‘Guns in America #12’ by Jeff Corwin is part of a fine arts photograph exhibit by Jeff Corwin at Step Gallery through Oct. 5. Courtesy photo
STEP UP GALLERY NEWS RELEASE
Jeff Corwin’s traveling fine arts photography exhibit “Guns in America” closes end of day on Thursday, Oct. 5. Step Up Gallery at Mesa Public Library is the sixth stop on a gallery journey including: the Holter Museum of Art, Helena, MT; the Bader + Simon Museum in Cincinnati, OH; the Contemporary Art Center of Peoria, IL; DragonFLY Creative Space, Chicago, IL and Echo Arts in Bozeman, MT.
The beautiful, yet disturbing images, are intensely colored photographs of carefully collected objects arranged like three dimensional collages. Each is a stage set, thoughtfully arranged and lit with the care afforded to a photographic portrait of an historical figure. Photographer Corwin assures the viewers that the images are not the result of computerized manipulations.
Gallery manager, Diane Stoffel, reports that visitors to the powerful and poignant exhibit often find themselves speechless after spending time viewing the show’s photographic images.
“Speechless is a good reaction, a reasonable and sane reaction” says Stoffel. “I’ve also noticed that young people who visit the gallery are taking their time to look at each photograph and sharing their thoughts with friends. They are, of course, deeply affected by gun violence, not only by participating in active shooter drills in school, but recognizing the increased threat to their own young lives. It has been widely reported that in 2022 the major cause of death among children, surpassing automobile accidents, is now by guns. I’m a Baby Boomer. Our biggest concern about going to school on a given morning was whether chocolate pudding would be on the lunch menu.”
This exhibit is garnering attention from both local Step Up Gallery attendees and Santa Fe’s The New Mexican’s Weekly Magazine of Arts, Entertainment and Culture PASATIEMPO. On Friday, September 15, writer Brian Sanford’s article Trigger Warning on page 20, provides an in-depth background and commentary for the traveling exhibit “Guns in America.”
Jeff Corwin gave a Gallery Talk at this show’s opening reception on August 24. A video of that Talk is available for viewing on Step Up Gallery’s YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/tq82cbpDelk
Step Up Gallery, 2400 Central Avenue, Los Alamos is open the same hours as Mesa Public Library: Monday – Thursday 10am – 8pm; Friday 10am – 6pm; Saturday 10am – 5pm; closed Sundays. Admission is free. For additional information on Jeff Corwin’s photography, please visit his website at https://www.jeffcorwinfineart.com/. For more information about Step Up Gallery, please visit its website at https://stepupgallery.org.