MITThe Dean's Gallery
. . .
 
"Venice, San Francisco and Somerville"
Pictures by Mary Kocol

September 7 through November 7, 1996

Curated by Michelle Fiorenza


Venice. San Francisco, and Somerville are three cities I find to be visually remarkable. The liquid streets of Venice, the roller coaster hills of San Francisco, and the drama of the ordinary in Somerville are what inspires me to photograph. I am energized by the electric blue sky as evening approaches.

People are not obvious in the photographs, but they still inhabit and bring life to the pictures by driving through them, pausing in front of the camera, or by turning on their house lights. I think of my images like a movie still or a stage set - a place where a drama is about to unfold.

I am particularly intrigued by the drama of the ordinary. Familiar places transcend their ordinary context and for a short-lived moment, become something else. Moments, colors, and lights otherwise unseen by our eyes are brought to us through the magic of the timed exposure. Film can record the variable energies associated with the movement of light. During a long exposure, the film "remembers" the actions of light moving before it and saves these movements on one frame so that they are seen as if they occurred at the same time.

Color relationships occurring at dusk or the dynamic structure of a space may be my initial reason to photograph a place. I seek out the turbulent within the familiar, the unsettled within the comfortable. A house, backyard, or porch otherwise unnoticed can become theatrical and animated during nighttime illumination. I am attracted to the objects people place in and around their homes, the stuff they collect during their journey through life.

Go to the Dean's Gallery home page