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confronted this U.S. president- Throooh
September.
Vhwl Art* BuMng,UGA North Cam-
pus (542-1511) — Selections by faculty
and graduate students through Aug. 31.
The Warehouse, 780 E. Broad St. —
Art from Bali and Indonesia. Wood, stone
carvings, and one of a kind art objects
through Aug. 4.
WBd Rabbit, 425 E. Hancock Ave. (353-
3802) — Featuring various clay artists
from around the Athens area, with pottery
demonstrations 1-3 p.m. daily July 20-
Aug. 3.
William J. Thompson Qailety, (JGA
North Campus (542-2467) - Ultramedia
presents ‘Ultra Retro Media Torch,’ a
group exhibition on display until Aug. 17.
Ay
©£7iev~
Athens-Clarfce County
Magistrate's Court, 325 E Washing
ton St (613-3311) — Artwork by Ginger
Gaut until the end of Juiy.
Athens-Ciarfce Heritage Founda
tion 489 Prince Ave. (353-1801)-Terry
Allen's photos of the history of the Ath
ens music scene, starting with 1978 and
the B-52s and continuing through the
present.
Caldwell HaH, UGA Campus-’Envi-
ronmental Design for the 1996 Atlanta
Olympics,’ featuring work of alumni in
volved with design of sports and public
area venues for the 1996 Olympic games.
Closes Aug. 4.
Classic Center Fire Hal, Thomas St.
(548-2112) — ’Images of American
South’
First American Bank, 300 College
Ave. (354-5000) — Artwork by Rainey
Gentry until the end of July.
Oeergia National Bank, Beechwood
location: 290 Alps Rd. (369-3000) - Art
work by Ro Gross till the end of July
Highland Mb VWage,166C Jennings
Mill Rd.. Bogart (353-8840) - Pain.mgs
by M.J. Jenkins until the end of July.
Athens Community Council on
Agbig, 135 Hoyt St. (549-4850)—Paint
ings by Jean Gibson until the end of July.
Office of Fred Young M.D., 740
Prince Ave. (3536700)—Artwork by Pam
Thrasher until the end of July
Athens-Clarfce County Probate
Court, Courthouse (613-3320) - Art
work by Bluett Pasche until the end of
July.
Reconlng for the Bind mid Dys-
iexic, 120 Florida Ave. (549-1313) —
Paintingr by Alex Perrodin until the end
of July.
A. Colombo
Art Patrol/Art Vine deadline is Tuesday
at noon: 112 S. Foundry Street at cor
ner ol E Broad downtown, Box 1027,
Athens, GA 30603. or call (706) 549-
9523, FA) r ’’•8981. Send photos ot
your work. Thanks: send more. The
more you send, the less we call!
Goekjian
■f you were putting together a museum exhibition of
130 years of great photography from the South, what
photographers work would you put on die posters com
memorating the show? Perhaps Dorothea Lange, Margaret
Bourke-White, Robert Frank, Walker Evans or Eudora
Welty?
These are just some of the 100 celebrated photogra
phers exhibited in “Picturing The South, 1860 To The
Present” at the High Museum of An in Atlanta. It’s the
largest photography show ever assembled in the South
east. None of those photographers, however, were chosen
for the exhibit poster.
That spotlight is reserved for Athens resident Karekin
Goekjian. His image of the Windsor columns in Port
Gibson, Miss., will give museum members their first taste
of the show.
Goekjian captured the image of the 29 Corinthian col- „
umns from a low angle with the focus on a comer column.
The adjacent rows of columns stretch back into the pnoto as
if the viewer is looking up at geese flying in formation. With
a few branches framing the foreground, the columns appear
much taller than their 45 feet.
The columns’ muted pink tones contrast with a royal blue
sky that might fool the unknowing viewer into thinking this
photo was taken during the day. Two Hues tell a different story
The leaves around the edge of the . hoto aie iit from un
derneath, and there are no shadows in this photograph.
