Wayne County Council for the Arts is pleased to present the exhibition “The Cinematographer’s Party” by Kevin Schoonover. This exhibit features fine art photographic images taken mostly in and around Wayne County, finessed to evoke a cinematic mood. From the solitary loneliness of a lighthouse in winter or a forgotten one-room schoolhouse in the overgrown weeds to the peeling paint of a rusty old boat on the Erie Canal and the ghostly emptiness of a deserted institutional courtyard, Schoonover uses his camera to reveal the inner beauty in the unlikeliest of subjects.
"There's a look to certain movies that fascinates me," Schoonover said. "Some films are just so beautiful, that any single frame could be hung on the wall. I am so moved by Terrance Malick's ‘Days of Heaven’, Julie Dash's ‘Daughters of the Dust’ and David Gordon Green's ‘George Washington’. Each has its own rustic, rural aesthetic that I find phenomenally gorgeous. I strive for that cinematic dreaminess in my own work. Most of my subjects aren't 'pretty' in the classic sense. But I find them endlessly alluring. There is beauty in sadness. And I'm transfixed by it."
A graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology's graphic design program, Schoonover served as executive director of Wayne County Council for the Arts in Lyons for five years and the Finger Lakes Regional Arts Council/Smith Opera House in Geneva for 10. In 2009, he and his wife, Mary, launched Flying Whale Studios, specializing in the creation of fine art photography, uniquely crafted holiday decorations, Finger Lakes specialty sculptures, graphic design, and grant writing and publicity for non-profit arts organizations.
A former Lyons resident, Schoonover lives in Geneva, he and Mary have two grown children and one overgrown garden.
In the Chris Fayad Members’ Gallery, Claudine Bartlett will present her oil painting exhibit.
“Since 2005 I have been painting oil ‘en plein air’. I keep doing it because I love being outdoors rain or shine,” Bartlett said. “The weather is sometimes the subject of the painting. The act of painting in front of the subject (as opposed to working from photos or memory) is my idea of the perfect meditation, a way to experience and celebrate the world around me. I have always enjoyed drawing. I sketch at restaurant tables while waiting for my order, at concerts, in parks and even in parking lots. Reviewing the sketches often lead to a revisiting of the scene to do a painting. My favorite subject is a landscape with a building or other structure. The relation of buildings to the space around them is a favorite theme. The contrast of the organic shapes of earth and plants with the geometric buildings, bridges, etc. is an evocative relationship. Ways to look at that relationship inspire me to keep on drawing and painting.”
Wayne County Council for the Arts is pleased to present the exhibition “The Cinematographer’s Party” by Kevin Schoonover. This exhibit features fine art photographic images taken mostly in and around Wayne County, finessed to evoke a cinematic mood. From the solitary loneliness of a lighthouse in winter or a forgotten one-room schoolhouse in the overgrown weeds to the peeling paint of a rusty old boat on the Erie Canal and the ghostly emptiness of a deserted institutional courtyard, Schoonover uses his camera to reveal the inner beauty in the unlikeliest of subjects.
"There's a look to certain movies that fascinates me," Schoonover said. "Some films are just so beautiful, that any single frame could be hung on the wall. I am so moved by Terrance Malick's ‘Days of Heaven’, Julie Dash's ‘Daughters of the Dust’ and David Gordon Green's ‘George Washington’. Each has its own rustic, rural aesthetic that I find phenomenally gorgeous. I strive for that cinematic dreaminess in my own work. Most of my subjects aren't 'pretty' in the classic sense. But I find them endlessly alluring. There is beauty in sadness. And I'm transfixed by it."
A graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology's graphic design program, Schoonover served as executive director of Wayne County Council for the Arts in Lyons for five years and the Finger Lakes Regional Arts Council/Smith Opera House in Geneva for 10. In 2009, he and his wife, Mary, launched Flying Whale Studios, specializing in the creation of fine art photography, uniquely crafted holiday decorations, Finger Lakes specialty sculptures, graphic design, and grant writing and publicity for non-profit arts organizations.
A former Lyons resident, Schoonover lives in Geneva, he and Mary have two grown children and one overgrown garden.
In the Chris Fayad Members’ Gallery, Claudine Bartlett will present her oil painting exhibit.
“Since 2005 I have been painting oil ‘en plein air’. I keep doing it because I love being outdoors rain or shine,” Bartlett said. “The weather is sometimes the subject of the painting. The act of painting in front of the subject (as opposed to working from photos or memory) is my idea of the perfect meditation, a way to experience and celebrate the world around me. I have always enjoyed drawing. I sketch at restaurant tables while waiting for my order, at concerts, in parks and even in parking lots. Reviewing the sketches often lead to a revisiting of the scene to do a painting. My favorite subject is a landscape with a building or other structure. The relation of buildings to the space around them is a favorite theme. The contrast of the organic shapes of earth and plants with the geometric buildings, bridges, etc. is an evocative relationship. Ways to look at that relationship inspire me to keep on drawing and painting.”
Claudine received her BFA from Syracuse Univeristy and MA from the University of Rochester. She currently resides in Fairport.
The show will be on view during regular gallery hours from Oct. 11 through Nov. 10 with an opening reception on Friday, Oct. 12 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Wayne Art Gallery hours are Thursday, Friday and Saturday, noon to 3 p.m. and by appointment. Admission is free. Visit these exciting exhibits and stop by our great Gallery Gift Store. Gift certificates are available for classes and gift store items. Wayne County Council for the Arts is located at 108 W. Miller Street, Newark. For more information, call 331-4593, email info@wayne-arts.com or visit www.waynearts.wordpress.com.
