Portraits of Love: Photographs by John Bentham and Rick Gerrity

 February 1 – March 15, 2012

Curated by Hyewon Yi

Opening Reception: Wednesday, February 1, 2012, 4pm –7pm

Lecture: Monday, February 27, 2012, 4:40pm – 6:20pm (Campus Center F114)

The Amelie A. Wallace Gallery at SUNY College at Old Westbury is pleased to announce a special

exhibition by two professional photographers, John Bentham and Rick Gerrity.

Portraits of Love  is a joint venture by PMDA (Photoimaging Manufacturers and Distributors Association) and the USO* to provide free portraits to families of deployed service members of the US military at holiday time. For the third year of this project, 2011, these New York-based photographers volunteered their time and skill, driving eighteen hours to Gulfport, Mississippi for the two-day shoot. Bentham and Gerrity photographed about forty families, producing over one hundred images. For this exhibition, seventeen individual and group portraits will be presented.

These portraits of children, from toddlers to teenagers, including three images that include parents, remind us of what is absent from so many of these families—the fathers. Dani , a little blonde girl, holds a Daddy Doll that bears a photo of her Marine father printed on the fabric; she takes it everywhere with her and even sleeps with it. Presented with broad smiles and dressed in their best holiday clothes, the children in these pictures deliver a message of love to their fathers (and sometimes mothers) overseas. One serviceman, shown holding his son upside down, was to be deployed to South Korea in a few short weeks. Children photographed with an American flag offer patriotic gestures. Two young mothers left behind are also shown smiling cheerily despite the lack of emotional and practical support that challenges them in the absence of their husbands.

 Behind this evidently loving presentation of playful children and faithful spouses is the reminder that large numbers of U.S. military service personnel are stationed overseas. Regardless of one’s view of U.S. foreign policy and the powerful cultural, social, and political impact that U.S. foreign bases have on their host countries, the challenges faced by the families left behind, many living on U.S. military bases waiting for the return of their loved ones, deserves understanding and compassion. Although it is not conspicuous in this project, the shadow of anxiety and tragedy hangs over military families. In addition to combat deaths in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the cost of mutilated bodies and psychological injuries is tremendous. As just one indication, the U.S. Army reported record high suicide fatalities for 2011. This exhibition hopes to raise awareness and promote discussion of such topics.

 The photographers employed traditional studio portrait techniques that include full-body, waist-up, and three-quarter profile portraits shot in a temporary studio. John Bentham used mostly dark backgrounds for his sitters, creating a deeper receding space behind each model. Gently directed children show an awareness of Bentham’s camera, through which he captures the vulnerability of the young ones and theawkwardness of the teenagers. Bentham portrays these young individuals with dignity, offering the viewer a naturalness akin to the sensibility of August Sander or Diane Arbus. Employing a white background, Rick Gerrity opted for more lighthearted moments in which the children were free to express playfulness among themselves. The performative aspects of Gerrity’s sitters were brought out by his sense of humor and inventiveness as their poses suggest a lively interaction between sitters and photographer.

John Bentham (b. 1959, Toronto; working in New York since 1991) is an award-winning photographer specializing in documentary and portraiture. His images have been widely reproduced in periodicals andbooks. As his particular interest is in sub-cultures, he has documented a diverse range of subjects,including biker rallies, burlesque dancers, Native American powwows, drag queens, and underground NYC clubs. He was named A Photographer to Watch by Kodak, and in 2009 was awarded one of only twelve coveted slots in the Magnum Photos portfolio review. Bentham has garnered accolades from Nikon, Magnum Photos, Photo District News, and The New York Times. He has exhibited in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto, Paris, Tokyo, and Prague.

Rick Gerrity (b.1954, Newark, NJ; lives and works in New York and New Jersey) has been photographing professionally over the past twenty-five years, specializing in people, products, and locations throughoutthe U.S. and Canada. Gerrity has documented bikers in the tradition of iconic figures Danny Lyon and Hunter S. Thompson. A motorcyclist since age seventeen, Gerrity utilized, to some extent, the participant observer approach to record the lives of the bikers. Gerrity’s twenty-one year-old son, Marine Lance Corporal Ryan Gerrity , is serving his second combat tour in Afghanistan, a connection that makes Gerrity’s participation in this project all the more poignant.

