In “Ground Zero Plus 7,” a new exhibit opening on Friday, May 23, at Gallery 14 in Hopewell, photographers Marty Schwartz and Joanna Tully provide a provocative touchstone for this year’s Memorial weekend. The lower Manhattan site of the September 11th attacks is no longer a pitted hollow — but it is not yet what it will be. Schwartz and Tully capture the changing and invite viewers to see in it what they will.
The presented work provides a study in contrasts, capturing hope and optimism as well as the fear and mistrust that have become part of America’s post-9/11 landscape. Another set of images show the endless flow of people who come from all around the world — simply to be close — and who are awestruck by what they find.
Joanna Tully’s black & white and infrared film/digital print images capture a sense of the grandeur and wealth that the area surrounding Ground Zero holds and it is the artist’s intent that “the work helps the viewer to remember the souls who were lost.” The environment dominates the people in Tully’s images. People are seen as stick figures or shadows, small in scope and scale. “They symbolize how fragile life is, and how fragile life was.”
Marty Schwartz’s images capture the graphic details of Ground Zero. An interior entryway becomes a cubist fantasy. A crane reflected in a skyscraper takes on a watercolor, dreamlike study. They are images that are abstract, with a strong sense of design and composition. Schwartz also focuses on close-up reactions of visitors — fresh reminders of just how searing that day was.
Art Exhibit, Friday, May 23, 6 to 9 p.m. Gallery 14, 14 Mercer Street, Hopewell. Opening reception for “Ground Zero Plus 7,” an exhibit by photographers Marty Schwartz and Joanna Tully who capture the changing scene that is no longer a pitted hollow. Tully’s black and white and infrared film focuses on the environment, while Schwartz’s images include both abstracts and reactions of visitors. On view through June 22. Meet the photographers on Sunday, May 25, 1 to 5 p.m. 609-333-8511.
