Press Releases

September 18, 2003
Jews of Brooklyn" A Photographic Exhibition Opening At Avram Gallery

Contact:
Patricia Conway(pconway@southampton.liu.edu)
(631) 287 8313
Fax: (631) 287-8054

Reception Slated For Monday, October 13

Southampton, NY — "Jews of Brooklyn," a photographic exhibition reflecting the broad range of Jewish life in Brooklyn’s neighborhoods, opens in Southampton College’s Avram Gallery on October 1 and runs through October 31. A special reception will be held on Columbus Day, Monday, October 13, from 4 to 6 p.m.

The exhibit serves as a portrait of Jewish life in the borough, documenting the transformation of Jews who were acculturating into mainstream American life during the 1940s and beyond. Photographs from this earlier period focus on Brooklyn’s vibrant street life and rich mix of people and capture a wealth of images from everyday life: an iceman at work, children playing in the streets, the Coney Island promenade. Later images, throughout the 1980s, feature a wider range of Jewish subjects and show the diversity of Jewish life — religious and secular, Israeli and Russian, Ashkenazi and Sephardic.

Works by prominent photographers, including Arthur Leipzig, Jerry Dantzic and Harvey Wang, are interspersed throughout the Gallery with works by emerging photographers including Melanie Einzig, who employs a back-to-basics approach to her work, recording reality in all its power, beauty, magic and authenticity, and Jonathan Torgovnik, a rising talent who is known to convey an immediate connection with his subjects and compose thought-provoking images even under stressful situations.

The show is sponsored in part by the Avram Family. The gallery is open weekdays from 12 to 5 p.m. or by appointment. Call Director Beth Giles for more information, (631) 287-8234.

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Artist’s images available by e-mail