The work of Washtenaw Community College photographic technology program students and graduates will be displayed in an exhibit titled “In Transit” at the Ann Arbor Art Center from September 15-30.
An opening reception and artist mixer will be held from 6-9 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 15, at the center, located at 117 W. Liberty Street in downtown Ann Arbor. Food and drinks will be available for purchase.
The exhibit was created through a partnership between the Ann Arbor Art Center, the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority's TheRide and WCC. It is driven by funding from Toyota.
The main exhibit includes more than 70 photographs. Select images will also be displayed inside the entire fleet of TheRide buses, as well as in "pop-up" spaces throughout Washtenaw County.
"Pop-up" locations include the City Gallery in Ann Arbor City Hall (Sept. 18-Nov. 3) and the Ann Arbor restaurant and beer garden Session Room (Sept. 18-Oct. 3).
THE EXHIBIT
"In Transit" is a compilation of four distinct photography shows, each curated by a different WCC instructor.
The “In Transit” exhibition title is most relevant to the black-and-white photography show curated by instructor Terry Abrams. Students in last winter’s Black and White Digital Imaging (PHO 129) class were tasked with producing images that relate to their concept of bus transportation in Ann Arbor.
“Students rode on buses, photographed bus stops, visited the AAATA bus depot for behind-the-scenes images and created photographs without buses, but using the light and subjects that may evoke the light of journey that one may experience as a result of using bus transportation,” Abrams wrote in his curator statement.
The other WCC student photography shows within the exhibit include:
Discoveries: A Selection of Work from Photography I. Curated by Jennifer Baker, this is a select group of work from first-year PHO 111 students. “Students discover the ability of camera angle to change one’s perspective, the power of light to transform, and the pure joy of the instantaneous capture of an image,” Baker writes. “This body of work represents the best of these inquisitive endeavors.”
WCC Campus Life. The “Campus Life Project” has been an end-of-semester assignment for Environmental Portraiture (PHO 216) students since 2007, generating a deep archive of publication-worthy images from which instructor Don Werthmann curated his favorites. Teams of students combine and take on the roles of photographer, lighting technician and location manager to illustrate one aspect of WCC campus life.
Composite Based Photography. Instructor Morgan Barrie notes that photography students are drawn to making composite images, which are constructed from two or more photos, but “it’s surprisingly hard to get it right.” This selection of student work Barrie curated demonstrates those that got it right through proper forethought, commitment and technical prowess.
Prizes will be awarded to the photographs judged to be the best in each curated show, and an overall "best of show" award will be granted. Each of the framed and matted prints will also be available for sale to the public.
All photographs in the exhibit were printed, matted and framed by Julia Gleich, who runs the production center at WCC.
Driven by Toyota and in conjunction with other area nonprofits, bus passes will be distributed to help people move easily throughout the moving, stationary, and pop-up exhibitions and provide increased access to other areas of the community.
More details are available on the Ann Arbor Arts Center website.