(PDF) (DOC) (JPG)March 1, 2016

MAHWAH, N.J. – Fire and Ice, an exhibition of photographs by Alan Friedman and Douglas Levere, will go on view in the Kresge Gallery at Ramapo College on Wednesday, March 23.  There will be an opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m. with an artists’ talk at 6 p.m. The exhibition continues through April 22.

Fire and Ice is a collaborative exhibition by renowned solar photographer Alan Friedman and photomicrographer Douglas Levere. For this exhibition, Friedman’s telescopic photographs of the sun’s surface – which reveal the undulating, almost painterly topography – have been paired with Levere’s microscopic studies of snowflakes, exposing the hidden architecture of these tiny and delicate natural wonders.

While at first a seemingly obvious contrast, there is juxtaposition of vision that occurs through their respective practices – Friedman’s suns become almost cellular and Levere’s snowflakes inherit the stature of skyscrapers. Both structures are, in actuality, held together by the most delicate balance of physical law. Through large-scale photographic prints, this massive celestial body and these diminutive structures become equalized.

Friedman and Levere note:

The volume of the earth could hold more than 50 octillion (50,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000) snow crystals. The sun could contain a million earths. Yet from our vantage point on Earth, they appear, as if by magic, the same size. A snowflake can be as large as the nail on your pinky. That same fingernail held at arm’s length is wide enough to completely cover the disk of the sun. Both are everyday subjects in our conversation yet hidden from sight – too small to see with the naked eye, too powerful to allow even the quickest glance.

Through the use of telephoto lenses to get closer and filters to temper brightness our photographs permit the viewer to experience what is invisible in day to day life. The details of our subjects are rendered with accuracy – color and composition are selected to better express structure and to impart emotion. Through our collaboration and the juxtaposition of scale and form we hope to illuminate some of the drama and poetry that is found in the natural world around us.

 Alan Friedman is an artist and avid astrophotographer who lives and works in Buffalo, N.Y. His photographs of the sun have been featured on NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day and exhibited at Palm Court Gallery, Bates College Museum of Art, photo-eye Gallery, Astronomy Photographer of the Year at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, and the international touring exhibition From Earth to the Universe. His work and processing techniques have been the subject of a TED talk and interviews on MSNBC’s TODAY show, among others.

Douglas Levere is an artist and photographer living in Amherst, N.Y. His work has been published in The New Yorker, The Buffalo News and many other blogs and online publications. From 1997-2002, Levere created New York Changing, one of the first urban re-photography projects, culminating in a book and exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York. Levere began his commercial photography career in New York City focused on newsmakers, celebrities and architecture, working for advertising, corporate and editorial clients. His images have appeared in Newsweek, People, Business Week, Life, New York Times, Forbes, and Fortune, among others. He currently works at the University of Buffalo as a photographer for University Communications.

 This project is funded in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. The Kresge Gallery is located in the Berrie Center for Performing and Visual Arts. Gallery hours are Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 1 to 5 p.m. and Wednesday from 1 to 7 p.m. For more information, contact Sydney Jenkins at 201-684-7147.

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About Ramapo College

Ramapo College of New Jersey is the state’s premier public liberal arts college and is committed to academic excellence through interdisciplinary and experiential learning, and international and intercultural understanding. The comprehensive college is situated among the beautiful Ramapo Mountains, is within commuting distance to New York City, was named one of the 50 Most Beautiful College Campuses in America by CondeNast Traveler, and boasts the best on-campus housing in New Jersey per Niche.com. Established in 1969, Ramapo College offers bachelor’s degrees in the arts, business, data science, humanities, social sciences and the sciences, as well as in professional studies, which include business, education, nursing and social work. In addition, the College offers courses leading to teacher certification at the elementary and secondary levels, and offers graduate programs leading to master’s degrees in Accounting, Applied Mathematics, Business Administration, Contemporary Instructional Design, Computer Science, Creative Music Technology, Data Science, Educational Leadership, Nursing, Social Work and Special Education, as well as a Doctor of Nursing Practice.

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