The curator of the Annex 24 Gallery in Lancaster, PA really liked 2 of my portrait images and so I will probably exhibit those and entitle my exhibit “People, Places and Things”.  I am considering just showing black & whites.  (I have to admit that these 2 images are also top on my list of favorite captures)

Haunting

Beguile

I try to bring out an innocence as well as intrigue in my portraits.  There’s a delicate intimacy between the photo and the viewer.  Or maybe it’s me just reading between the lines.  It’s in the eyes.

Seal interrupted

My husband, Jene Youtt, contacted the Gallery and gave the curator my link so I have him to thank for initiating our group show.  His images are so dramatic in color that I am somewhat afraid that my  color shots will pale in comparison.   Not that mine aren’t as compellling, just that I am leaning towards an obvious distinction in our work and I am naturally drawn to the more subtle seduction of light and shadows in my B&W images.  I usually let the photo itself decide if it should be in color or B&W.  IMO some images are enhanced by the emotion of color becoming stronger in their message.  Others draw attention by pulling you in closer as if whispering in your ear, making it more intimate.  But what do I know?  Art is subjective, people like certain images for different reasons.

But before I forget to mention some NY kind of things, there’s the upcoming art fairs starting in March.  So put your walking shoes on and bring your credit cards.

SCOPE NY   March 8-11th  Scope Pavillion  57th & 12th Ave.  Stop by the Emmanuel Fremin Gallery booth B-12 (you won’t be disappointed)

The Armory Show   March 8-11 at Piers 92 & 94 (across from Scope Pavillion)

The Fountain Art Fair   March 9 – 11 at 69th Regiment Armory (68 Lexington Ave & 15th Street

AIPAD  March 29 – April 1st at the Park Avenue Armory

And don’t forget to catch Cindy Sherman at MoMa opening Feb 28 through June 11th

So much to do… isn’t NY great!

Mary Durante Youtt

I will be blogging about our photographic adventures in Hawaii on my other blogsite, click on the link:  “Flights of Fancy” if you care to follow along.  this is our first trip to Hawaii and other than the usual volcanoes, lava tubes, whale watching, crater rim excursions, we also plan to spend time relaxing on the many beaches; something Jene & I rarely get to do.

Barking Lizards Art |Design is a gallery with some of the finest art and art objects this side of the Mississippi.  Well this side of the East River for sure.  This month, the winter show (1/19 – 2/19) “A Celebration of Light” features artist Richard Drake.  His light sculptures become the focal point of any room.   To read more about Richard and his work click here.

Designed and created by Richard Drake

I’ve know Richard for many years now – he never ceases to amaze me.

His work is a reflection of his personality, there’s a whimsical, clever   side as well as intellectual which is evident in his creations.   Stop by and take a look for yourself, even the gallery design exhibits his attention to detail, creativity and design.  Working side by side with his wife, Wanda has enabled both of them to grow as artists.  Wanda Correa-Drake was by far one of the best mechanical artists and designers I worked with.  You really need to see some of her jewelry designs and ask if she has any hand made boxes -  that in and of themselves would make for a unique gift, especially for housing office supplies so much nicer than a metal tin for paper clips.

This is one of my favorite desk lamps.  The on/off switch is activiated by the small ball on the wooden base. It sits in a round depression and when moved into the other hole the light turns on.  And I was always intrigued by angles, cantilevers and balance.  This desk light has all the elements and is stunning.  I’m not sure if it is part of a private collection but you can stop by and find out.  The Celebration of Light exhibit  runs through Feb. 19th.

Barking Lizards Art| Design is located at

231 Bedford Ave (N. 4th St)

Williamsburg section of Brooklyn.

Gallery Hours Thurs – Sat  –  1:00  – 7pm

Sunday 1:00  – 4:00 pm  and by appts.

From Manhattan Take the L to the first stop in Brooklyn Bedford and 7th  then walk 3 blocks down to Bedford and N 4th.

