Courtesy photo
Courtesy photo
Mesa Public Library News:
Fine art photographer, Jeff Corwin’s “Guns in America” opens Thursday in Step Up Gallery at Mesa Public Library. Everyone is invited to attend the opening reception 5:30-7:30 p.m. Jeff will give a gallery talk at 6 p.m.
Artist’s statement by photographer, Jeff Corwin:
“After my father passed away in 2007, I came across 3 vintage handguns I never knew he owned. Torn between the fact they belonged to my father and my own feelings regarding U.S. policy on gun control, I decided to store them in a lock box and revisit the guns at another time.
In late 2012, the horrifying murders in Sandy Hook happened. It occurred to me then that I had never dealt with the guns and was ready to get rid of them. A friend suggested that I first photograph them.
In 2013, I lay the guns out on my studio worktable – and circled and stared at them for days, but I felt no emotional connection. After experimenting with strobes and different approaches in black and white, a square piece of rusty, painted metal with a round yellow flaking shape in the middle caught my eye. I placed a gun on top and took a test shot in color. It was then that something snapped, a sense of moving in the right creative direction. Hours were spent wandering antique stores and junkyards looking for props to build the mini sets for Guns in America. The lighting was a paramount component of the images: harsh illumination with loud, tweaked and saturated colors.
While the stark tones of the photographs in Guns in America undergird my conviction about the absence of sane gun policy in the United States, the photos speak a truth shared by many. The images are not subtle. Nor is the subject matter and the violence inflicted by guns every single day.
My intention in creating these images is not to dissuade anyone about the validity of the Second Amendment. A few people have commented to me that these photographs are a ‘problem,’ that I’m pitching for the government to ’take our guns away.’ What I am trying to do is bring an awareness to the need to save lives that are being taken in this country based on guidance that was provided 228 years ago. Things have changed.”
Step Up Gallery, 2400 Central Avenue, Los Alamos is open the same hours as Mesa Public Library: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday – Thursday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday; closed Sundays. Admission is free.
For additional information on Jeff Corwin’s photography, visit https://www.jeffcorwinfineart.com/. For more information about Step Up Gallery, visit https://stepupgallery.org.
Courtesy photo
Courtesy photo
Courtesy photo