Little Faces exhibition makes a stop
at Clark Atlanta University as guest of

Prof. Belinda Peters

in NOVEMBER 2002



After all four first editions of the Little Faces / Caritas prints were either lost in 
the mail or had outlived their exhibitable life, I printed two more sets and the first 
of these went to visit Prof. Amy Holmes George in Texas and the second set went to Prof. 
Belinda Peters at Clark Atlanta University ... and that is the subject of this story!

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From: ADavidhazy 
Subject: Re: Little Faces Exhibition
To: Belinda Peters 
Date: 15-SEP-2002 10:04:19.20

Hi Belinda,

Wow! a blast from the past! :)  I am glad you remember the three days you
spent here as positive ones! 

What a nice note to get on a Sunday morning! I am amazed you found that little
project of mine! I'll be glad to get you an exhibit although at this time I am
not sure where the last remaining set is located - so in worst case I will make
you a fresh set.

The collection had a rather interesting "run" last year resulting in several
exhibitions and an article in a Argentinian magazine. Trouble was that three
out of the four sets are confirmed lost in action. The last set was making the
rounds in Panama and I have not heard of its status recently.

I am a little busy until the beginning of October but will try to make a set
available to you soon or during October sometime. Would that be OK?

Andy

Andrew Davidhazy,  Professor
School of Photo Arts and Sciences/RIT
andpph@rit.edu    www.rit.edu/~andpph   


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From: Belinda Peters 
Subject: Re: Little Faces Exhibition
To: ADavidhazy 
Date: 16-OCT-2002 06:05:30.02

Andy, The address is:

Belinda Peters, Associate Professor
Chair / Art Department
Clark Atlanta University
240 James P. Brawley Drive SW
Atlanta, GA  30314

I am really looking forward to getting your show. I do hope you are 
sending a "technical", "how-to", etc....to help with looking at the show.

Thanks, in advance,

Belinda

ADavidhazy wrote:
> Hi Belinda,
> 
> I have a set of images ready for you. Where should I send them?
> After you they will go to a high school in California!
> I will send you their address later.
> 
> I am a bit swamped right now so this has to be short. :)
> 
> cheers,
> andy

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From: ADavidhazy 
Subject: Little Faces Exhibition is on the way from Rochester
To: picasso@mindspring.com
Date: 26-OCT-2002 16:29:10.53

Hi Belinda,

Well, the collection of little prints was mailed last week.
Hopefully it arrives shortly. I had to send you a new set
printed in a bit of a hurry because one of the original sets
that was supposed to be traveling your way from Panama 
misteriously disappeared in transit.  :(

Oh, well, I hope these images give your students something
to think about and make them aware of a "different" way of
seeing "the portrait". I will assemble a record of this
stop in the global itinerary of the photographs so any
news, reactions by students, etc. would be welcome - but
is not required of course!!

And, if the experience was a good one then letting others 
know of this project would also be nice!

Once you are done with photos if you could let me know
and I will provide you with an address to where they
should be sent next, ok?

Well, that is assuming you get them in the first place!!

regards,

Andy

Andrew Davidhazy,  Professor
School of Photo Arts and Sciences/RIT
andpph@rit.edu    www.rit.edu/~andpph   

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From: Belinda Peters 
Subject: Re: Little Faces Exhibition is on the way from Rochester
To: ADavidhazy 
Date: 26-OCT-2002 19:59:22.02

Thanks, Andy...I am looking forward to receiving them and getting them 
up on the wall.

I will let you know of the reactions of the students, as they are going 
to have to write about them!

I do hope you are sending an "explanation" of sorts, with a bio maybe???

I'll let you know when they arrive.

Belinda....who is busily using my new printer (Epson 2200) to print out 
a calendar of images from my trip to Belgium and Venice, which I made 
in August.

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From: Belinda Peters 
Subject: Re: Little Faces Exhibition
To: ADavidhazy 
Date: 28-OCT-2002 20:45:04.49

Andy,
I received the exhibit today, Monday October 28, 2002. It was as good as 
opening a present at Christmas. I took the package down to a fellow 
faculty member's office, we opened it and spent a wonderful time just 
looking at the prints. I can't wait to get it up on the walls.

At present, we have an exhibition up, so this show will not go up until 
Monday of next week....November 4, 2002. I plan on keeping it up at 
least two weeks...maybe three if that is ok.

I will take it down, just before Thanksgiving and will be able to send 
it off to the next site. Just send me the address.

As I told you, I have a beginning class (depth of field...what's that?) 
class, so I will have them write about the show. There should be some 
interesting comments which I will forward to you.

Thanks so much for such a wonderful concept...small prints, easily 
shown. A no muss, no fuss show that is great! Now if I only had the 
budget to bring down the artist....

