Carriage Barn Arts Center

Artist Lecture: “A Passion for Process: One Artist’s Journey through Photographic History”

Exhibiting Artist Thomas Mezzanotte discusses how the History of the Camera and Photography informs Process

Thursday, January 29, 2015
6:30 pm – Wine reception
7:00 pm – Lecture

NEW CANAAN, CT, December 28, 2014 — The Carriage Barn Arts Center, Editor’s Pick of Moffly Media’s Best of the Gold Coast, is hosting an artist’s lecture on the evening of Thursday, January 29th, entitled “A Passion for Process: One Artist’s Journey through Photographic History.” The talk will be given by exhibiting artist Thomas Mezzanotte. A $10 fee for members; $15 for non-members includes a wine reception at 6:30pm, followed by the lecture/discussion at 7pm.

In this lecture, the artist will discuss the history of the camera and optics dating back to the 11th century and the history of photographic processes dating from the late 19th century. Mezzanotte will describe how his work has been informed by his study of that history: “I build my own cameras. Whether it’s a two inch pinhole camera or a room sized camera obscura, it allows me the freedom to examine aesthetic possibilities that were always available to photographers, but due to cultural constraints were never considered desirable.”

Alongside works from Mezzanotte and 75 other contemporary photographers, The 35th Annual Photography Show: History and Process includes a display of vintage cameras as well as early photographs, such a daguerreotypes and tintypes. The show was juried by Robert Gurbo, Curator of the Andre and Elizabeth Kertesz Foundation in New York.

Registration required: www.carriagebarn.org.
RSVP by January 28
$10 members; $15 non-members
The talk is sponsored by the New Canaan Community Foundation.

About Thomas Mezzanotte

Thomas Mezzanotte has been exploring the potentials of the photographic medium for over 35 years. Educated at the University of Bridgeport, Mezzanotte became the director of the University’s Carlson Gallery in the 1980’s. As a Connecticut Commission of the Arts Master Teaching Artist, he conducts workshops at schools across Connecticut and at universities across the country. His work has been exhibited at many galleries and museums around the United States including NY University, the Santa Fe College of Art, The Elizabeth Leach Gallery in Portland, Oregon, George Eastman House, the John Stevenson Gallery in Chelsea, NY and at the William Benton Museum in Storrs, CT. Mezzanotte has received numerous grants and awards including three individual artist grants from the state of CT and a Director’ Choice Award from the Edward S. Moore Foundation.

About The Carriage Barn Arts Center

The Carriage Barn Arts Center, located on 681 South Ave., New Canaan, Connecticut, is the home of the New Canaan Society of the Arts. The mission of the New Canaan Society for the Arts, Inc., is to promote the visual and performing arts and to enrich the community through exhibitions, education, and cultural experiences, and to operate the Carriage Barn Arts Center. It offers artists opportunities to exhibit their work in an exceptional gallery space in a unique nineteenth-century stone barn. Exhibits, lectures and educational workshops, concerts and other events are held in this adaptively reused historical building on the grounds of a former estate, now Waveny Park. In 2014 the Center received the Editor’s Pick of Moffly Media’s Best of the Gold Coast. More information about the Center and the current exhibit can be found at www.carriagebarn.org.