CLEARFIELD – An exhibit of the acclaimed “American Hands” photo project by Sally Wiener Grotta will be on display through Aug. 29 at the Joseph & Elizabeth Shaw Public Library.
On Aug. 11, Grotta will give two presentations at the library. At 2 p.m., she will lead a slideshow discussion for young people about seeing like a photographer.
Then, at 7 p.m., she will present a slideshow discussion about the American Hands project for the general public, sharing stories of the artisans she has photographed, and answering questions about the project and about photography in general.
Please call the library to reserve your space for the presentation. Both are free to the public.
ABOUT “AMERICAN HANDS”
“American Hands” (www.AmHands.com) is Sally Wiener Grotta’s award-winning visual celebration of those individuals who keep alive the traditional crafts that built our dynamically diverse culture and established the underpinnings of our present-day society.
In this ongoing project, she is creating narrative portraits of people who use their hands in traditional ways, making functional objects that are, today, typically done by machines.
Along the way, she spends time in a wide variety of artisans’ workshops – including a spinner, weaver, blacksmith, glassblower, bookbinder, rug-maker and many others – returning over the months and years, to follow the various stages of their creations.
Her easy style helps artisans warm to her camera, developing personal relationships that allow her to share in intensely private and often poignant creative moments, as well as spontaneous expressions of joy.
Her narrative series of portraits capture both the fascinating craft processes and the individual personalities of the craftsperson.
American Hands has been (and continues to be) exhibited all over the state, in both large and very small venues. An earlier version of the American Hands exhibit (called Pennsylvania Hands) was installed in the East Wing Rotunda of the Pennsylvania State Capitol Building, a couple of years ago.
State Senator Lisa Baker interviewed Sally Wiener Grotta for the “Focus on Pennsylvania” TV show at the exhibit. More recently, it was at the University of Scranton and the Northeast Branch of the Philadelphia Library, among many other venues.
To date more than 350,000 individuals have attended an American Hands exhibit. Other exhibits of “American Hands” are scheduled through 2017.
Grotta will also be giving lectures associated with the exhibits, visiting schools, senior citizen centers, community organizations and so forth. Eventually, it will be a book.
In the meantime, there are two publications: the American Hands Newsletter (which is free) and the first in a series of American Hands Journals (www.AmHands.com/Journal.)
Grotta welcomes invitations for exhibits and lectures, as well as suggestions of additional craftspeople. Please remember that her focus is on those artisans who practice the functional, concrete skills that were required by their community, rather than those that were done primarily for artistic purposes.
To contact Grotta, please use the contact page on her Web site, www.AmHands.com/contact or through the project’s Facebook fan page: www.facebook.com/AmericanHands.
The recipient of more than three dozen grants, “American Hands” has been adopted by the New York Foundation for the Arts (one of the nation’s most respected arts organization) under their fiscal sponsorship.
This exhibit of “American Hands” is supported by a Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts Grant from Galaxy and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and support from private donors.
ABOUT SALLY WIENER GROTTA
Photographer, digital artist, author, columnist and lecturer, all describe what Sally Wiener Grotta does. But to truly understand who she is, one must also apply the title storyteller to her list of accomplishments and achievements.
Whether it’s a picture or an article, a workshop or a book, her primary purpose, above and beyond communicating concepts, ideas and information, is to tell a good story that will entertain, amuse and enlighten.
“A global treasure” ~ Pat Schroeder, former U.S. Congresswoman Recognized by xRite as “one of the world’s top professional photographers,” Grotta has traveled on assignment all over the world, to every continent (including Antarctica several times), plus many exotic islands (such as Papua New Guinea).
Her pictures have appeared in numerous exhibits, scores of national glossy magazines, many books and various ads. She has published eight non-fiction books (on photography and travel). Her fiction includes the critically acclaimed novels “Jo Joe” and Locus Award nominated “The Winter Boy.”
In addition to various “American Hands” exhibits, other collective and one-woman exhibits of her work are scheduled through 2016. Her online portfolio may be viewed at www.pixels.smugmug.com and www.AmHands.com.
On the American Hands Facebook page, you can follow her adventures as she meets and photographs the artisans who are keeping traditional skills and crafts alive.
“Every once in a while great artists are able to transcend…. Sally’s vision is grand… [and]… reflected in the warmth she portrays, in the people she photographs and the world she captures…,” states Steven Rosenbaum, president of SIR Communications and former editor of Modern Photograp.
