Shadows in the Light
Mixed Media Assemblages by
Mary Anne Crowley
Reception : Sunday, July 21, 4-6 PM
Exhibition: July 17 – August 28, 2002
"I have always been fascinated by the way things look and work,"
says Mary Anne Crowley.
"Since second grade, I have been trying to sort things out by drawing,
painting, and photo-
graphing them, and writing journals. I enjoy the challenge of placing images,
paint, written
words, objects, and other palpable materials in such a way that the completed
piece tells a
story or creates a "feeling" when viewed. When I photograph, and when
I apply paint & raw materials, the subconscious spirit, emotions, and curiosities
are set loose, something special
and rare is allowed to happen. An urge takes over, grows and cultivates within
the soul and a permission to act out these feelings is given. I believe that
art offers one to do the unexpected,
to liberate caged hidden thoughts. ~To be yourself."
Crowley has an M.F.A. in photography from Savannah College of Art and Design
in Georgia. Previously, she was a one-year resident at the Maine Photographic
Workshops, Rockport, ME,
and worked as a videographer on Wilderness Rafting Expeditions. She studied
at Richmond College, London, UK, and achieved her B.A. in Advertising &
Marketing at Marquette University
in Wisconsin. She presently teaches Photography and Studio Arts at Bassick High
School, Bridgeport.
"In my teaching I try to impress upon the students the idea that making
art is potentially the
highest form of personal expression, that it allows one to communicate ideas
visually, and
test the limits of one’s creativity. Children should be stimulated to take risks
in the learning environment; creative expression and high levels of thinking
are essential in daily living.
The basis of my own work is primarily this visual expression of ideas about
subjects
that excite and interest me."
Crowley’s thoughts on the techniques of art making have indeed informed her
process of
creating these mixed media diorama assemblages, which incorporate impressions
which
are both clever and penetratingly profound juxtapositions of antique and common
objects.
Her ideas are carried to a level of high energy. Her assemblages have been shown
at Gallery 904
in Hamden, and Ec-lec-tic Art Gallery, Denver, and New Haven Open Studios.
Her advertisement creations adorn the rock group "Shine’s" 1998 CD
release, and have been displayed at New
Haven Hair & Skin and "La Ventana Abierta, in New Haven,.
The York Square Cinema Gallery
Gallery curator, Johnes
Ruta,
(203) 387-4933, azothgallery@comcast.net;
http://azothgallery.com/