“My photographic interests are at polar opposites. On one side is urban decay and the other is a natural beauty of the surrounding landscapes” Ian Creitz
Opening June 30 in the Regional Artists Gallery at the Bennington Museum is Decaying Landscapes, works by Ian Creitz. Looking at both urban decay and the natural beauty of surrounding landscapes, the artist invites the viewer to see both through his lens. Although sometimes contrasting in content, both create striking images. The show will be on view until August 11. Visit with the artist on June 30 from 3:00p.m.to 4:30 p.m. in the Regional Artist Gallery of the Bennington Museum.
Always interested in photography, Creitz would find himself playing with cameras, binoculars, basically anything that would allow him to view the world through a lens. During high school, he took a course in black and white photography and film developing. Upon acquiring a digital camera, his exploration of the world through a lens became slightly more intensified, but it wasn’t until years later that Creitz realized the power of the camera by working with one in a manual mode. That along with studying composition, and the mechanics of photography brought the artist’s work to another level. Creitz remarks, “With my work thus far, I have tried to capture the contrast between natural and man-made to show how nature will ultimately overtake our own trappings when we leave them alone: out of crumbling walls come twisting vines; from floors, plants root and spring up; all about, bugs and small animals take residence wherever they can. In spite of this contrast, I hope to show how a similar beauty can be found in both my natural and architectural images.”“I have been fascinated by photography since childhood, when my father would let me borrow his old Minolta so I could take pictures around our property and in the village of Cambridge, NY. The idea of photographing locales distant from my hometown excites me, but I have found that there is nonetheless a wide array of interesting and highly photographable material within this relatively small radius: on the rolling hills around Cambridge can be seen numerous green and luscious farmlands, while farther away, in the cities of Albany and Troy, we find a mixture of buildings old and new, many dilapidated and crumbling, covered in graffiti. Cambridge itself is home to a few old-but-charming structures – most notably the old Mary McClellan Hospital, which I have shot extensively, both inside and out.” states the artist.
Most recently his work has been on exhibit at venues which include Southern Vermont Art Center, Manchester; Barret Art Center, Poughkeepsie, NY; Landscapes for Landsakes, Cola, NY; Cambridge Hotel, Cambridge, NY; and Cambridge Antique Center, Cambridge, NY.
