For immediate release June 22, 2011
For an exhibit July 18th – September 24th
Contact: Michele McKenzie (Phone: 510-981-6241)
Berkeley based photographer, Ilona Sturm, exhibits a collection of color and black and white custom prints representing the last ten years of her “street photography” at Berkeley Public Library’s Central Catalog Lobby, 2090 Kittredge at Shattuck, downtown Berkeley, from July 18th through September 24th. Sturm’s retrospective includes images of Europe, India and Mexico, as well as new work of London and Bay Area cities. Sturm treats the street as theatre; as photographer she serves as both participant and observer, moving through the urban environment capturing the living dynamics of vernacular culture on the streets. Sturm still works predominantly with film and the images in this exhibition have been captured and printed using traditional film and printing methods. Her work follows in the footsteps of American street photographers Diane Arbus, Helen Levitt and Gary Winogrand. Access to the exhibit is available during the library’s open hours: Monday 12 – 8; Tuesday 10- 8; Wednesday – Saturday, 10 – 6; Sunday 1 – 5.
Originally from New York City, Ilona Sturm has made the Bay Area her home since 1992. Her earliest memories of the vibrant street life of New York City in the late 1960’s inspired her to record the movement, spontaneity, and small dramas that one witnesses daily in urban public spaces. Her love and sensitivity to the energy that comes off the street has helped her to capture the zeitgeist of the various locations she has photographed throughout her career. Sturm is also a painter with a BFA from the Massachusetts College of Art. In 2009, she received a grant from the Stockton Arts Council to create a body of work entitled “Street Photography: A Portrait of Stockton” which exhibited at the L.H. Horton Jr. Gallery at Delta College. This exhibit was done in conjunction with a summer street photography workshop Sturm offered to Stockton youth. She is currently writing a collection of essays about street photography and the limits of digital photography. Her work is held in the Alameda County Public Art Collection and her paintings, murals, site-specific installations, and videos have been exhibited in the US, Europe, and Latin America.
All are invited to hear Ilona Sturm discuss her work and the significance of the genre of street photography during a FREE artist’s talk on Saturday afternoon, August 20th, at 2:00 pm in the Community Meeting Room on the 3rd floor of the Central Library.
Wheelchair accessible. Sponsored by the Friends of the Library. For more information, call 510-981-6100 or connect www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org
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