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"Poet's photographer" to hold exhibition in
Anderson Gallery
By KRISTIN E.M. RIEMER
Reporter Contributor
Denny Moers could be called a poet's photographer. His moody and seductive monoprints have appeared on the covers of books by such writers as Denise Levertov, James Galvin, Toby Olson, C.D. Wright and Robert W. Creeley, SUNY Distinguished Professor and Samuel P. Capen Professor of Poetry and the Humanities in the Department of English.
More than 40 of Moers' recent works, including a portfolio of his book covers, will be on display from April 25 through July 13 in the UB Anderson Gallery. An opening reception will be held from 7-8:30 p.m. on April 25, with a gallery talk with the artist scheduled from 6-7 p.m. Creeley will be available for a book-signing from 7-7:30 p.m.
Denny Moers, Prairie Dwelling VIII, 1996, selectively fogged and toned monoprint
Moers is widely known for his highly imaginative, technically innovative photographs, which encompass subject matter as diverse as architectural details, medieval wall frescoes, ancient Egyptian tomb reliefs, contemporary construction sites and, most recently, Western desertscapes. He uses the term "photographic monoprint" to describe the unique quality of each of his images, which he creates by controlling the action of light and chemistry on sensitized photographic paper during the print-developing process. His black-and-white pictures exhibit an extraordinary range of colors—from black to deep rust to pale reds and rich blues.
Born in Detroit in 1953, Moers received his bachelor's from Empire State College in Rochester in 1975 and an M.F.A. from the UB/Rochester Visual Studies Workshop in 1977. During his years in Buffalo and Rochester, he met Creeley, who chose Moers' photographs for the covers of his books "Echoes," "Later," "Mirrors," "Memory Gardens," "Windows," Life and Death" and "If I Were Writing This."
During the early 1980s, Moers worked as the first assistant of the eminent photographer Aaron Siskind. He currently is adjunct professor of photography at Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island, and has served as guest lecturer at Harvard University and the Rhode Island School of Design, among other institutions. He has received the Fellowship in Photography Award from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts three times.
His photographs are included in numerous public and private collections, among them the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston; the Addison Gallery of American Art in Andover, Massachusetts; the Baltimore Museum of Art; the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, and the Museo Rufino Tamayo in Mexico City.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a full-color, 36-page catalog that features an essay by Creeley and an interview with Moers by Elizabeth Licata. In addition, the portfolio of book covers, entitled "Between Now and Then," will have an introduction by poet CD Wright.
Rhode Island physician and UB alumnus Joseph A. Chazan, M.D. '60, B.S. '56, and his wife, Helene S. Chazan, have helped to underwrite the costs of the exhibition and its catalog. They also are lenders to the exhibition.
Hours for the UB Anderson Gallery, located on Martha Jackson Place near the South Campus, are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, and 1-5 p.m. on Sunday.
The exhibition is free and open to the public. Call 829-3754 for more information.