A reception to mark the opening of Portraits of Love will be held between 4:00pm and 7:00pm on Wednesday, February 1, 2012. The exhibition remains on view through March 15, 2012. Gallery hours are Mondays and Wednesdays between 12pm and 7pm; Tuesdays and Thursdays between 12pm and 4:30pm; and by appointment.

The lecture  is scheduled for Monday, February 27, between 4:40pm and 6:20pm in F114 Campus Center. The photographers will discuss their works accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation.

Canon and Gilbert Displays generously donated the printing and mounting of the images.

For further information about Portraits of Love , please contact Gallery Director Hyewon Yi at yih@oldwestbury.edu or 646-421-5863. Please visit our gallery Facebook page or follow us on  Twitter.

For directions to the College, see the link here. For a map, please click here

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* The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO ) is a private, nonprofit organization that provides morale and recreational services to members of the United States military.

 By Tim Barribeau – September 22, 2011 – PopPhoto.com

l ©Nathan Johns

The holidays can be a particularly difficult time of the year for military families who have loved ones deployed overseas. During a season when families gather together to share festive meals or excitedly exchange presents, military families find one seat empty at the dinner table or one gift left unwrapped. It’s a physical and, for many, a painful reminder of the great sacrifices our military and their families make each day. For the past two years, the Portraits of Love project has worked to provide military personnel with a small reminder of home during the holiday season, while giving their families one more way to show their love and appreciation. Portraits of Love supplies free family portraits that can help lift up members of the military in ways that only photography can accomplish, and sustain them through the hardest weeks on the calendar.

Families participating in this project were able to schedule a free portrait session at their local JCPenney Portraits locations or independent photography studios to receive a free portrait sheet ….. 

http://demystifyingdigital.com/Photo-Industry-News/Portraits-of-Love-Project-PMDA/index.aspx

Connecticut Professional Photographer Regina Ceryak was interviewed on WFSB-TV’s Better CT show on November 30th about her experience as a volunteer photographers for families of soldiers as part of the PMDA’s Portraits of Love Program. 

 To see the video clip, click on the link:
http://www.wfsb.com/betterct/25957929/detail.html

About the PMDA Soldiers’Angels Portraits of Love Project

The PhotoImaging Manufacturers and Distributors Association (PMDA) has teamed with the Soldiers’ Angels volunteer organization to create the PMDA Soldiers’ Angels Portraits of Love Project. The goal of the Project is to provide 10,000 U.S. soldiers around the world with portraits of their families and loved ones this holiday season, taken by the incredibly talented photographers within our industry. What better way to make our soldiers feel at home than by providing them with a beautifully photographed and printed portrait of the ones they love and miss the most?

The PMDA Soldiers’ Angels Portraits of Love Project will help soldiers create their own private world – one in which when they lay down at night, in the barracks, in the tents, or wherever they are, they can gaze upon their loved ones. At a recent PMDA Person of the Year dinner, Sergeant First Class Toby Nunn spoke about the incredible motivation a simple photograph can provide to a solider away from home. We are looking to use the strength and commitment of PMDA member companies to help support this Project and provide the men and women defending our country with a piece of home during these difficult times.

PMDA has designated the months of September, October and November to set up photo shoots and gather soldiers’ families at JC Penney’s Portrait Studios, on military bases and in photographer’s studios across the country. We are working with individual photographers to set up these locations. The goal of the project is to create 10,000 portraits of soldiers’ families and to send these portraits to the soldiers overseas and to their families here in the United States in time for the holidays.

The PMDA Soldiers’ Angels Portraits of Love Project is the imaging industry’s way of giving back with gratitude to the men and women who defend our country each and every day. We wish to thank all of the participating photographers and JCPenney Portrait Studios for their enthusiastic support of Portraits of Love.

For more information about the PMDA Soldier’s Angels Portraits of Love Project visit: http://pmdaportraitsoflove.com/

With Veterans Day just around the corner, here are several ways that folks are supporting these courageous men and women of our Armed Forces, including ideas on how you can make your impact. 

