Of Dreams and Reality

curated by Ann Jastrab

September 15 – October 25, 2018
Public Program: Saturday, October 13, 4-6 pm ($10 at the door, BAC members free)

Ann Jastrab, curator for “Of Dreams and Reality” exhibit, will host a conversation with participating members of the Bay Area Photographers Collective on the show and their photographic images.   Jastrab, the ten year gallery director for Rayko Photo Center and Editor in Chief for All About Photo.com will share her perspectives on the theme, the selection and sequencing process that make the show a “not to be missed” bay area photography show.  

The program will also include a raffle of “Paloma” by Frank Espada, a BAPC founder, renown documentary photographer and activist whose work on the Puerto Rican Diaspora is held by the Smithsonian and other museums around the country. Raffle, exhibit catalog sales and a portion of print sales will support the life sustaining projects of the Foundation for Puerto Rico post Hurricane Maria, in keeping with Frank’s commitment to social justice, equality and education in this country and the island of his birth.

Berkeley Art Center. 1275 Walnut Street Berkeley, CA 94709 (map)

The conflation of reality and dreams is as apparent in much of what we think of as “fine art” photography as in life itself. In this exhibit of the work of the Bay Area Photographers Collective (BAPC), I explicitly juxtapose the two views. I am initially moved by the dream-like images that bring me back to the Pictorialists and some of my favorite early photographs where the line between reality and fantasy is blurred. Whether created by camera choice (pinhole, plastic, Polaroid, etc) or by the time of day and the type of light, the “dreamscapes” of artists like Adrienne Defendi and Rose Borden are soft and surreal. Double exposures, glowing light, focus questionable, images that remind me of the ideas that f64 tossed out the window. Other images, including those of Dan Fenstermacher and Ralf Hillebrand are more clearly documentary; street shots, captured by participant observers, traveling and capturing the world that unfolds before them. These photographers provide the strong sense of “reality” in the exhibition. Whether dream-like or realistic, the images in

 “Of Dreams and Reality” offer keen observation with heart, a memorable journey that I hope you too will enjoy. — curator Ann Jastrab

FUNDRAISER: The opening reception features a drawing for a signed work by Frank Espada, renowned documentary photographer, teacher, activist, and one of BAPC’s founders. Along with proceeds from the drawing, a portion of BAPC’s print and exhibit catalog sales will be given to the Foundation for Puerto Rico, where Espada was born, for redevelopment of the island that is still devastated from Hurricane Maria. We hope you’ll generously help us support our fellow citizens recover from the devastation of Hurricane Maria in 2017.

BAPC and Berkeley Art Center will be participating in the inaugural year of the Bay Area Month of Photography. 

Participating artists: 

Curator Ann Jastrab is Editor In Chief at All About Photo. She was the gallery director for Rayko Photo in San Francisco for ten years. Ann has curated many exhibitions for RayKo as well as for the San Francisco Arts Commission, the Academy of Art in San Francisco, Artspan, SFAI, the Center for Fine Art Photography, and other national and international venues outside of San Francisco. She has reviewed portfolios at festivals and competitions around the world.