Belinda

ADavidhazy wrote:
> Hi Belinda,
> 
> I have a set of images ready for you. Where should I send them?
> After you they will go to a high school in California!
> I will send you their address later.
> 
> I am a bit swamped right now so this has to be short. :)
> 
> cheers,
> andy

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From: ADavidhazy 
Subject: Re: Little Faces Exhibition
To: picasso@mindspring.com
Date: 28-OCT-2002 22:44:03.83

Hi Belinda,

GREAT! Glad to hear it made it there in one piece. I think you got into the
"spirit" of what this is all about!  I "love" it!!

as far as a visit ... hmmmm ... lemme see ... something could be arranged if
housing is as no fuss and no muss as the prints, which it is as I am not too
particular having slept on a church pew once! - besides no fee/honorarium since
I already get a salary here .... hmmmm ... just got to get airfare - and a
couple of days!  - might be doable!!

have fun - and if it is productive so much the better!

:)

andy

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From: ADavidhazy 
Subject: Little Faces hanging 'round?! - note from Andy up North
To: picasso@mindspring.com
Date: 26-NOV-2002 22:46:55.31

Hi Belinda,

First of all Happy Thanksgiving! and a special thanks from me for playing along
with this little project of mine! I hope that you are well and that the plans
for the "hanging" (!) went as planned ... if not that is OK too ... this is
supposed to be a "low hassle" activity!

Anyway, I have identified the next stop on the route of this collection. It is
up north in Wisconsin! 

As you get ready to ship the images off to their next destination I would ask
that if you have a favorite one or two prints you'd like to keep that you do
so. Thanks for hosting them once again! Without your hospitality the idea would
not have taken off the ground!

So, once you are done with them I would like to ask you to send them on to
their next host. This will be:

  Judy Grochowski
  Greenfield High
  4800 South 60th ST
  Greenfield, WI 53220

her email address is: jgrochowski@wi.rr.com

Again, thank you very much and if you have any anecdotes to share that would be
nice to get but please remember this is not needed - low stress is the idea!!

cheers,

andy


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From: picasso@mindspring.com
Subject: Re: Little Faces hanging 'round?! - note from Andy up North
To: ADavidhazy 
Date: 27-NOV-2002 20:33:43.39

On Tue, 26 Nov 2002 22:34:11 -0500 (EST) ADavidhazy
 wrote:

> Hi Belinda,
> 
> First of all Happy Thanksgiving! and a special
> thanks from me for playing along
> with this little project of mine! I hope that
> you are well and that the plans
> for the "hanging" (!) went as planned ... if
> not that is OK too ... this is
> supposed to be a "low hassle" activity!

Everything has gone so well with your show, Andy.  I haven't received the
papers from my students yet, they are due December 9, but so far, they are
almost overwhelmed by your show. The questions come fast and furious, "how did
he do that? Why did he do that? Scanner, camera, printout...... They are so
surprised to see your work, but the best response has been from other faculty
members, both the art faculty and from the music faculty that have seen the
show. They all love it!

I hung the show under the umbrella of "low maintenance" and will forward to
you some digital pictures of the whole thing. I ðhungð the images with
pushpins (don't worry, not through the paper). and hung the iamges very
closely together. It was/is amazing to see the totality of work together like
that. I also hung the explanation of the show and other releveant material for
the class that was to review it.

All told, I've not heard one single negative comment. It has been such a good
response that you have given me ideas for my work. What a lovely end of the
year "gift" from you. 
> 
> Anyway, I have identified the next stop on the
> route of this collection. It is
> up north in Wisconsin! 
> 
> As you get ready to ship the images off to
> their next destination I would ask
> that if you have a favorite one or two prints
> you'd like to keep that you do
> so. Thanks for hosting them once again! Without
> your hospitality the idea would
> not have taken off the ground!

Oh, Andy, I will keep two of them if it is ok...I would love to have them and
will frame them and put them up in my office.
> 
> So, once you are done with them I would like to
> ask you to send them on to
> their next host. This will be:
> 
>   Judy Grochowski
>   Greenfield High
>   4800 South 60th ST
>   Greenfield, WI 53220
> 
> her email address is: jgrochowski@wi.rr.com

When the show is packed up and ready to go, I will not only let you know when
it leaves CAU, but I will also email Judy.
> 
> Again, thank you very much and if you have any
> anecdotes to share that would be
> nice to get but please remember this is not
> needed - low stress is the idea!!

I'll let you know when I read the papers from the students. The best responses
have been from conversations in front of the pictures from those that pass by
them. They have been most appreciated.
> 
> cheers,
> 
> andy

I am replying to your note from my in-laws house in Lugoff South Carolina. Our
daughter, her husband and two children drove down from Virginia to be here for
Thanksgiving. We are having a wonderful time!

