MFA Photography Program Debuts Graduate Exhibition “Still, And” at Kellen Gallery
A documentary photography project that investigates environmentally compromised Superfund Sites in New York and New Jersey. A video installation that serves as a meditation on water as both entity and apparatus. A multimedia project that explores the history of our nation’s National Park system and the lands upon which they have been created.
All of these thesis projects, and more, are part of the new MFA Photography exhibition, currently on view at the Kellen Gallery until September 22, 2022. The works are from the graduating class of 2022, and represent a wide spectrum of responses to an increasingly complex world.
“These emerging artists draw from their observations, personal perspectives, and experiences,” said James Ramer, Program Director, MFA Photography and Associate Professor. “The work ranges from the extremely personal to the public and political. Within the works presented in this exhibition: we find clarity in abstraction, considerations of the real and the virtual, political propositions, personal reflections, and imagination.”
Various themes and subjects are present in multiple projects, which investigate and explore issues related to sustainability, representation, immigration, and more.
“The works the students created are quite singular,” shares Ramer. “I would hope that we see their concerns and challenges and feel their hopes and joy for the world. These young artists are gifted, reflective, sensitive, and committed. The show evidences how they refined their craft, confronted and overcame many challenges in their practice, struggled with the limitations of the medium and discovered its greatest potential. I especially hope we see the great potential of this generation of photographic artists.”
The MFA Photography program prides itself on training photographers who pursue a variety of different outcomes post graduation, and encourages them to find their own path in the creative conversation. The unique structure of the program favors customization over standardization in the curriculum, and gives students national and international exposure through global exhibitions, access to competitions, and more.
“We try to make opportunities for students to see the breadth of the field and to picture their place in it, from advanced technologies, to the most conceptual of the fine arts, to commerce,” says Ramer.
Isaiah Winters
Later in September, the program will be mounting an exhibition for the PIP International Photo festival in China, while a number of students will also be participating in the Bandung Student Biennial Exhibition, as well as additional international opportunities throughout the year.
