Professor’s Photographs of Strength, Love, Beauty, Pain
A flyer that
accompanies Madalene Spezialetti’s photo exhibit, “Strength Love
Beauty Pain,” explains that the pictures are untitled. “It is up to
the viewer to decide,” the handout reads. “Strength, Love, Beauty,
or Pain. Or perhaps a combination.”
The fifteen images
on display in Mather Art Space through February 24 offer an
interesting blend of human subjects and traditional Greek- and
Roman-style statues that stand out well against one another. “It’s
about trying to capture humanity, whether in live subjects or by
taking pictures of statues,” explains Spezialetti, an associate
professor of computer science. “Everyone has a different
interpretation of what they see when they look at other people. For
example, there’s a woman who is sort of fairy-tale beautiful, but
she looks so sad in the picture. So, what do you see—this very
beautiful woman, or a person who is very, very sad? Then there’s one
of a mother and her son. The mother’s certainly not classically
beautiful—she looks like a mother—but you can see her beauty just
because of the way she loves her son. It comes through in the
picture.”
Spezialetti says
that, while she started taking photographs in college, it’s only
been in the last few years that she has begun to take artistic
portraits. Still, she notes, “It really is just a hobby; it’s
something I like doing. My only gear is a camera.”
Although the
collection includes unmistakable elements of passion, Spezialetti
says it is just a coincidence that Valentine’s Day falls right in
the middle of the exhibition. “It was just serendipitous that it ran
at this time of year, but I’m happy that it did because part of it
is very romantic. But there are contrasts. As they say, there is a
fine line between love and pain, between sadness and happiness.”
Spezialetti is on
sabbatical this semester, developing strategies for using animation and video for
teaching computer science. “Strength Love Beauty Pain” is her first
show.
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