Andy, I do hope your Thanksgiving is fattening! May you share it with family
and friends and may it offer your rest, respite and refreshment.  

Thanks again, and I will keep in touch.


Belinda Peters

PS I have been awarded a sabbatical next semester. I plan on not only taking a
class with Keith Smith at Penland School of Arts and Crafts in the summer, but
am looking into a class at the Visual Studies Workshop either in bookarts or
photography in the spring. When I make it up there, I'll give you a call and
maybe you will allow me to take you and your wife to dinner.

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Date: Mon, 06 Jan 2003 12:54:31 -0500
From: Belinda Peters 

Andy, Happy New Year (belated)!

I have plotted and planned to send you this email as a xmas present, 
but never got around to it. Gee the holidays went by so fast and 
furious, but I can only hope that your holidays were half a good as 
mine, for then I know you had such a wonderful time with family and 
friends.

Below, are some of excerpts of show reviews that were written by the 
Art 275 Photography I students. I had a small class this past semester, 
only about 18 students. These students are all non-photography or art 
majors and most have never used a camera before. Many buy their camera 
only after they begin class. Even though they haven't used a camera, 
they do seem to be pretty savy image-wise. I was fascinated by the 
reviews, for I didn't know how they would react to the work.

I took your "criteria" of a no-fuss show and hung (pinned) them close 
together. I think it made for an excellent presentation of the work, as 
I received a great deal of positive feedback from visitors to the 
department. Overall, your show was *my* hit of the fall semester. I 
truly appreciate the opportunity to share your work with our community. 
I kept out two prints from the show (THANK YOU) and forwarded the 
prints on to the next destination and received confirmation that they 
had arrived safe and sound.

I am on sabbatical now....wheeeeeeee! I will be in Rochester at the end 
of January to take a concertina book binding course from the Visual 
Studies Workshop. The workshop is on February 1 and 2. Might I take you 
out to dinner that weekend?

Just let me know....
Belinda Peters

"As I was approaching the gallery, the photographs looked bizarre and 
hideous. After carefully reviewing the gallery, the photographs were 
very interesting and fun to observe. The more I looked at the 
photographs, the more interesting they were. These photographs are very 
fascinating, they display the most vivid facial expressions and it is 
easy to decipher a personality in each photo."  ZQA

"My first impression of the exhibition was the informal way in which 
the photographs were presented. They were simply pinned to the wall 
with no frames or the sense of formality often attached to an art 
gallery or museum. This reflects the novel way and the relaxed 
atmosphere in which Davidhazy invited his subject to be photographed. 
It also makes them very accessible images for the public and allows the 
images to exist in their own right. The photos were aligned vertically 
and horizontally in symmetrical rows, acting like a wave in a 
wavelength, a beat in a rhythm and reminiscent of the actual process of 
rolling out the portrait by recording someone's features while 
revolving the turntable.

....The viewer is forced to observe their content on a closer level. 
The faces are recognizable yet the form is distorted and fluid, almost 
like a landscape, continually growing and being shaped by external 
forces. There is almost a painterly quality to the images with the 
variety of tones and textures where the skin appear to be stretched and 
modeled on to the canvas, or sculpted into clay. In particular, one of 
Davidhazy's photographs of a young man reminded me of the fifteenth 
century Renaissance artist Michelangelo's portrait of a figure on the 
ceiling of the sistine Chapel in rome because of the subtle and 
harmonious rendering of light and shadow, lack of rigid lines, and 
celestial quality of being something other than this world." JM

"Normally, it is customary for images (at least those made by amateur 
photographers), to depict the subject matter in a rather true-to-life, 
ordinary way. An effort to capture something in time, just as it is, is 
often the motivation of picture taking for many. Nevertheless, 
photography is also a manipulative entity in which the photographer has 
an intrinsic control and ability to transform the ordinary into the 
extra-ordinary, offer social commentary, or distort things in an effort 
to transcend conventional ideals of aesthetics. Photography Andrew 
Davidhazy has created such a process, in which a relatively ordinary 
subject, the human head, can be photographed in such a manner to alter 
one's perceptions of self and beauty." DH

"This exhibit really opened my eyes. It always seems like everything 
has been done and all you can do is recreate. Professor Davidhazy took 
a simple idea and created a whole new way to do photography. After I 
saw this exhibit, I was interested to try it myself. I used a scanner 
at school and rotated my head as the scanner scanned my face. It didn't 
look as polished as the ones in the show, but it was similar. This show 
definitely inspired me to always look for new ways to photograph and 
never settle for the same old thing."  JS




 

Thank you Belinda!


Andy