WHAT: "Bridges I Have Crossed," a solo photographic exhibition by Mark Kurtz.
WHEN: Through Nov. 30.
WHERE: Adirondack Artists Guild, 52 Main St., Saranac Lake.
HOURS: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; noon to 3 p.m. Sunday. Closed Mondays.
PHONE: 891-2615.
WEB SITES: www.MarkKurtz
Photography.com and www.
AdirondackArtistsGuild.com
SARANAC LAKE — Photographer Mark Kurtz's new exhibition "Bridges I Have Crossed" was born out of his fascination of the elegance and strength of rustic-wooden spans and soaring-steel constructions.
"It's something I had in my mind a long time," he said. "I've been shooting them a long time. I love bridges."
As the recipient of the "Best of Show" award at the 2009 juried show at the Adirondack Artists' Guild in Saranac Lake, Kurtz was given the opportunity to have a solo show. He pondered other subject matter such as energy but settled on bridges. He had a lot of images. There were others he wanted to get.
"It gave me an excuse to move ahead on that body of work, and that's what I did."
It was a hectic couple of months, as he was also opening an exhibition at SUNY Potsdam's Gibson Gallery.
"Bridges I Have Crossed" features 21 black-and-white images that were created using film and traditional darkroom processes.
In his artist statement, he writes:
"Other than a path through the woods, a bridge was probably the first civil engineering done when someone dropped a log across a stream so he could cross without getting wet. The bridge is a tangible structure "¦ and a metaphoric symbol that represents many things in philosophical contemplation. Bridge "¦ bridges "¦ bridging "¦ bridged "¦ building bridges "¦ bridge to the future "¦ don't burn your bridges "¦ bridge to nowhere "¦ bridging the gap "¦ bridge over troubled waters "¦ I'll cross that bridge "¦ a bridge too far "¦ water under the bridge."
The exhibition photographs span from the early '90s to weeks ago. He shot the Jay Covered Bridge before it was dismantled and returned to get a similar point of view upriver from the current bridge.
Chronologically, the oldest bridge is the State Bridge on Route 3 outside of Saranac Lake, located near the boat launch. The iron-truss bridge was removed and replaced. It was important to Kurtz to document it. On a sunny day, he shot a panoramic view that placed the bridge in the context of the landscape.
He also shot a small, wooden bridge that goes between Eagle Lake and Blue Mountain Lake. The silhouetted bridge was shot from the water in his canoe.
"I paddled underneath it. It's the only one I haven't walked across."
In his artist statement, he writes:
"I've crossed a lot of bridges in my life and sometimes those crossings were scary — very high without much of a guardrail, or creaky with questionable stability, or without knowing exactly what was on the other side. I photographed a good friend's wedding where they exchanged their vows on one side of a bridge, turned and crossed over it together to the other side and hiked off into the wilderness for several days. Bridges represent strength (think Brooklyn Bridge), passages in life, putting something behind, moving to the future, crossing over "¦ and they're also there to go back over, return to where you came from "¦ if you didn't burn it after crossing."
In Keeseville, Kurtz recently photographed the Stone Arch Bridge and the Swing Bridge. They were on his to-do list because of their historical and architectural significance.
The newest bridge is the triple-steel arch Frederick Douglass-Susan B. Anthony Memorial Bridge that spans the Genesee River in Rochester. In his image, Kurtz emphasized the structure's mass.
"It actually supports I-490, the inner loop. It's a very contemporary image. It's a very different angle."
The theme of bridges is an ongoing project. The exhibition is not limited to Adirondack bridges but encompasses bridges from around the world, including Torino, Italy.
The Champlain Bridge isn't included in the show. With its risk of imminent collapse, Kurtz took canoe to water at sunset last week to shoot it.
"It's a gorgeous bridge, very graceful. I'm very curious what they will do in the design of the bridge that replaces it. I hope aesthetics will be considered and they will not throw some uninteresting thing up there."
Kurtz hopes to finagle permission to walk on the bridge to document it for historical, architectural and preservation values before it is demolished.
"It's a very narrow two-lane bridge," Kurtz said. "You could never stop your car there and get out."
E-mail Robin Caudell at: rcaudell@pressrepublican.com
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