Art Map Burlington, March 2007

ART REVIEW

Pictures of Devastation:
Katrina Photographs at Spectrum OneStop

The last time this reviewer checked out Spectrum’s First Friday Art Walk photo exhibition it was summertime in Burlington. Season's change, however, turns leisurely First Friday Art walks in the spectacular Vermont summer into hurried sprints from one venue to the next.

New Orleans is a city that has, unfortunately, changed little since the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Brian Plisko of Spectrum Youth and Family Services and six of Vermont’s homeless or disenfranchised youth who benefit from Spectrum’s helping hand took a roving trip down to the Big Easy in January. They helped out and they brought back a photographic record of what they saw. Debuting during February’s First Friday Art Walk, the pictures from Spectrum’s trip to New Orleans will again be on display and for sale during March.

A former resident of the city, looking at the shots created by Brian’s six volunteer/photographers, found himself fighting back a visceral, emotional response to the scenes of unrelieved ruin. An in-ground pool, appealingly curled into a semiprivate back yard, is shown grown nearly over with moss and weeds. Pleasure boats lean against buildings, rest at road intersections, lie beached forever blocks away from the nearest waterway. Reconstituted business thrives frame left; the levee divides the shot down the middle; seemingly untouched devastation crowds frame right. Standing next to an interior door blooming with water damage, a Spectrum youth looks into the lens. Both the kid and the city have largely been left to fend for themselves. The subject’s eyes, however, suggest hope, and a determination to effect change.

Riding South in a rental van donated at cost, carrying four digital cameras, the group worked with a local organization named Hilltop Rescue from January 2nd to the 11th. Taking photos framed long days of hard demolition work. Some of the volunteers/photographers were initially put off by the Christian prayer with which local members of the group began their day. Putting their minds and lenses to the subjects at hand, however, was transformative. The larger picture of a city in crisis overpowered parochial quibbles. Photos made by the youths show Chalmette, Slidell and the Ninth Ward apparently frozen in neglected time, shabbily, dishearteningly stuck in August 2005.

The homeless and neglected youth who populate Spectrum’s welcoming environs have given of themselves in volunteer work, given Art Walkers the chance to share in their experience and bring home some art with a message: you can ignore crises. But the images, and the aftermath, remain.

LEE FREEMAN

Art Map Burlington ARTICLE
BACK
Untitled from Katrina Series 8”x10” digital image on photo paper 2007 Spectrum OneStop is only open to the public during First Friday Art Walk. CLICK HERE ...to read Lee Freeman’s August 2006 review of photographs from the youth at Spectrum One Stop. Spectrum Youth and Family Services One Stop 177 Pearl Street (802) 862-5396 x429 www.spectrumvt.org		ART REVIEW Pictures of Devastation: Katrina Photographs at Spectrum OneStop The last time this reviewer checked out Spectrum’s First Friday Art Walk photo exhibition it was summertime in Burlington. Season's change, however, turns leisurely First Friday Art walks in the spectacular Vermont summer into hurried sprints from one venue to the next. New Orleans is a city that has, unfortunately, changed little since the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Brian Plisko of Spectrum Youth and Family Services and six of Vermont’s homeless or disenfranchised youth who benefit from Spectrum’s helping hand took a roving trip down to the Big Easy in January. They helped out and they brought back a photographic record of what they saw. Debuting during February’s First Friday Art Walk, the pictures from Spectrum’s trip to New Orleans will again be on display and for sale during March. A former resident of the city, looking at the shots created by Brian’s six volunteer/photographers, found himself fighting back a visceral, emotional response to the scenes of unrelieved ruin. An in-ground pool, appealingly curled into a semiprivate back yard, is shown grown nearly over with moss and weeds. Pleasure boats lean against buildings, rest at road intersections, lie beached forever blocks away from the nearest waterway. Reconstituted business thrives frame left; the levee divides the shot down the middle; seemingly untouched devastation crowds frame right. Standing next to an interior door blooming with water damage, a Spectrum youth looks into the lens. Both the kid and the city have largely been left to fend for themselves. The subject’s eyes, however, suggest hope, and a determination to effect change. Riding South in a rental van donated at cost, carrying four digital cameras, the group worked with a local organization named Hilltop Rescue from January 2nd to the 11th. Taking photos framed long days of hard demolition work. Some of the volunteers/photographers were initially put off by the Christian prayer with which local members of the group began their day. Putting their minds and lenses to the subjects at hand, however, was transformative. The larger picture of a city in crisis overpowered parochial quibbles. Photos made by the youths show Chalmette, Slidell and the Ninth Ward apparently frozen in neglected time, shabbily, dishearteningly stuck in August 2005. The homeless and neglected youth who populate Spectrum’s welcoming environs have given of themselves in volunteer work, given Art Walkers the chance to share in their experience and bring home some art with a message: you can ignore crises. But the images, and the aftermath, remain. LEE FREEMAN

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