Don’t miss the opportunity to stop by and view the artwork of Marianna Hofer. Her “urban decay” photography has been quite a hit at The Meeting Place this month. Her exhibit ends on Thursday, Jan 28th. Don Hurless, talented Lima musician, will be displaying his artwork through the month of February. More info on his art exhibit coming soon!
About Marianna Hofer: “Around town, I’m known as ‘the only urban decay girl,’ a nickname bestowed on me by a heavy metal band who hired me as their ‘art’ photographer because, as the bass player put it, ‘we’ve seen your work, and you’re the only girl in town who does urban decay.’ Another friend said, considering both my poetry and photography, I find and record things others don’t see, or if they see them, those things might not resound with them. It’s not romantic or tragic in that classic way, just a record of a moment, a stance I learned from my father and a favorite uncle. The irony, never lost on me, is, like much in my life, I learned about language and imagination from my father and uncle, both men not given to much in the way of speech – both favored silence in the countryside of the farm or the suburban neighborhood of the city.”
“I love and delight in the Midwest, the place and people – there’s no end to the wonder and beauty, delight and melancholy. Every firefly, daylily, deer clattering across a county road, long abandoned farm house, dive bar, bad bar band, pawn shop, small town downtown, diner, well, lots of things I encounter or once encountered, make me determined to get them recorded before they vanish.”
Technical Info: The photographs were taken with one of two Minolta X-700s, one using a 50mm lens, the other a wide angle lens, on Ilford XP2 400 b&w C-41 film, using the manual setting. The photographs labeled handtinted get their color from applying traditional photo oils to them.
Photography exhibits: Juried shows at Wassenberge Arts Center, Van Wert; Lima ArtSpace, Lima; Findlay Art League, Findlay. Individual pieces at various eateries around town and Main Street Photo, Bowling Green. Solo shows: Owens Community College, Findlay; 1124 Gallery, University of Findlay; Coffee Amici, Findlay. Piecwes in Open 24: Art at the Diner; participant in TAP ArtWalks as part of Jones Buildting Artists and Bowling Green ArtWalks as one of the featured photographers at Main Street Photo.
Poetry: A Memento Sent by the World, published December 2008 by Word Press. Available locally at Main Street News or Studio 13 in the Jones Building, online at Word Press or Amazon.com. Individual poems published in various small magainzes and anthologies, including I Have My Own Name for It: Modern Poems of Ohio. Recent readings at Main Street News, December 2008; University of Findlay, February 2009; The Meeting Place on Market, Lima, August 2009.
