Glenda Cinquegrana Art Consulting is pleased to announce:
Opening: April 6th, 2023, at 7.00 pm
from April 7th to June 3rd, 2023
From Tuesday to Saturday, from 3.00 to 7.00 pm.
Curated by Glenda Cinquegrana
“There are only a few images that are not forced to provide meaning, or have to go through the filter of a specific idea.”…”So-called ‘realist’ photography does not capture the ‘what is.’ Instead, it is preoccupied with what should not be, like the reality of suffering for example.”….”It is perhaps not a surprise that photography developed as a technological medium in the industrial age when reality started to disappear. It is even perhaps the disappearance of reality that triggered this technical form. Reality found a way to mutate into an image.”
“Perhaps our eyes are merely a blank film which is taken from us after our deaths to be developed elsewhere and screened as our life story in some infernal cinema or dispatched as microfilm into the sidereal void.”
Jean Baudrillard, Photography, or the Writing of Light, (2000)
Glenda Cinquegrana Art Consulting is proud to host the first solo exhibition titled The Memory Prism by the American visual artist, filmmaker, designer, and architect, Tim White-Sobieski.
The show is a unique combination of photography, light artworks, and stainless steel mirror-polished sculptures that offer an immersive and thought-provoking experience. It invites visitors to explore the deep connection between the human mind, history, and the responsibility we carry throughout generations based on the actions we take.
At the heart of the exhibition is the story of a young teenage girl, just beginning to understand her place in the world. Through her eyes, we see the power of stories and their impact on our perception of history, on both a personal and global level. The artworks on display are carefully crafted to reflect the complex relationship between the individual and history, inviting visitors to reflect on their own experiences and connections to the past.
The stainless steel mirror-polished sculptures play a significant role in the exhibition, reflecting and refracting light in ways that underscore the central theme of the exhibition. They remind us that as we reflect on the past, our actions and choices continue to impact the present and the future, affecting the generations to come. The mirror sculptures are strategically placed throughout the exhibition to reflect light, highlighting the essence of photography as a medium that embraces light, reflection, and analysis.
The light artworks in the exhibition are designed to create a dynamic and immersive environment that encourages visitors to engage with the artworks on multiple levels. The photographic series serves as a powerful illustration of the ways in which our perceptions of history are shaped by the stories we tell, and our responsibility to contribute to the world we inherit. The light of the artworks creates a dynamic and ever-changing environment, inviting visitors to interact with the space in new and exciting ways.
The term “self-reflecting” connotes a play on words, referring to both the philosophical theme of the art exhibition and the mirror-polished stainless steel sculptures in the exhibition. On the one hand, “self-reflecting” in a philosophical context refers to the act of introspection or examining one’s own thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. This type of self-reflection is often associated with critical thinking and analysis, as individuals engage in a process of self-evaluation in order to gain a deeper understanding of themselves and their place in the world.
Furthermore, the mirror-polished stainless steel sculptures in the exhibition serve as a literal reflection of the viewer. When a person looks at these sculptures, they see their own image staring back at them. This can serve as a powerful tool for self-reflection, as the viewer is confronted with a direct representation of themselves.
The use of mirror-polished stainless steel in the exhibition also adds another layer to the play on words, as the material itself is highly reflective and polished to a luminous shine. This furthers the concept of self-reflection, as the sculptures become a metaphor for the process of polishing and refining oneself through introspection and self-evaluation.
Overall, the play on words between the philosophical theme of self-reflection and the mirror-polished stainless steel sculptures in the exhibition creates a powerful and thought-provoking connection between the ideas explored in the artwork and the way in which viewers engage with the art. By using reflective surfaces to create a physical representation of the concept of self-reflection, the exhibition invites viewers to engage in a deeper level of self-exploration and introspection.
It is noteworthy to observe that the concept of the photographic series Confession, dedicated to teenagehood and the age of adolescence, is reflected in the studies of Jean Baudrillard- a French philosopher and sociologist known for his work on the nature of reality, media, and consumer culture. In the context of this photographic exhibition, Baudrillard’s quote speaks to the idea that photography, even when presented as “realist” or documentary, is always a construction of reality rather than a pure representation of it.
Baudrillard argues that photography does not capture the “what is” of reality, but instead focuses on what should not be, such as the reality of suffering. This is because photography, like all media, is a product of the culture and society in which it is produced. As such, it reflects the values, beliefs, and biases of its creators and audience.
In the case of this photographic exhibition, the staged photographs present imaginary circumstances in life, yet they are presented as if they are documentary. This blurs the line between reality and fiction and highlights the constructed nature of photographic representation.
Baudrillard’s second quote speaks to the idea that photography emerged as a technological medium in the industrial age – a time in which reality began to disappear. He argues that as reality became increasingly mediated and commodified, photography emerged as a way to capture and reproduce that reality in a new form – the image.
However, Baudrillard also suggests that this process of capturing reality in images was not simply a response to the disappearance of reality, but rather a trigger for it. The act of transforming reality into an image, he suggests, allowed it to mutate and transform into something new.
In visual analogy including the works Confession, Awakening, Closer To Fall, and other works from this photographic series, Baudrillard’s ideas suggest that the staged photographs are not simply a representation of reality, but a transformation and mutation of it. The photographs are not capturing the “what is” of reality, but rather creating something new out of the raw material of existence. In this way, the exhibition challenges our assumptions about the nature of photography and its relationship to reality.
Tim White-Sobieski, the artist of the exhibition, has deep roots in philosophy, and this is reflected in the thought-provoking nature of the artworks. He believes that the young, inexperienced mind of teenagehood is uniquely positioned to perceive the world with fresh eyes, unencumbered by the biases and preconceptions of experience. The exhibition is a celebration of this perspective and the power of art to engage us in meaningful philosophical reflection.
