Photographer and author Penny Wolin will deliver an audiovisual lecture and exhibit work from her newest book, “Descendants of Light: American Photographers of Jewish Ancestry” at The Braid, the Jewish Women’s Theater (JWT) Performance Space & Art Gallery in Santa Monica on July 16.
For the past 25 years, Wolin has used photographic portraiture with oral interviews to research Jewish civilization in America. Selected silver-gelatin photographic prints from the collection will be on display at the Braid’s Art Gallery from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., followed by a reception at 6:45 and the art talk at 7:30. Copies of Descendants of Light will be available throughout the evening and Wolin will be on hand to sign and inscribe.
Following her multimedia lecture, a distinguished moderator will lead a discussion based on Wolin’s examination of the intersection between American Jewish culture and the art of photography.
For eight years, Wolin road-tripped across the country to discover why so many of America’s greatest modern photographers are Jewish. Their answers, based on interviews and archival examinations, and her own, are the subject of the evening’s talk.
JWT board member and event chair Lisa Rosenbaum explains, “JWT is proud to host one of our nation’s most notable artists as she shares her most recent book with our audience. Her beautiful presentation will further JWT’s goal of recognizing the accomplishments of contemporary Jewish women and sharing them with our community.”
Wolin’s book research consisted of interviews and historical examinations with more than 70 of the history’s most original American Jewish photographers, including Helen Levitt, Jo Ann Callis, Robert Frank, Arthur Tress and Annie Leibovitz. She made original black and white photographs of all the photographers she interviewed. She then re-photographed their heirloom ancestral photographs, dating as far back as the mid-1850s.
Additionally, she obtained permission to reproduce an important image from each photographer’s own created work.
Wolin’s audiovisual lecture showcases her full-screen photographic assemblage of each photographer and discusses their interviews, their ancestors and the stories behind their own works.
With these multilayered visual and verbal materials, she gives voice and vision to the photographers’ views on the nature of the photographic medium and its intersection with modern America.
JWT provides a home for the diverse and eclectic community of artists and creators who comprise L.A.’s Jewish women’s community. Both at its new home in The Braid theatre and art gallery in Santa Monica’s Bergamot Arts District, in intimate salons throughout the city, and on tour throughout the state, JWT stages and displays traditional and contemporary works that provide a forum for the development, performance and showcasing of Jewish talent
Admission to the Art Gallery opening is free. The reception and audiovisual conversation is $30 for adults. Other discounts may apply. For more information, visit http://jewishwomenstheater.org/the-braid.