The Bathers by Jennette Williams (foreword by Mary Ellen Mark)
(Hardcover, 71 pages)
Duke University Press.

Jennette Williams is the winner of this year’s Center for Documentary Studies Honickman First Book Prize for The Bathers, published by Duke University Press. The Bathers illustrates the lifestyle of the women in the bathhouses of Budapest and Istanbul. These platinum palladium photographs reveal a private world of shameless beauty, femininity and sensuality. Light and steam render the flesh of the female body in an elegant painterly manner. Soft tonality and luminescent highlights provide a dreamlike, almost otherworldly depiction of the dignified women bathers.

Williams’ photographs possess both a documentary and portraiture mentality, causing the images to be informative as well as evocative. Aside from the figures, the viewer experiences the architecture and workings of the bathhouse, a place of communal cleansing and relaxation. Some images are mostly occupied with flesh, while others are filled with the ambiance and landscape of the interiors, allowing one to experience both the grandeur of the space and the totality of the event. The photographs recall and continue the tradition of the nude female form in art, ranging from ancient Western European sculpture to paintings by such artists as Ingres, Titian and Lucian Freud. The fact that the photographer is a woman provides an interesting twist to this historical reference and provokes inquiry.

The primal notion of community and gathering together unaffected by nakedness for the simple act of washing is quite instinctive. The perfectly imperfect bodies, the range of ages and the need for people to continuously bathe conjures up ideas of transience, fragility and carnality. On the most basic level, however, the images serve as a celebration of the body and existence as a whole.

Review by PRC Intern Tara Sellios.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16

Rhode Island School of Design
Bradley McCallum and Jacqueline Tarry.  TC Colley Lecture Series:  7pm.  Metcalf Auditorium, Chace Center, 20 North Main Street, Providence, RI.

THURSDAY, MARCH 18

13Forest Gallery
Alone | Together: Jeffrey P. Heyne and Dorthea Van Camp. Artist Talk and Reception: 7-9pm. 781-641-3333. 167A Massachusetts Ave., Arlington, MA 02474.

Cambridge Art Association
Digital Darkroom Techniques for Artists. Presenter: Alice A. Shafer. Food and Social: 7pm, Program: 7:30. 617-876-0246. Kathryn Schultz Gallery, 25  Lowell St., Cambridge, MA 02138.

FRIDAY, MARCH 19

South Shore Art Center
Mixed Media juried by Gretchen Keyworth. Opening Reception: 6-8pm. 781-383-2787. 119 Ripley Road, Cohasset, MA 02025.

SUNDAY, MARCH 21

Fitchburg Art Museum
Kenro Izu– Bhutan: Sacred Within.  Artist Talk and Book Signing: 3pm.  978-345-4207.  185 Elm Street, Fitchburg, MA 01420.

Kenro Izo lecture and book signing
Bhutan: Sacred Within
FITCHBURG ART MUSEUM

Sunday, March 21, 1 - 3 p.m.

Japanese born photographer, Kenro Izu will discuss his artistic process and travels in the little-known country, Bhutan.  Izu’s pictures, taken over a decade, depict Bhutan’s majestic mountains and valleys; monasteries, from which the country is governed and schooled; and portraits depicting across-section of the kingdom’s society including King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck (1999 graduate of Cushing Academy, Ashburnham, MA); Buddhist monksand novices, families and children.  Izu focuses on the Bhutan’s timelessquality of life that holds its own in the 21st-century world.

Free with Museum admission.

TUESDAY, MARCH 9

Griffin Museum of Photography
Miles to Go: Portraits of Elite Senior Athletes. Artist Reception: 7:30-8:30pm. The Cambridge Homes, 360 Mount Auburn St., Cambridge, MA 02138.

Wednesday, March 10

The Paul Dietrich Gallery
Building Geometries: photographs by Peter Vanderwarker. Artist reception: 5:30-7:30pm. 5th floor of Cambridge Seven Associates Inc. 1050 Massachusettes Ave., Cambridge, MA 02138.

THURSDAY, MARCH 11

Photographic Resource Center
Julie Blackmon. Lecture: 7pm.  617-975-0600 . Boston University Photonics Center, 8 St. Mary’s St, Boston, MA 02215.

Museum of Art @ The Rhode Island School of Design
Drawing Out of Line. Gallery Talk: 5:30pm.  401-454-6500 . Chace Center, 20 N. Main St, Providence, RI 02903.

