A fine arts cooperative in Ithaca, New York
Admission to the gallery is free and open to the public.
Made possible in part with funds from the Statewide Community Regrants program from the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of the office of the Governor and NYS Legislature, and from Tompkins County; administered by the Community Arts Partnership of Tompkins County..
7 Responses
Joe writes that it is”not the single photograph, but the accumulation of a lifetime of work that interests me.” Perhaps not surprisingly, the images he submitted read to me as a personal journal. I think it’s a wonderful project to undertake, but not one that necessarily belongs in the gallery. They feel somewhat redundant to me and, I hate to say it, self-indulgent. (Again, totally great as a journal/personal collection.) Also, if his artist statement is what we have to assess his communication skills, I found the writing to lack accessibility and be a little rambling. On the other hand, he has an impressive CV and an extensive history as an exhibiting artist.
His statement is pretentious. Some people do not make art of any kind. That does not necessarily make their lives mundane. The body of work he is showing us is interesting, but feels kind of gimmicky. At the moment, I would be a “no” vote.
I’m not interested in this body of work.
Recently, I saw an the exhibition “Bloodline” by Meryl McMaster in Phoenic, AZ. Her work was truly ” dynamic and mysterious ” autobiographical photography. I’m afraid it has spoiled me and I can’t get excited about Joe Ziolkowski’s work. Also his images look much better on my computer screen than they do in the gallery. Whereas the size is intimate it also makes the work easily dismissed when viewed next to more compelling work.
Sorry to say, I have difficulty in “resonating” with these pieces… they do not move me. It also seems as though he has been a bit of a “butterfly” in his professional career; will he stick with the gallery for long if he becomes a member? I’m reserving a final judgement until we have had a chance to speak with him directly.
Seems to have an original vision for his work, although without seeing a greater range of his work, which I was able to get a sense of by looking through his books, it would be hard to see what is compelling about it. The work seems very competent, and is displayed in a manner comm ensurate with our gallery standards. My first thought seeing it on line was – what, another image of him in front of a background, but you have to look carefully and for more than a minute to see that there is something substantial being conveyed on an emotional level. The quality is atmospheric, and often compelling.I t is a little sad and wistful in some – that lone man against that huge landscape and in others there is something to be amused by. We are so used to seeing big images, that it is easy to dismiss smaller works that need to be looked at up close , but these are worth looking at, looking deep into the image. But – materials and technique – what’s up with what seems to be a photographer handicapping himself with a tiny pinhole camera and producing such a tiny image? but I guess it works. He has an impressive resume, the shows and accolades seem to carry the weight of established museums and institutions. he has been at this for a long time. lots of experience and skills which will be very useful to our gallery, if he is willing or motivated to put up with our procedures and tasks. I give him a yes, but I wish some sculpture would materialize.
Many skills and experience that would suport the gallery.