Throughout November the Portraits of Love Project is offering free portraits for families of deployed US military personnel in over 250 locations across the country. Coordinated by the PMDA, a photography trade organization, the Portraits of Love Project is aiming to ship 10,000 free family portraits to deployed troops in time for the holidays.

http://yourlife.usatoday.com/mind-soul/doing-good/kindness/post/2010/11-1-2/How-to-support-our-troops-this-Veterans-Day-2010/8106/1

Olympus Visionary Eli Reed is going to Fort Hood with PDMA Portraits of Love to take free family portraits to send to deployed soldiers around the globe this holiday season.

Whether he is on a movie set photographing celebrities, in the White House with Barack Obama, or leading classes at the University of Texas at Austin, Olympus Visionary and Magnum photographer Eli Reed is capturing history— and making it—with an Olympus camera in hand….
http://www.photoclique.com/2010/11/olympus-visionary-eli-reed-at-fort-hood-for-pdma-portraits-of-love/

TEMPE, Ariz. – If you have a loved one in the military who will spending the holidays away from home, you can sign up to get free family portraits sent to them.

FOX 10′s Jayme King has the details. Watch this video clip to see how the Portraits of Love Project helps a family create a portrait for their loved ones in the military.  Click on this link: http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/morning_show/portraits-of-love-jcp-10122010

For more information about the Portraits of Love Project, click on the link below: http://www.pmda.com/2010/09/pmda-launches-2010-portraits-of-love-project-2/

Woodbury, NY October 5, 2010 – The PhotoImaging Manufacturers and Distributors Association (PMDA) today announced that it is calling for volunteer studio photographers throughout the country to participate in its annual Portraits of Love Project, which offers families of deployed military free portraits for the holiday season. Photographers who volunteer their time will be asked to photograph families stateside and then upload the images to FujiFilm’s SeeHere.com, from which prints will be shipped free of charge to both the family and deployed military personnel. Interested photographers can sign up through the Portraits of Love Project website at: http://www.pmdaportraitsoflove.com/.

Launched through a joint effort between the photography industry organization PMDA and Soldiers’ Angels, a grassroots volunteer organization serving military families, the Portraits of Love Project provides professional photographers, photo enthusiasts and portrait studios an opportunity to use their talents and resources to show their appreciation for those serving abroad. The PMDA’s nationwide network of volunteer photographers will be asked to open their studios to military families from October 1, 2010 through November 30, 2010. All images will be printed and shipped to overseas personnel in time for the holidays.

“Last year we had more than 400 photographers host portrait sessions for military families on bases and in studios throughout the country,” said Joellyn Gray, President of the PMDA and Director of Marketing at FUJIFILM. “This year we hope to expand the effort and help deliver a small taste of home to those deployed overseas during the holiday season.”

This coast-to-coast volunteer effort represents the second phase of the 2010 Portraits of Love Project. The initiative kicked off in early September with event sponsor JCPenney Portraits opening all of its studios to military families for free portrait sessions. In its continuing effort to bring military families and photographers together, the PMDA will also be organizing on-base portrait sessions on various military installations. For a complete listing of participating local photo studios, and more information on the participating bases, families and photographers are encouraged to visit the Portraits of Love Project website.

As a 70-year-old, highly respected photo industry organization, the PMDA brings together some of the most recognized brands in the photography community with the common interest of sharing the impact photography has on society. In addition to JCPenney Portraits, sponsors of the 2010 Portraits of Love Project include: Canon, FUJIFILM, Nikon, Olympus, Sony, SanDisk, Roxio, Bonnier Technology Group, Digital Photo Academy, Photo Industry Reporter, SeeHere.com. For more information on the Portraits of Love Project, or to find a listing of local participating photography studios, please visit: http://www.pmdaportraitsoflove.com/, or check out the Project’s Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/portraits.of.love.

About PMDA
Founded in 1939, PMDA provides a series of forums throughout the business year for its membership to exchange ideas and learn about new technologies and business trends, in addition to administering programs that promote photography to the general public. Monthly programs and symposiums feature leading photo and imaging product suppliers and retailers, as well as financial analysts and technical experts. The PMDA teams with the Soldiers’ Angels volunteer organization to create the Portraits of Love Project, with a goal to provide 10,000 U.S. soldiers around the world with free portraits of their families and loved ones during each holiday season. The organization has also teamed with PMA International to produce www.TakeGreatPictures.com, a site created to help American consumers find meaningful ways to incorporate photography into many aspects of their everyday lives, while helping them to make intelligent decisions about buying new cameras and accessories.

