| Schoolhouse Press |
| Amy Arbus |
| The Schoolhouse Galleries PRESENT Amy Arbus / Paula Kotis NEW WORK Friday, July 16 - Wednesday, August 4 RECEPTION: Friday, July 16 7-10 PM AMY ARBUS PUBLIC TALK: Friday July 30th at 1:00 The Schoolhouse Galleries present new work from Amy Arbus and Paula Kotis.
AMY ARBUS was raised as an individual. Nothing about her childhood encouraged group identity. Her family didn't have religion, tradition, or politics per se. She had to get her Passover Seders and Sunday School lessons at her friends' houses. Despite the fact that her family is Jewish they celebrated Christmas minus the religious significance. As a city kid she was never a girl scout or a cheerleader and never had band practice. She envied the after school programs of suburban life. "I have always longed for the pomp and circumstance of ceremony. I love to see people all dressed up for special occasions. My heart skips a beat when I see a man in uniform. I'm both envious and mystified by anyone who sublimates their individuality in service of a group. I've been chasing public and private rituals for years, but it wasn't until I photographed the Easter Processions in Sicily last year that I acknowledged it as an obssession. I was transported back in time by the ancient tradition of reenacting the story of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection. It made sense to me that people en masse have a heightened sense of power, that they feel invincible, that they are are highly suggestible, and that their emotions can spin out of control." -AA This exhibition includes portraits of people in Oaxaca, Mexico at the Day of the Dead celebration, in Siena, Italy at the Palio horse race, in Norway on Constitution Day, in Sicily at the Easter Processions, in Pennsylvania at a Civil War Reenactment, in California at The Rose Parade, and in New Orleans at Mardi Gras. Also included are participants in an Irish Dance Contest, an Independence Day traditional dinner, at Flag Day, during Fleet Week, at an Indian Festival and in the Columbus Day, Saint Patrick's Day, Memorial Day and Puerto Rican Day Parades in New York City. It was never the intent to describe the events or tell a story, rather to find the individuals who, despite their best efforts to be uniform and just like the others, remain stubbornly, magnificently unique. |
| Paula Kotis |
| A native of New York City, PAULA HORN KOTIS studied psychology at Hunter College, graduating in 1943. She learned photographic skills from her father in his Upper East Side portrait studio. Immersing herself in this work and eventually taking charge of the studio, Kotis began to produce and receive notice for her own pictures. She studied the work of Henri Cartier-Bresson and others and commenced to produce a powerful body of photographs taken throughout Europe and in New York. Moving to Greenwich Village in the early 1950's her friends were actors, musicians, artists and writers. She collaborated on projects with the novelist James Baldwin and the poet Frank O'Hara, and photographed jazz greats including Sarah Vaughan and Charlie Parker. Her work has appeared in Vogue, Ebony, Arts, Evergreen Review and U.S. Camera. Paula Horn Kotis lives in New York City and Wellfleet, Massachusetts. For this exhibition Paula has worked with Curator and Schoolhouse Galleries Executive Director David David to select new color images from her portfolio.
The Schoolhouse Galleries are located at 494 Commercial Street in Provincetown's historic East End Gallery district. For more information and an interview with the a |
| Home | Current Exhibits | Galleries | |
| ARTShop | Media | Contact Us | |