| For Immediate Release | Contact: Richard Engel |
| Oct 13, 2004 | 412-681-5449 x204 |
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at Filmmakers Galleries (Pittsburgh, PA) — Pittsburgh Filmmakers will exhibit photographs and calligraphy by McKeesport native Duane Michals in the New Gallery from October 29 through December 17, 2004. An opening reception, with the artist, will be held on October 29 at 7:00pm. It is free and open to the public. Known for his narrative, sequential photography, Michals will exhibit eight images each from two new series, Jonathan Kills a Fly and Cavafy Imagines He is a Priest. The show will also include excerpts from The House I Once Called Home and his self-portrait, I Think About Thinking. Michals is known for his commercial work as well, including the cover art for The Police's Synchronicity LP, Life magazine covers, and fashion spreads for Vogue magazine. Michals is entirely self-taught and renowned throughout the world of art photography for blurring the lines between philosophy and photography. Born in 1932, Michals is the son of a steelworker father and full-time mother. He became interested in photography when he began taking Saturday afternoon watercolor classes at the Carnegie Institute. In 1953 he received a B.A. from the University of Denver, and went on to spend a year studying graphic design at the Parsons School. In 1958, Michals took a revelatory three-week trip to Russia with a borrowed camera, finding great commonality between him and America's "enemies," and beginning a narrative theme that would continue in his art work. By 1959 he had his first exhibition in the company of Gary Winogrand. By 1960 he was shooting for Esquire, Vogue, and Mademoiselle. Awards have been abundant, including a gold medal for photography from the National Arts Club in New York in 1994. Surrealistic and dream-like, much of Michals' work has explored gay themes. Recently the photographer has had to cope with the deteriorating health and death of his elderly mother, and has investigated these subjects in his recent work, some of which was collected in his McKeesport book of November 2003, The House I Once Called Home (Enitharmon Editions). Michals has more than 20 books of his works in print. Michals' place in the history of art is secure, and he shows no signs of slowing down. "It is no accident that you are reading this," Michals has written. "I am making black marks on white paper. These marks are my thoughts, and although I do not know who you are reading this now, in some way the lines of our lives have intersected... For the length of these few sentences, we meet here. It is no accident that you are reading this. This moment has been waiting for you, I have been waiting for you. Remember me." The exhibit at Pittsburgh Filmmakers' New Gallery is supported in part by Oxford Development Company, and will run concurrent with the Three Rivers Film Festival. Duaneland, a locally-made documentary about Michals will close the Film Festival on November 18, 2004. Opening concurrently, in Pittsburgh Filmmakers' adjacent Outer Gallery, is work from the Pittsburgh Signs Project. Pittsburgh Filmmakers galleries are located at 477 Melwood Avenue, North Oakland. The New Gallery's hours are Monday through Friday, noon to 5:00pm and during film screenings. The Outer Gallery' hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00am to 5:00pm and during film screenings. For more information, call 412-681-5449 or visit www.pghfilmmakers.org Pittsburgh Filmmakers, founded in 1971, is one of the largest and oldest independent media arts centers in the U.S. It is committed to the advancement of artistic excellence in film, video, photography and digital media, and accomplishes this with programs in education, artist services, and exhibition. |
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