When Beth Yadamec operated at the Jeannette Town Library, she sometimes arrived early to invest a little time walking through the streets– and the alleys– of the city.
” There are video cameras all over Jeannette, and I have purple hair, and I frequently wondered if people glanced up and saw this chubby, purple-haired curator roaming through the city,” stated the Penn Town homeowner. “What did they think I was doing strolling around Jeannette so early on a Saturday?”
She was taking photos on her iPad. A collection of those images is consisted of in “Jeannette Unvarnished,” a photo display opening Saturday at You Are Here in Jeannette. Hours will be 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the gallery at 406 Clay Ave.
Also featured is the work of photographers Steve Parsons, Candace Kubinec and Kim Rentler.
” For the last number of years, our first program of the year has actually been straight about Jeannette,” said gallery co-founder Mary Briggs, who arranged the display with co-founder Jen Costello. “We’ve worked with all of these individuals before.”
A self-taught professional photographer, Yadamec stated she prefers taking pictures on her iPad, instead of the digital cam that was a gift from her partner.
” It’s a fantastic camera, but I didn’t use it due to the fact that it was a pain to publish the pictures,” she stated. “With the iPad it was instantaneous– open your modifying software application, boom, and go.”
Yadamec stated she discovers charm crazes that other people may not observe or believe are beautiful, consisting of the city decay of Jeannette.
” Jeannette as a city has a great deal of difficulties, however that does not mean there isn’t charm to be found,” Briggs said. “These images reveal the city as it really is.”
Apt title
” Jeannette Unvarnished” started out as an off-the-cuff, working title for the display, Briggs said, however the individuals chose it was apt.
” What you see in these pictures, and in all of art, is expected to be about reality,” she stated.
In addition to images of rundown or abandoned buildings, the exhibition also features pictures of neighborhood homeowners and gatherings, minute details and sweeping landscapes.
” It takes a look at Jeannette in all its real identity,” said exhibit coordinator Natalie Condrac. “Often people try not to acknowledge the no-so-good things, however this looks at the great, the bad and whatever in between.”
A reception is scheduled for 5 to 8 p.m. Feb. 11 in the gallery, including an hour-long ekphrastic poetry reading at its midpoint.
An ekphrastic poem is a piece blogged about a particular art work, said artist Stacey Pydynkowski, who is organizing the reading.
Poets include professional photographer Kubinec, Bart Solarczyk, Don Wentworth, Mary Ellen Raneri, Milo Wolverton and Tamara DiBartola, each of whom will present short-form poems responding to 2 of the pictures.
“The poetry is influenced by the visual imagery, so the work can be seen through another lens, permitting them to feed off of one another,” Pydynkowski stated.
Visitors will be able to purchase a booklet of the poems and photographs included in case.
“Jeannette Unvarnished” will run through March 11. Gallery hours are 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursdays, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays and Sundays by consultation. For details, visit yah406clay.org.
Shirley McMarlin is a Tribune-Review staff author. You can contact Shirley by email at [email protected] or via Twitter.