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

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 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

An accompanying article and photos can be found at http://www.ktvb.com/news/Boise-photo-studio-reaches-out-to-military-families-this-holiday-season-74507827.html

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Designed to help bring a piece of home to soldiers around the world, the project is utilizing the talents of over 275 volunteer photographers across the country who are opening their studios this September, to offer free family portraits to military family members who have a soldier deployed overseas. The portraits will be uploaded to a website, http://www.pmdaportraitsoflove.com, and a print will be sent, free of charge, directly to the soldier in Iraq, Afghanistan, or wherever they are deployed around the world.  The goal of the project is to send 10,000 free family portraits during the month of September.

“This project is the photo industry’s way of giving back to our soldiers, and thanking them for the sacrifices they have made for our country,” said Jerry Grossman, the president of the PMDA who has spearheaded the effort. “Our industry is uniquely qualified to bring an important piece of home to our soldiers, and we’re pleased to be able to organize this effort.”

“It’s incredible how motivating a simple family photograph can be to a soldier who is far from home,” said Sergeant First Class Toby Nunn, who has served two tours in Iraq and has worked with Soldiers Angels on a number of projects. “This volunteer effort is one more way that we can help our soldiers cope with their situation,” he said.

The PMDA has asked photographers nationwide to volunteer their time and talent to take professional family portraits during the month of September. Military family members can find participating photographers living in their areas on a special website, www.pmdaportraitsoflove.com. Photographers are listed by state, and in order for family members to participate they will have to show a proper military ID to the photographer. The website was developed by Fujifilm, a PMDA member who has underwritten this effort, and SeeHere.com from Fujifilm is supplying the free prints to the soldiers and their families.

Those photographers interested in volunteering their time can also sign up online at www.pmdaportraitsoflove.com.

About PMDA

Founded in 1939, the PhotoImaging Manufacturers and Distributors Association (PMDA) has promoted the photo industry for over 70 years with an emphasis on photo imaging manufacturers and distributors.  PMDA provides an open forum for its members to exchange ideas and learn new technologies and business trends, in addition to administering programs that promote photography to the general public.  The member companies of PMDA have a box seat on the changing product and business developments of the photo industry and a unique opportunity to network with other industry principals and managers in the receptions preceding each meeting and special event. PMDA has also teamed up with the Photo Marketing Association to create the Photographic Information Council (PIC) to promote photography to the general public.  PIC’s website (www.takegreatpictures.com) provides great photo tips and techniques, celebrity photographers, contests, new product releases and projects. See PMDA’s site, www.pmda.com, for more information.