Gallery show- Road Trip & Parking Garage: Matthew Lester and Dan Marschka
Lancaster, PA- April 18th, 2010- The Candy Factory at 323 North Queen Street, will host a gallery show, Road Trip & Parking Garage: Matthew Lester and Dan Marschka, throughout May, opening with a reception the evening of May 6th.
Matthew Lester, a Lancaster-based commercial and editorial photographer, is showing a personal project Road Trip, images of vintage signs photographed along the highways of America next to 8×8, canvas-mounted photo collages of images collected on his iPhone while traveling. Together, the images create a narrative of life on the road.
In his work, Parking Garage, Lancaster photographer Dan Marschka shows the variety of colors, texture and design available in a much more limited space – a single downtown Lancaster parking garage. As he left work each day, Marschka began composing photos that capture the light, colors, texture and simplicity of design in the garage. The result is images that look almost like paintings, an artistic joining of geometry and color.
Lester and Marschka’s projects complement and play off each other with color, composition and the theme of showing the often overlooked beauty of the everyday.
Lester is a commercial photographer based in Lancaster. His photography has taken him from Afghan mountain villages to the research labs of hospitals and universities across the United States. He has traveled and photographed in more than 35 countries. In each setting, he uses photography to tell stories, illuminate the work of people’s lives and create a human connection. Marschka manages the editorial photography department at Lancaster Newspapers. After graduating from Rochester Institute of Technology in 1978, he worked as a photojournalist and freelance photographer shooting assignments in the United States, Europe, Central America, Africa and Asia. He lives in Lancaster with his wife Valerie. They are the parents of two adult sons, Kyle and Joseph.
See more images from the project at: https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=104791572938460
For more information,
contact: Matthew Lester, Matthew Lester Photography
717.669.3407
matt@matthewlester.com
Dan Marschka
Assistant News Editor, Photography, Intelligencer Journal / Lancaster New Era
717.291.8877
dmarschka@lnpnews.com
Anne Kirby, Founding member of The Candy Factory
717.945.6380
anne@notbaddesign.net
Matthew Lester Artist Statement
I’m drawn to documenting the changing commercial landscape of America. These signs represent a disappearing historical record of our country, which is now dominated by chain restaurants, gas stations, and hotels. These signs are handcrafted, individual, and reflect the culture and geography of the place where they were photographed.
As well, I have begun to experiment with photo collages created by combining images collected with my iPhone. I’m interested in combining several images to create a narrative and the exploration of how the combined parts of the final image play off of each other.
Matthew Lester is a commercial photographer based in Lancaster. His photography has taken him from Afghan mountain villages to the research labs of hospitals and universities across the United States. He has traveled and photographed in over 35 countries. In each setting, he uses photography to tell stories, illuminate the work of people’s lives and create a human connection.
Dan Marschka Artist Statement
Parking Garage Project statement I believe an artist can find inspiration in a limited space. In fact, I believe there is often too much stimulus in my world, compelling me to reduce the amount of input in my immediate environment.
My work as a photojournalist often requires me to be where I must see and resolve surroundings quickly. With years of practice, a good photographer will evaluate an event, anticipate changing subject matter, see light, tones and color, compose elements from points of view in the mind’s eye, commit to a technical camera setting – all in a brief moment. This is a regimented, professionally instinctive process that translates an event to a simplified, but effective image.
When I take pictures for myself, it is more than professional instincts kicking in. There is a sensation – an overwhelming compulsion – to create. I’ve found that resolving this creative need is a constructive way to relieve stress and connect with my inner self.
I recall a photo assignment I had in college many years ago in which the student was required to shoot the project within a specific, measured area. I was inspired by that concept because I was able to zero in on one place that I might otherwise ignore, or take for granted. I also was comforted by the fact that I could limit the stimulus that I normally process on a daily basis. So here I was leaving work every day, walking to my car, contemplating thoughts about work, family, news of the world, and I started to notice the light, colors, texture and simplicity of design in that parking garage. I lifted the iPhone from my pocket and started composing and capturing images to release the mounting pressure. I was content knowing that I found inspiration in a mundane environment. Other cameras were used, but the iPhone was always available in the moment. I was often late to dinner because of this diversion.
These select photographs were produced during some of these restorative sessions. I sensed that many graphic elements seemed to find me as I wandered around the structure. My hope is that you will recognize the spiritual origin of my urgency reflected in these images.