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NEAR...and FARBy Susan L. Wagner / Wayland by the Way Tuesday, December 4, 2007As a photographer, Wayland resident John Grabill has an evolving vision. A little more than two years ago, in a small display at the Wayalnd Library, Grabill reflected on, well, reflections. Every photo in the show was an actual reflection; some fo the most striking, in fact, involved the much-maligned puddle. Early last year, he mounted a full-size library show in the Raytheon Room Gallery titled "Visions in Wayland Plus," consisting mostly of photos taken here in town during his daily walks. 
His latest exhibit, which starts in the Raytheon Room this Saturday, is called "Near adn Far (Contextual Viewing)." Near, he said, "can be nearby, close to home...far can be indicative of off in the distance. With this show, near means up close to the subject and far describes the surroundings that shelter the view, the pull-back shot, as it were."In his previous shows, he went on, he has not offered any context for his images. "I enjoy the details of nature and all I see around me. Normally, I view things globally, but sometimes, when an object is seen up close, it becomes unrecognizably abstract and, though beautiful, resides in a setting either totally mundane or not so attractive." What he is inviting the viewer to do in his upcoming show is to study the photos and try to figure out what the image is. "Afterward you can flip through the 'Context' book to see where I was and what I was actually freezing a segment of." Grabill has been taking photos of the flora, fuana, water and sky all around New England and beyond for more than 20 years. His idea is to capture images that can be seen every day with the naked eye - no filters, no digital enhancement, no manipulation. He takes his photos with a point-and-shoot camera that uses - gasp! - real film. "I have nothing against digital photography," he explained. "It's just that I think that photos taken on film have a warmer, fuller look than when you're using zeroes and ones to replicate an image." A counselor by training and background, Grabill is also a musician - he composes, plays a variety of instruments, has an eight-track recording studio in his home, and is working on a soon-to-be-released CD of original songs. He is a writer as well. He's currently trying to get several of his books for children (illustrated by daughter Aurora) published and is attempting to market "High School: The Musical" which he co-created with his other daughter Cinnamon years before the Disney version, and "Cubed", about office life. His wife Natalie has recently joined him in his photographic pursuits, with works taken during the couple's travels to Hawaii, Alaska and elsewhere. In addition to his photographic exhibits at the Wayland Library, The Tsongas Gallery at Walden Pond hosted a three-month show of brand new works by Grabill earlier this year and will be displaying "Near and Far" for three months during the summer of 2008. Meanwhile, the bulk of his collection is on loan at the Neurometrix corporate headquarters in Waltham. The show that starts on Saturday, he said, "is my visual comment on how life can be taken on so many different levels and looked at in so many different ways. Agreement on what something is, or is not, is not always that cut and dried." Grabill's exhibit will run through the months of December and January. It is free and open to the public during regula library hours. The photos are on sale, with 20 percent of the proceeds going to the library. For information on pricing and availability, e-mail "john@newenglandphotosplus.com" or go to his website "www.newenglandphotosplus.com". An artist's reception will be held on Saturday, Dec. 8 from 2 to 4 p.m. All are welcome to attend. For more information call the library at 508-358-2311. Susan L. Wagner is the Features reporter for the Wayland Twon Crier. She can be reached at slwagner@wcfia.harvard.edu | ||
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john@newenglandphotosplus.com |