I really need a better camera and am waiting for the Sony NEX-7 to arrive.  I put my name on the notification list at B&H.  It’s not that I want to stray from Canon but this one seems worth the wait.  It’s size makes it a great street camera and Zeiss makes a lens for it that I also want to get.

Back to the shoot.  For me it’s always a learning experience,  I look at how Jene shoots with strobes, something I rarely do since I don’t own any.  Jene was all hooked up with firing 3 strobes, plus a beauty dish for some head shots, while I relied on 2 hot lights with barn doors on dimmers and an overhead modeling light.  If I put the hot lights on full power, it really messed up the lighting for Jene and since this was his session and he was testing his 5D, MarkII for white balance after a few months back and forth at the repair shop, I didn’t want to effect his lighting.  James was looking to build his portfolio and was a trooper throughout all the lighting changes that Jene was making.  (The camera repairs were because of a plunge that Jene took into the Little Pigeon River during our venture in the Smoky Mountains National Park – frying his electronics). Hopefully all is back to normal with camera/lens.

Here are a few of my pics from that shoot – I need to color balance them but I’ll do that to the final cut after James gets a chance to select the images he would like.

James was easy to work with and was comfortable shooting with the two of us.  Playing to both our cameras.  Sometimes that can throw a person off, not knowing where to look – when, but he was at ease and I hope he likes what he gets.  I would like to shoot him with his partner, something that came to mind after he walked out the door.  I’ll ask him.

I love the human form, the way light and shadows fall upon it bringing out the contours of the landscape.  Those subtle nuances that are uniquely our own.

Heard back from James – he LOVES the images.  Yay!  He’s so cute and asked me what is my favorite cake is, Cakes Done Simple  a business he has started.

Thursday 1/6  6 -8pm.  Emmanuel Freimin Gallery will showcase Gisueppe Mastromatteo’s “Indepensense” at its  reopening of it’s new, larger Chelsea space.

Emmanuel Fremin Gallery

547 West 27th Suite,  Suite 508

With our summer project of restoring our 1970 Cougar Xr7 taking up most of our time and then our 4 week trip cross country, Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year’s behind us, we are coming out of our shells and promoting art, ours as well as others.

I need to revamp my website and add some new images,  MaryDuranteYoutt and hubby, Jene Youtt is looking to work on a couple of art projects as well.  One of his projects will require a little assistance from me and I am looking forward to the research part of it.  It will get us out and about in the city.  Of course in between, we interject life: family, friends, a house, a pied-à-terre and travel.

Seeking things to do that bring you in out of the cold is a good thing.  We did manage to get over to BAM for the Pina Bausch / Wim Wenders 3-D Pina film last week, which we both thought was incredible.  Jene’s work in theater lighting over the years helped develop his love of dance and of dancers.  It is so nice not to have to coerce a man into going to performances, as he is linked to many dance company sites and gets info on upcoming works.  His photography allows him to create that elusive moment in time and motion.  His propensity to share with me enabled me to create a few lovely images while on his set, and even when I wasn’t shooting, I was learning from him.  I learned how to steam wrinkles out of flowing silks and delicate crepes and saw how he set the mood with lighting.

There’s is that wonderful ethereal quality that captures the feel of the moment – one that is not stagnant which I love.  Jene’s dance images do the same for me although there is a different feel and quality to our images even when we shoot side by side.  The other difference was that he was shooting with strobes and I was using the modeling lights as my only source.    Sometimes I would catch his flash.  Mine were shot with a Canon Rebel and a 50mm lens.

His images below were shot with Canon 20D and a zoom lens.

Creating the images is half the fun, exhibiting your work is the other half.  Having admirers /collectors purchase them is an extra perk.

I wouldn’t mind being at a Sydney Hotel on the harbor to witness the Aussie way of ringing in the New Year.   Fireworks that rival Macy’s 4th of July spectacular display.   Or Vienna’s for that matter.  No matter how you celebrate,  Happy 2012, hope it’s a healthy, peaceful, prosperous beginning for everyone.

