Barnes Gallery of Garden City to Host Exhibition of Photographic Works by Garden City Resident Dr. Robert A. Scott, President of Adelphi University

Barnes Gallery, located at 2 Nassau Boulevard in Garden City South, is pleased to announce a month long exhibit of photography by Dr. Robert A. Scott, president of Adelphi University.  The eclectic collection includes photographs taken on Long Island, Maine, St. Thomas, Italy, France, South Africa, and China. The exhibit will open February 1, 2013 and continue through the month. 

The pictures are not only a record of a visit but also a source of memories.  For example, while the initial goal in South Africa was to see the “Big Five”—elephants, rhinoceroses, lions, leopards, and Cape Buffalo—as well as hippos, giraffes, and others, he and his wife quickly realized that the greater goal was to see these and other animals at play, in the hunt, cuddling, and at rest.

Dr. Scott’s photography has blossomed in the last several years, with multiple exhibits, pictures sold at auction, and a photograph published in Sculpture, Edwina Sandys’ retrospective of her art through the years.

In some ways, this interest in photography as art and for exhibit, in addition to its role in family albums, started in 2008 with the urging of a friend to enter an amateur exhibit in New York City with four pictures, “Georgica Estates Picnic Table,” “Amagansett Sunset,” “Annapolis Evening Lightning Bolt,” and “Early Morning Annapolis Sunrise.”  That year, he also printed greeting cards using a photograph of Adelphi alumnus Jack Dowd’s “Happy Birthday Andy” sculpture on campus, which was sold in the campus Barnes and Noble store to raise funds for student scholarships. 

“Amagansett Sunset” became a wine label, created by Adelphi staff for alumni and the celebration of Dr. Scott’s 10^th year as president.  It also became the focus of a statement on photography and decision-making in Adelphi Magazine, in which he commented on composition, content, focus, illumination and emotion as the essential ingredients for both photographs and decisions.

In China, he became fascinated by the faces of elderly Chinese women and then the faces of women of all ages, young children, and mature men.  He saw affection wherever he looked:  old with young, lovers holding hands, families gathering being photographed in front of shrines.

In these gatherings and crowds, he saw faces: a beggar woman, a cleaning lady, an elegant grandmother, a young woman with children, a boy sleeping against a political poster, and a tourist from outside the city resting his feet, with shoes put to the side.  During his stay, as he pondered the pictures he had taken, he began to question his motives.  Why did faces hold such a fascination?

The answer, he realized, was already known.  The face both reveals and conceals.  It bears one’s essential vulnerabilities.  We gain trust by showing our face. Older faces are marked by character: images of tragedy, courage and depth of soul.  “A face, in the end, is the place where…mind becomes an image,” said Elkins.  We know that it takes fewer muscles to smile than to frown, but difficulty uses the face, and we see results, whether in a mirror or another.

The exhibit will begin on February 1, 2013 and continue through the month.  The gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., closed Sunday and Monday. The exhibit is open to the public.  There will be a reception with the artist on Tuesday, February 12, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. All are welcome, but RSVPs are encouraged to 516.538.4503. Refreshments will be served along with live jazz.

About Barnes Gallery: Barnes Gallery has been offering custom framing services for about 40 years. Owned by Gregory Schnoor, Barnes Gallery works with customers to bring their creative vision to reality.  Barnes also carries a selection of paintings and prints, traditional frames, antiques and some home décor items. Find out more on the Barnes Gallery Facebook page.

About the Artist: As an artist, my progression to photographer has been an evolution of expression.  I am a writer, an orator and a sometimes poet, and have crafted a style that is often more narrative than rhetoric. With a keen awareness of the visual, my philosophy of writing is based in sculpture, and involves creating a mass of text and shaping its ultimate form. Considering the written word as sculpture has reinforced my interest in visual shapes.  I have taken many pictures over the years, but not with artistic intent until more recently.  When I began to take photography more seriously, I experimented and sought advice. I never sought to take a picture for an exhibit, but always thought about its aesthetic value: its composition, focus, story, illumination and emotion.  A major objective in my work is to find a singular expression of some human value that can be considered timeless. I believe that good photographs, like good decisions, require timing; proper lighting; color and texture; design; and a willingness to experiment and experience failure.  A good photograph, like a good decision, is not an isolated event, but part of an unfolding story.  It evokes a larger context, while drawing attention to a particular moment—much like a good decision.  My photography is part of an evolution of expression from speech through the written word to the visual image.  Each phase required leaving a comfortable place, trying something new, and facing failure, finding an opportunity for growth through challenge.  This is my continuing goal.

The works in this exhibit will be available for sale and proceeds will benefit the Adelphi University Scholarship Fund.  Learn more about Dr. Scott and his role as President of Adelphi.