Roslindate Arts Alliance
Nature Inspired by Any Joyce. Artist Reception: 6-8 pm.  617-710-3811 . Bangkok Cafe, 25 Poplar Street, Roslindale, MA.

The Gallery on the Plaza at NEiA
Wanderings on the Schoodic Peninsula: A Photographic Journal by Ruth Ginsberg-Place. Artist Reception: 5:30pm.  617-582-4617 . 10 Brookline Place West, Brookline, MA 02445-7295.

FRIDAY, MARCH 12

Robert Klein Gallery
Julie Blackmon. Artist Reception: 6-8pm.  617-267-7997 . 38 Newbury St. 4th Floor, Boston, MA 02116.

Pierre Menard Gallery
Souls: Photographs by Gerard Malanga. Reception: 5:30-9pm. 10 Arrow Street, Cambridge, MA 02138.

SATURDAY, MARCH 13

Clark Gallery
Head On. Opening reception with the artists: 4-6pm.  781-259-8303 . 145 Lincoln Road, Lincoln, MA 01773.

Collins Cinema, Wellesley College
New England Self-Fashioning: Portraits and Presentations, 1700–1950. Lecture: 9 AM – 5 PM.  781-283-2042 . 106 Central Street Wellesley, MA 02481.

The Little Gallery Under the Stairs
VOICES: Mothers Who Create. Gallery Talk with Gallery Director, Jocelyn Almy-Testa: 2pm. 25 Exchange St, Lynn, MA 01901.

SUNDAY, MARCH 14

Griffin Museum
Adventure Photographer: James R. Holland. Discussion: 3pm.  781-729-1158 . 67 Shore Rd., Winchester, MA 01890.

ENDING IN MARCH

Conversations With Nature. Central Path Acupuncture, 732 Moody Street, Waltham. www.maureencotton.com

Over the next few weeks the PRC Blog will feature the artwork of our talented and hard-working interns.  If you or someone you know is interested in interning at the PRC, please contact us at prc@bu.edu.

Christina Laboissonniere, Emerson

Here is what Christina has to say about her work:

These photographs are from a recent body of work titled: Buttons, a study of form and function.
As a photographer I often find myself fascinated by common, mundane objects and their ability to be transformed through the art of photography. By examining the form, texture, and shape of an object it can be changed into an entirely different thing, no longer a utilitarian object, but a work of art. This project is a study, a typology, of the simple button in its various forms, textures and shapes.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3

UMASS Lowell: University Gallery
Jeffu Warmouth: Food Court. Artist Talk and Reception: 3-5pm. 978-934-3491. McGauvran Student Union, First Floor, 71 Wilder Street, Lowell, MA 01854.

THURSDAY, MARCH 4

Photographic Resource Center
Member PhotoSLAM! Event: 6-7:30pm. 617-975-0600. The Wonder Bar, 186 Harvard Ave, Allston, MA 02134.

Griffin Museum of Photography
Taxinomia: Photographs by Nicole Hatanaka. Opening Reception: 6-7:30pm. 781-279-7885. The Atelier Gallery at the Stoneham Theatre, 395 Main Street, Stoneham, MA

The Hallway Gallery
April Clay, Brendan Killian, Tiffiney Shoquist, Brianne Mott. Opening Reception: 6-9pm. 617-818-5996. The Hallway Gallery, 66a South Street, Jamaica Plain, MA

FRIDAY, MARCH 5

Salt Institute for Documentary Studies
Sempre Jardim Edite: The Story of a Lost Neighborhood in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Opening Reception: 5-8pm. 207.761.0660. 561 Congress Street, Portland, ME 0410.

Addison Woolley Gallery & A FINE THING
GHANA: An African Portrait Revisted. Opening Reception: 5-8pm. 207-699-2919. Edward T. Pollack Fine Arts, 29 Forest Ave, Portland, ME. www.edpollackfinearts.com or www.addisonwoolley.com

Addison Woolley Gallery at Studio 203A
Places in our Memories Opening Reception 5pm. 207-450-8499. 61 Pleasant Street Portland, ME 04101.

Cambridge Art Association, University Place Gallery
Of This World…And Another. Reception: 6-8pm. 617-876-0246. 124 Mt. Auburn St, Cambridge, MA 02138.