Goekjian s shooting style combines the unusual with the
fundamentals of photography.
I only shoot during a full moon,” Goekjian explains.
That means 1 only have 12 or 13 nights a year to capture the
perfect shot. The exposures on my images last between 40
minutes and an hour and a half. I walk into the subject area
and use different flashes aiyl flashlights as brushes of light to
accent the subject.”
And how does he achieve the rich, full colors?
Goekjian ages his color film in a locked car for four years!
“Right now I’m shooting with vintage 1992 Kodachrome,’’
he laughs.
Goekjian reasoned tha his photographs are popular be
cause “they are all about light and light is the fundamental
principle of photography. I’m not trying to capture an ex
pression or news event.
“I don’t take the picture; I make the picture,” he says.
Making pictures of Southern ruins that encompass the
eeriness of times gone by with the romanticism of the old
South proved to be popular with museum curators at the High
Museum.
“Being selected for the show was a big deal, but being
chosen for the poster was a bigger deal,” Goekjian says.
The two images for the show were chosen by the cura
tors. The museum already had 12 of my prints in their collec
tion, so they picked Pandora’s Box, a ruin in St. Mary’s, Ga.,
and Windsor Columns,” he explains.
Each of the 29 columns at the Windsor ruins stand 45
feet tall and are all that remain of a plantation house that
operated as a hospital during the Civil War. Legend has it
that a careless smoker burned it to the ground in 1890.
“I drove so far for that picture,” Goekjian says. “People
kept telling me about this beautiful place in Mississippi. They
said, ‘You have to go to Windsor Ruins. Elizabeth Taylor made
a movie there! ’ 1 only shoot during the full moon and weather
e
is a big factor, but I decided to drive the 500 miles and hope for
good conditions. I worked 12-hour nights trying different things
and experimenting with the light. T he images I got were won
derful, so luminous and vibrant. Some of that is lost in the
reproduction on the posters, but that’s unavoidable.”
Goekjian’s attitude and passion for art landed his work
on the walls of the High Museum as much as the work itself.
W.th clinched fists and a knowing glint in his eye, Goekjian
says, “I’m the type of person that feeds off someone saying
no. They tell me I can’t do comething, bur I know if 1 want
something bad enough, it will happen.
“Art is for people and good art will survive. No one re
members what kind of house Monet lived in or the car Ansel
Adams drove. It’s the art they leave that matters. And this is
the ultimate,” Goekjian swipes his hand in a semi-circle,
pointing to the paintings hanging on the Tate Gallery walls
around him: “Well, a museum is the ultimate. To see your
work hanging on the walls in a museum is a feeling money
cannot buy.
The exhibit at the High Museum will run through the
1996 Olympic Games. Goekjian looks forward to the show
with an attitude of optimism and enthusiasm, sprinkled with
a dash of realism.
“When people come to the High to see my work, 1 don’t
care what they take from it. I’ve done what I’m going to do
with the art and they can do whatever they are going to do
with the art. They can yell at it or cuss at it. Or course,”
Goekjian gives a quick nod, raising his eyebrows matter-of-
factly, “if they enjoy it, that would be better.... The great
thing about this show is the timing. The Olympics. I can’t
imagine all the exposure this will bring.”
What does Goekjian hope all that exposure will lead to?
“Funding,” he says.
ror my next major project, I want to do a book focusing
on the Irish ruins and then one on the British ruins.... Even
tually, III travel to Greece, oh, and the Indian ruins are beau
tiful. Chinas ruins are wonderful.” Laughing, Goekjian says,
“I think I’m getting a little ahead of myself.”
As for the next 10 years, Goekjian says lie doesn’ f “even
look to tomorrow, much less the next decade.... 1 don’t take
tomorrow for granted. I don’t even take the next hour for
granted. You have to come up with a very rough plan of what
you want and then let life carry you. Good things will hap
pen.
Margaret Bell
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July 31, 1996