LEWISTON, Idaho – Words & Light, an ekphrastic exhibit featuring photography from three artists with poetry and descriptive stories, will open on Sept. 6 at the Lewis-Clark State College Center for & History, located at 415 Main St. in Lewiston.
An opening event will take place that day at 4:30 p.m. at the Center. An ekphrastic work is a vivid, often dramatic, verbal description of a visual work of art, either real or imagined.
The exhibition will include LC State Humanities professor Sean D. Cassidy presenting his floral photography and ekphrastic poetry exhibit “Flora Poetica.” The exhibit shows a flower’s beauty in its many appearances throughout its life cycle. Cassidy’s exhibit includes photographs and videos accompanied by ekphrastic poems by Claire Davis, Okey Good, Dennis Held, JD Mathes, Mark Sanders, Derek Sheffield, Kimberly Verhines, Ellen Vieth, and Robert Wrigley. Two photographs hanging in this collection are left without poems so viewers may share their poetic impression
Cassidy has spent much of his life traveling around the world, documenting his experiences through movies, videos, and photography.
RA Friedman is a photographer who works in New York City and maintains a studio in Philadelphia. Friedman brings his pinhole photography exhibit “Figurative Alchemy” to the Center and is this year’s LC State Humanities Division Rosehill Scholar. Friedman uses a primitive pinhole camera, making exposures that run into minutes, and prints that take months, sometimes years to resolve.
“I undo modern methods and bring the image-making process to a near crawl,” Friedman says. Friedman’s work utilizes digital technology and traditional photographic tools and techniques that connect with the history of the craft.
A pinhole camera demonstration by Friedman will be held Sept. 26 at 5:30 p.m. at the Center. Cost is $10 per person.
Boise photographer Chad Estes will be the third member of the exhibit and will bring his “Reveal Mission,” which is filled with compassionate photography and storytelling. Estes is an Idaho native who learned photography from his artist father, Dean Estes. Both use the same Nikon camera and took classes from the same photography professor at Boise State University 20 years apart. In 2011, Chad Estes started the Reveal Mission to bring together his passion for telling people’s narratives using portraits and written stories. In the fall of 2012, he held his first art show revealing the scars and stories of eight breast cancer survivors and warriors.
Chad Estes became dedicated to providing compassionate photography and storytelling art therapies for people with cancer, body image struggles, and life-altering experiences. He currently serves as Idaho’s lead ambassador for the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network, working on legislation for cancer patients and increased cancer research funding. He also serves as a hospice chaplain.
Words & Light exhibit is brought to the community through grant funding from ARTSIdaho and US Bank.
The Center for Arts & History galleries are open Tuesday-Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free but donations are welcome. For more information about the exhibitions or to schedule a docent tour, visit www.lcsc.edu/cah or call 208-792-2447.