Carroll and Sons Art Gallery
Nothing Serious Can Happen Here: Photographs from Macao by Adam Lampton. Reception: 5:30-7:30. 617-482-2477. 450 Harrison Ave., Boston, MA 02118.

The Gallery at Hallmark
Out of the Box: a Photographic Exhibition by William Wegman. Artist’s Reception: 1-5pm. 413-863-2478. 85 Avenue A, Turners Falls, MA.

Gallery Kayafas
Jess Dugan: Coupled and Rick Ashley: Prom Couples. Opening Reception: 5:30-8pm. 617-482-0411. 450 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA 02118.

KHAKI Gallery
Elisabeth Jerome Applbaum: Night Light. Reception: 6-8. 460 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA 02118. 617 423-0105.

Vermont Center for Photography
Primavera: VCP Members Photograph Spring. Opening Reception: 5:30-8:30pm. 802-251-6051. 49 Flat Street, Brattleboro, VT, 05301.

SUNDAY, MARCH 7

Brookline Arts Center
Adam Marcinek: West Branch Pond Camps. Opening Reception: 2-5pm. 617-566-5715. 86 Monmouth Street, Brookline, MA.

Museum of Art @ The Rhode Island School of Design
Art Shots: Presence through Process. Lecture: 2pm. 401-454-6500. Chace Center, 20 N. Main St, Providence, RI 02903.

PRC Member Christian Waeber is fascinated by the passage of time and the permanence and simple beauty of medieval Churches. Seven years ago, he started a long term project aimed at photographically documenting Swiss Romanesque churches.

Waeber will be having an exhibition titled, Listening To These Walls at the French Library on Marlborough St in Boston from March 1-31, 2010.  An informal artist talk will be held on Saturday, March 13th at 3pm and a reception will be held on Thursday, March 25th.

For more information, visit: www.frenchlib.org

Kicking yourself because you forgot to submit to last fall’s PhotoSLAM and just missed this spring’s deadline, too?  Have no fear— we’re giving you a few extra days to get your work in.  This will be a fun gathering of PRC members and friends where we’ll get a chance to see everyone’s work and chat a little bit about it.  We’d love to see you there!

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Event: Thursday, March 4th, 6 – 7:30pm
Location: The Wonder Bar, 186 Harvard Ave, Allston, MA, www.wonderbarboston.com

Clear your schedules, photo enthusiasts—it’s time for another PRC PhotoSLAM! The PhotoSLAM is a digital slide show of ALL submitted photographs—a showcase of the talent within the PRC membership. YOU choose the work to show; YOU bring your friends and narrate your entries the day of the slam; and YOU make as much noise as you can to help select the winners. Submit your photos via CD or email by March 3rd to prc@bu.edu, attention PhotoSLAM! We are only accepting submissions in digital format. Limit 5 images. Images must be jpegs (labeled last name and # - i.e., Smith1.jpg), 150 dpi, no larger than 1000 pixels in either direction. All entries should include the artist’s name, phone number, email, image information (title, year, media, etc.), and a brief description of the work or series. The PRC PhotoSLAM is a great chance to get feedback on new work or show your favorites, catch up with old friends or network with new ones, win fun prizes, and see the images that other PRC members are passionate about. Let your work be seen!

Our good friends over at the Panopticon Gallery of Photography at the Hotel Commonwealth will be co-sponsoring a benefit concert dubbed, Blues For Haiti in conjunction with Partners in Health and Eastern Standard on Thursday, March 25th from 7:30 - 10:30.

The concert will take place immediately after the opening reception for Sight of Sound, a group exhibition featuring work by Ryan Mastro, Ron Pownall, Charlie Sawyer, Frank Stewart, and Ernest C. Withers.  All proceeds from the concert and silent auction will help Partners in Health and their ongoing medical efforts in Haiti.  For more information, visit the (event page).

Over the next few weeks the PRC Blog will feature the artwork of our talented and hard-working interns.  If you or someone you know is interested in interning at the PRC, please contact us at prc@bu.edu.

Jess Lance, New England Institute of Art
Website: www.jesslancephoto.com

Here is what Jessica has to say about her work:

Jessica challenges her audience with her explorations in tangible installations, where the audiences’ interaction contributes to the final product. Her experimentation with video and ambiguous, abstract photographs of the human body, all revolve around the examination of the human mind. While overstepping the traditional limitations and boundaries of photography she encourages her audience to question their ideas about a photograph and combine the two-dimensional object with other mediums.