Woodbury, NY September 13, 2010 – The PhotoImaging Manufacturers and Distributors Association (PMDA) today announced that JCPenney Portraits has joined its 2010 effort to send 10,000 free family portraits to deployed military personnel this holiday season as part of its annual Portraits of Love Project. Military families can provide their deployed loved ones with a reminder of home during the long, especially difficult holiday season by visiting any JCPenney Portraits studio through Oct. 31, 2010, to take advantage of the free portrait and free shipping to their family members’ overseas military address.
Launched through a joint effort between the photography industry organization PMDA and Soldiers’ Angels, a grassroots volunteer organization serving military families, the Portraits of Love Project seeks to provide professional photographers, photo enthusiasts and portrait studios with an opportunity to use their talents and resources to show their appreciation for all those serving abroad. In addition to the in-store sessions, beginning October 1, 2010, the PMDA’s network of volunteer photographers will open their studios in communities throughout the country to military families. For more information and a listing of local studios, please visit http://www.pmdaportraitsoflove.com/.
“We are all so grateful for the dedicated service of our troops who serve in harm’s way around the world,” said Joellyn Gray, President of the PMDA and Director of Marketing at FUJIFILM. “Last year’s inaugural Portraits of Love Project was a wonderful opportunity for the photography community to join together to give a little something back to our deployed military members and their families. Having the participation of more than 500 JCPenney Portraits studios nationwide will help us make the project that much more accessible to families this year.”
To take advantage of the free portrait offer through JCPenney Portraits, families of deployed, or soon-to-be-deployed, personnel can schedule a free family portrait session at their local JCPenney Portraits studio. Before they visit the studio, family members can print a copy of the Portraits of Love offer from the JCPenney Portraits website (available at http://jcpportraits.com/offers/portraitsoflove.html) to present along with their military ID. Families can then select their favorite traditional portrait sheet from the session to keep for themselves and choose a second portrait sheet to be sent directly to their loved one overseas (APO address is necessary). As soldiers often prefer the portability of a pocket-sized portrait, families can choose from any of JCPenney Portraits’ 10×13 or smaller traditional portrait sheets. To find their nearest JCPenney Portraits studio, families can visit: http://www.jcpportraits.com/scheduling-a-sitting.aspx.
A longtime, respected photo industry organization, the PMDA brings together some of the most renowned brand names in the photographic community with the common goal of sharing the impact photography has on our society. In addition to JCPenney Portraits, sponsors of the 2010 Portraits of Love Project include: Canon, FUJIFILM, Nikon, Olympus, Sony, SanDisk, Roxio, Bonnier Technology Group, Digital Photo Academy, Photo Industry Reporter, SeeHere.com. For more information on the Portraits of Love Project, or to find a listing of local participating photography studios, please visit: http://www.pmdaportraitsoflove.com/, or check out the Project’s Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/portraits.of.love.
About PMDA
Founded in 1939, PMDA provides a series of forums throughout the business year for its membership to exchange ideas and learn about new technologies and business trends, in addition to administering programs that promote photography to the general public. Monthly programs and symposiums feature leading photo and imaging product suppliers and retailers, as well as financial analysts and technical experts. The PMDA teams with the Soldiers’ Angels volunteer organization to create the Portraits of Love Project, with a goal to provide 10,000 U.S. soldiers around the world with free portraits of their families and loved ones during each holiday season. The organization has also teamed with PMA International to produce www.TakeGreatPictures.com, a site created to help American consumers find meaningful ways to incorporate photography into many aspects of their everyday lives, while helping them to make intelligent decisions about buying new cameras and accessories.

The PhotoImaging Manufacturers and Distributors Association (PMDA) today announced that JCPenney Portraits has joined its 2010 effort to send 10,000 free family portraits to deployed military personnel this holiday season as part of its annual Portraits of Love Project. Military families can provide their deployed loved ones with a reminder of home during the long, especially difficult holiday season by visiting any JCPenney Portraits studio through Oct. 31, 2010, to take advantage of the free portrait and free shipping to their family members’ overseas military address.
http://www.photoclique.com/2010/09/pmda-launches-2010-portraits-of-love-project/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Photocliquecom+%28PhotoClique.com%29