young people; and the announcement of the 2011 InVision College Photography Contest winners. During the evening, the Banana Factory's 25 resident visual artists will offer open studios, and the festivities conclude with an after-party in the Crayola Gallery during which the Time Columns will perform their original music created especially for Anderson's "Cowboy" series.

Throughout the weekend, festival attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a variety of interactive presentations by nationally-renowned photographers and photography experts. On Nov. 5, 10 a.m., at the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks' Frank Banko Alehouse Cinemas, The Photo Review founder and editor Stephen Perloff will lead an interactive discussion between Cohen and the audience as the audience screens a selection of Cohen's work on the cinema screen. Other workshops and presentations that day include Canon Presents "Sam Abell: A PHOTOGRAPHIC Life," featuring Sam Abell, who has worked for the National Geographic Society for more than 40 years and photographed more than 20 articles on various cultural and wilderness subjects; and a presentation and book signing of "Patti Smith 1969-1976" by photographer Judy Linn, whose images of Patti Smith captured a raw performer on the verge of becoming an iconic artist.

Saturday's activities conclude with a 5:30 p.m. microbrew tasting and special presentation by Michael Soluri, the only photographer in the history of NASA's space shuttle program to have unprecedented, multi-year access to portray and document the labor force, astronaut crew, space hardware and tools for the last ever-service mission, which essentially saved the Hubble Space Telescope in 2009. Soluri's work is noted for the immediacy, timelessness and humanity explored in his subject matter. The New York-based artist has been featured in numerous publications including Time, Wired, Wired UK, National Geographic Adventure, Discover and Vanity Fair. With the 30-year space shuttle era now at an end, Soluri's presentation will offer a rare and personalized glimpse into American human and robotic space flight history.　

WORKSHOPS

Photographers looking to enhance their photography skills are invited to take part in one of the many hands-on workshops offered at InVision throughout the weekend. Saturday's workshops include "Dan's Camera City Presents Fashion Photography with Shelton Muller," a children's photography workshop with Ward, and a portrait workshop by Starorypinski, who's known for the extraordinary way in which he captures the spirit of his subjects.

On Sunday, the InVision workshops continue with Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom expert Tim Grey's "Journey Through Photoshop and Lightroom," which will teach participants tips and tricks for navigating Photoshop and Lightroom to get the most out of their images; and international creativity coach Ian Summers' "Is Photography Your Calling?," which will help photographers expand their photographic vision. The day also includes a High Dynamic Range Workshop presented by Dan's Camera City; photography self-publishing workshop with Anderson, Film Noir workshop with Muller, and a special lunch presentation with nature photographer and former United Nation photographer Isaac, who has spent the past 13 years photographing nature and wildlife around the globe.

Professional, amateur and student photographers can have their work reviewed by photography industry leaders on Nov. 6 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and 2-4 p.m. as part of the InVision Portfolio Review. This year's portfolio reviewers include Terry Boddie, a member of the Board of Advisors for En Foco of New York, N.Y.; Mark Cohen; Bruce Katsiff, CEO　of the Michener Museum,　Doylestown,　Pa.; Judy Linn; Martin H. McNamara, Director of Gallery 339,　Philadelphia; Stephen Perloff; Sarah Stolfa, Executive Director of the Philadelphia　Photo　Arts　Center; and Ricardo Viera, Director/Curator of the Lehigh　University　Art　Galleries in Bethlehem.

InVision Photo Festival workshops and event tickets go on sale Friday, Sept. 23, 10 a.m., at www.artsquest.org and 610-332-3378. The 2011 InVision Photo Festival is supported in part by Canon, Dan's Camera City, SlideLuck, The Morning Call, PPL, The Holt Foundation, The Rider Pool Foundation and the County of Lehigh. For more information on the festival, please visit www.artsquest.org/invision.

To see full schedule of events, please Click here.

ABOUT ARTSQUEST

ArtsQuest™ is a Bethlehem, PA-based nonprofit dedicated to presenting music, arts, festivals, cultural experiences and educational and outreach programs that aid in economic development, urban revitalization and community enrichment. Through festivals such as its flagship event, Musikfest®; the Banana Factory® cultural arts and education center; and the ArtsQuest Center and SteelStacks™ arts and cultural campus, ArtsQuest's programming reaches more than 1.5 million people annually.

For more information on ArtsQuest, visit www.artsquest.org or call 610-332-1300.