It was several years ago on a flight to New York City that I was reading an article in the New Yorker about an exhibition of the photography of Eugene de Salignac. De Salignac was the photographer for New York City's Department of Bridges and Structures in the early 20th century. His work captured the city as it was growing around him. New York, during this era went through its major building boom and it was De Salignac that not just documented this growing monumentality around him but curiously the individuals that created it. It was years later that his work would be rediscovered in the city archives and eventually exhibited at the
Museum of the City of New York.
The photography of De Salignac like many other photographers after him work hard to capture the essence of their environment. They search for the perfect light, setting and mood, an epiphany of sorts, when everything comes together just to grab that perfect moment. The works of Ansel Adams comes to mind as does the recently discovered images of
Vivian Maier. Though quite different from each other these two photographers have the gift that so many strive for but few achieve.
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Unexpected Nevada @
The Nevada State Museum |
True shutter addicts live their work and no challenge is too great, it is this hunger to find that perfect moment that defines good photography from the mundane. Over the last several years I have watched a local photographer go to great lengths to capture his environment. Whether it is climbing the peaks that surround Las Vegas or travel to the deserts of Egypt, no place is inaccessible for Cameron Grant. In 2010 I assisted on an exhibition of his work about the temples of Luxor Egypt -
Sacred Spaces/Forbidden Places. His vibrant images of the temples left me amazed and wondering why his work is not hanging inside Las Vegas' own Luxor Hotel?
As a photo curator I am surrounded by photography and those who create it. When I gaze upon an image "I get it" and I can see what the photographer was attempting to do. When I look at the images that Cameron captures I see the passion he has for his craft and knowing his work intimately I have witnessed how it has evolved. Over the last several years he has amassed quite a repertoire of images which has culminated with an amazing exhibition of his works.
Unexpected Nevada currently on exhibition at the new
Nevada State Museum at the
Springs Preserve shows the breadth and scope of his work in the state. From Burning Man to Hoover Dam, from Downtown Las Vegas to the dramatic terrains of Nevada this show is not to be missed. Not to mention it is at the new state museum which only means this is a destination worth visiting.
The Nevada State Museum
309 S. Valley View Blvd.
Las Vegas, Nevada 89107
702-486-5205
The HDR Photography of Cameron Grant
http://www.thehighpoints.com
Nevada Public Radio
For more information on the Cultural Arts in Las Vegas please visit Nevada Public Radio. NPR has detailed listings of many cultural and civic events hosted by area non-profits click on this linkhttp://www.knpr.org/common/psa/listNEW.cfm and if you are planning an event in the next few months, be sure to get your free listing in Nevada Public Radio's Desert Companion magazine by submitting the information here at http://www.knpr.org/culture/eventaddnew.cfm
Brian Paco Alvarez enculturating Las Vegas into the millennium...
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