Art on Display at Northwest Chamber of Commerce

Artwell Gallery has begun a new program—installing art exhibitions in the offices the Chamber of Commerce of Northwest Connecticut, 333 Kennedy Drive in Torrington. The Chamber of Commerce has agreed to transform the walls of its foyer and conference rooms into gallery spaces. The works of two artists, Don Duffy and John Johnson, are currently on display.

Don Duffy’s introduction to photography began as a teenager growing up on Long Island. His father had given him an old 35mm rangefinder camera. The camera had no light meter or any of today’s modern features. It forced him to get to know how to expose various films under different lighting conditions, and thereby forced him to understand how light alters scenes. It kept him outdoors, learning to appreciate nature, and the natural beauty around us.

Don witnessed a constantly changing landscape, as the tidal wave of concrete and asphalt continued its eastward expansion across Long Island, devouring the natural landscape of farms, orchards, and wooded areas. He then began to photograph landscapes of places he enjoyed before they were destroyed. He tried to keep his photographs timeless by excluding people or vehicles that would tend to date the subject he was photographing. Since moving to Connecticut, Don has come to love the Berkshire Hills area for its scenic views and relaxed atmosphere, and he has done much of his photographic work in this area.

As time went on, photography moved into the digital arena. The early attempts of digital photography were no match for conventional film photography in resolution and print quality, but did offer easier image manipulation and correction than the standard darkroom processes. In time digital photography became Don’s medium of choice as image resolution and print quality approached that of film. He no longer had to mess around in the dark with chemicals or be careful about how he disposed of them. He is free to alter and create images on his computer screen and see the results instantly. If he doesn't like the result, he erases the file. He hasn't wasted hours of time, chemistry or paper in the process.

As he worked with digital images, he also learned about other digital imaging techniques—in particular, computer generated fractal images. He began exploring fractals and recording images he created, and began incorporating them into some of his photographic work as new backgrounds. He has also printed stand-alone images of some of his fractal work.

Digital photography is not limited to opening the shutter and capturing the existing light reflected from a scene to create an image, as photography once was. Digital photography has evolved into more of an art form. The digital photographer has almost as much freedom to create as any of today's artists of other media. And where in the past the saying was that the photo never lies, today, the photo not only lies, but also has quite the imagination—and can make visible to the eye what the eye cannot see, including images of mathematical equations and events that never occurred. Don’s images can be viewed on the Internet at <www.duffyphoto.com>.

John Johnson is an award-winning painter. He is also runs his own graphic design firm, John Johnson Design of Collinsville.

For more info on this exhibition or upcoming events, call Artwell at 860-482-5122.