Saturday, September 13, 2003

By Mary Thomas, Post-Gazette Art Critic

Two very good concurrent exhibitions at Pittsburgh Filmmakers and Silver Eye Center for Photography have more in common than the medium of the work exhibited. Fine art photographer Sue Abramson is exhibiting at the former, where she also teaches, and was guest curator for the show at the latter, where she is a member.

	"In the Backyard" is one of 24 black and white photographs by Pittsburgh educator and fine art photographer Sue Abramson in the exhibition "The Garden Inside" at Pittsburgh Filmmakers.

The exhibition at Filmmakers, "The Garden Inside," brings together four women -- Abramson, photographer Christina Labrise, artist Christina Worsing and writer Sherrie Flick -- who are friends and share a passion for gardening.

Abramson's explorations of her yard from a bug's-eye viewpoint are well known to those who follow photography, and the works here show a continuing refinement of that vision: Simultaneously confident and humble, assertive and demure. She's been working in this series for 12 years, and her commitment and close observation have resulted in a honed body of work in which the superfluous is eliminated to produce compositions that project beauty, often humor and not a little mystery through subjects that are often dismissed as mundane.

What makes this installation special is the way the other artists complement Abramson's intent, creating, as she puts it, "a surrogate space for those times when you can't be in your yard, [a place in which to] observe the garden inside." Chairs invite contemplation, conversation or perusal of handsome artists books by Worsing with Flick's text. In the outer gallery, Labrise shows pinhole photographs of plants; those in color, where the flowers fill the frames, are abstracted explosions of plant vitality.

The aesthetics of the eight photographers in "A is for Aperture: Photographs by Regional Educators" at Silver Eye are quite varied, making for an exhibition that, along with representing a number of institutions, coincidentally offers a lesson in the range of expression that currently falls under the rubric "photographic fine art."

With the magnetism of quiet elegance, Karen Antonelli's photographs, which have the delicacy of a graphite drawing, draw the viewer near. The artist, who teaches at Filmmakers and the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, reaches beyond the predictable with images that at first appear to be purely abstract but are actually details of the body.

Charlee Brodsky, of Carnegie Mellon University, also emphasizes details, but they are more recognizable. Her photographs of five members of a Girl Scout troop focus on a part of their heads that the girls have chosen. The accompanying comments by the children and their mothers lift the series from a formal exercise to a dialogue filled with self-realization and some poignancy.

Seven landscapes by Richard Stoner -- who teaches at Seton Hill University and Saint Vincent College -- offer opportunity to investigate the studied approach that his practiced eye brings to capturing the energy and pattern in otherwise unremarkable scenes. The 8- by 10-inch contact prints (derived from negatives of the same size) hold extraordinary detail. Like Abramson, Stoner's strength comes out of dedication and perseverance: The intimate, almost meditative knowledge of their subjects enlightens the conception of their images.

Kaoru Tohara's funky pun sculpture "Study: Palm Tree" (a prototype for a fiberglass realization) exemplifies the accommodation of photography within a three-dimensional work that is his signature, but he also shows two sensitively read portraits (one of artist Paul Binai) that are more noteworthy because the young artist, who teaches at Filmmakers, has deemed mature yet vital individuals worthy subjects.

Also contributing to a decidedly accomplished and rewarding mix are Angeliki Georgiou, Richard Hurst, Karen Kaighin and Jen Saffron.

"The garden revolution is in full swing, leaving behind all good intentions, leaving behind the master plan," writes Flick in "The Garden: Early July." It could be a summation of the creative acts of these -- and of all -- artists: The seed is planted and nourished, the wonder is in what comes next.

"Garden" continues at 477 Melwood Ave., North Oakland, through Oct. 12. Gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For information call 412-681-5449 or visit www.pghfilmmakers.org.

"Aperture" continues at 1015 E. Carson St., South Side, through Oct. 25. A commendable show of work by Darrell Matsumoto and Gary DeBerry is in the Members Gallery through the end of the month. Gallery hours are noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and until 9 p.m. Thursday. A discussion and a workshop will be held by New York photographer and author Harvey Stein Sept. 18 and 20, and Mark Perrott will conduct a workshop Oct. 18. The exhibiting artists will give talks beginning Sept. 25. For information or registration, call 412-431-1810 or visit www.silvereye.org.

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