Wim Wender, Pina Bausch - Pina 3D

You can see a snippet on uTube  CLICK Here

3 D is not my favorite way to view movies, partly because my eyesight isn’t what it used to be and partly because it isn’t always sharp enough for my liking.  But the beauty of this movie took over and I didn’t notice any longer.  You are drawn into the 3D and I found myself surrounded by their movements.   Dance is such a wonderful expression and takes over where words leave off.  Three of my favorite pieces were the opening dance Rite Of Spring,  Cafe Muller  and Vollmond… who am I kidding – I loved them all.  Sensual and captivating are words that pop into my head.  Beautifully performed, filmed, edited – dance in the 3rd dimension.  WOW!

This movie is playing 4 times a day through Monday 1/2

and 3 times Tuesday 1/3 through Thursday 1/5 at the BAM Rose Cinema  $15 general admission but worth the price.

Click on the bold for uTube clips of the performances.  A must see.

© image taken off BAM's website Win Wenders' Pina Bausch 3-D film

Wim Wenders’ mesmerizing cinematic tribute to his friend Pina Bausch right here at BAM.

There’s so much to do in this neck of the woods – NYC and it’s boroughs.  Hopefully timing will work out and Jene and I will get over to Brooklyn this afternoon to see the 3-D film.   I’m not a big fan of 3-D glasses but I think this film will be worth the bother of wearing them.

The film runs from Dec, 12 – Jan 2  at 2:00, 4:30, 7:20 and 9:40 pm

Jan 3 – Jan 5th  at 4:30, 7:20 and 9:40  pm

A great way to sit back, relax and be dazzled.

Wednesday, my daughter and 12 & 13 yo granddaughters will be hitting the streets around midtown with Jene and I.  My sister and niece will join us all for some holiday touristy stuff.   And it will be nice to spend some time together.  I haven’t seen my niece since she went off to school and the girls haven’t seen each other since July.    I’m sure we will wind our way in and out of shops, grab a hot chocolate, see the bright lights of the tree and then have an early dinner somewhere before heading to the Jersey side and home.   It means a lot to me to share NY experiences with the girls, something I did with my daughter when she was young.

Of course this is one of the busiest times of the year for the city and if you don’t mind the hustle and bustle of the crowded avenues and stores, it can be exhilarating.  A light snow fall would make it more magical but with all this warm air it doesn’t seem likely.   Not that I want the chore of shoveling the mounds of white that we had last year, but a few stray flakes would be okay with me.

Currently running is an online photography auction that both Jene and I are participating in.  Bidding For Good website is hosting the first online auction that Friends Without A Border is holding.  This auction benefits the Angkor Hospital for Children.

Both Jene Youtt and I have donated prints in hopes of raising some needed funds.  In the past, our prints have sold at the annual Photography Auctions for over $500 each and it’s nice to know that the international collectors have our images in their personal collections.  Not to mention that their generosity might have saved a child’s life.  The bidding ends this Sunday 12/18 at 10pm… going, going, gone.  Don’t miss out!

Thursday : Dec. 15 from 6 – 10pm.  Emmanuel Fremin Gallery is the place to be.  Emmanuel and his lovely Mary Nguyen, along with ArtInMotion will be holding an gala event, “The Art of Beauty Experience” an art auction sale to benefit 2 charities:  The original artworks by orphans in Haiti and girls who have experience sexual exploitation in NY will help benefit The Diakonos Orphanage and GEMS.  The event will also feature a performance by Shontelle.
Come out, lend your support and mingle with some of NYC’s beautiful people.  You know – the ones with the hearts of gold.

Emmanuel Fremin Gallery      6 – 10pm.

547 West 27th  Suite 508   (in Chelsea)

Tis the season of giving.

Namaste.   Mary Durante-Youtt