CONTACT exhibition features dozens of Ryerson community members

May 13, 2011

The talent of Ryerson students, alumni, faculty and staff continues to shine as their work is showcased at this year’s CONTACT, the world’s largest annual photography event.

Throughout the month of May, these talented artists are curators, CONTACT staff and exhibitors. More than 65 community members are among the hundreds of artists presenting their work in public installations and featured exhibitions at over 150 venues across the City of Toronto.For full festival details, visit www.scotiabankcontactphoto.com.

“Recognized internationally, CONTACT is the premier photography festival in Canada. It truly is an honour for Ryerson to play such an essential role at this prestigious event,” said Gerd Hauck, Faculty of Communication & Design dean. “Our talented students, alumni, faculty and staff provide both vision and insight through their work and CONTACT is an ideal world stage to showcase their creativity.”

This year’s festival theme Figure & Ground focuses on our relationship to the environment. One of the highlights is alumnus’ Edward Burtynsky’s Oil at the Royal Ontario Museum. The exhibition focuses on the effects of oil extraction and the world’s dependency on the substance.

Although the theme centres on the environment, artists have delved into other concepts for their collections.

Students Deanne Pizzitelli and Rachel Waugh share the exhibition Youth, Sometimes at Galleria 814, 814 St. Clair Ave. W. They collaborated to create a series based on snapshots, portraits and landscapes that explore the emotional possibilities of youth experience. The collection of photos is meant to serve as a meditation on internal behaviour and mind states, where feelings are dominant and words are absent.

Taking a different approach, former student and current staff member Leanne Eisen draws inspiration from the philosophies of communications theorist Marshall McLuhan in McLuhan’s Shadow. Eisen is one of seven artists interpreting McLuhan’s figure/ground concepts through photography, video installation and prose. The concept focuses on the relationship between medium and context. Eisen’s work appears at IX Gallery, 11 Davies Ave., until May 21.

Below is a list of more Ryerson students and alumni featured at CONTACT:

Students
– Kyle Brohman, Sam Cotter, Elisa Julia Gilmour, Nicole Kim, Christopher Jacques Lacroix, Elena Malkova, Fraser McCallum, Erika Neilly, Lindsay Voegelin and Gemma Warren examine human representation at the Steam Whistle Brewery, 255 Bremner Blvd.
– Various work produced by the School of Image Arts graduating class of 2011 at the Gladstone Hotel
– Miguel Aguayo is part of an exhibit featuring images by deaf Canadian photographers. Distillery Historic District – Deaf Culture Centre, 55 Mill St. Bldg. 5, Suite 101.

Alumni
– Robyn Cumming explores contemporary portraiture at the Drake Hotel, 1150 Queen St. W.
– Chris Curreri’s images construct new and unexpected relationships between the human form and found objects. UTAC Art Lounge, 15 King’s College Circle.
– Chris Boyne mixes narrative sound recording with colour landscape photography. Gallery 44 Centre for Contemporary Photography, 401 Richmond Ave. Suite 120.
– Jonathan Taggart’s project highlights the residual effects that foster care has on a First Nations family. Bau-Xi Photo, 324 Dundas St. W.
– Joshua Jensen-Nagle presents with three other Canadian photographers different methods for capturing and producing images. AGO Art Rental + Sales Gallery, 481 University Ave.
– Tori Foster contributes to an exposition of urban structures, city life and other phenomena that are too large to fit into one’s visual field. WARC Gallery, 401 Richmond St. W. Suite 122.