SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - The photographers in the exhibition might consider themselves divas, or perhaps
it is their subjects that are the divas. Or, with its aloof and unflinching gaze, perhaps it’s the medium itself.
It’s all open to interpretation and the choice is yours in “DIVAS: A Group Exhibition of Immodest Photography”
at the Robert V. Fullerton Art Museum at Cal State San Bernardino. The exhibit runs Sept. 25-Dec. 13.
“Diva” is an expansive term with particular resonance in our age of unbridled celebrity worship, says exhibition curator and CSUSB photography professor Thomas McGovern. Literally, diva is a female opera singer. The word is derived from “goddess.” But its connotations include being a prima donna of either gender, a passionate enthusiast, a virtuoso and a celebrity.
However it is defined, “DIVAS” will give photographers and viewers alike the opportunity to explore the myriad ways in which the exalted term and the exalted themselves can be interpreted through contemporary photography.
The exhibition includes the work of 37 photographers from around the country. One each from Indiana, Colorado, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, one who lists Pennsylvania and New York as his home states, nine others from New York and 23 from California. They are:
Anthony Friedkin (Los Angeles); Marissa Roth (Los Angeles); Susan Rankaitis (Claremont); Ken Merfeld (Pasadena); Jack Butler (Pasadena); Doug McCulloh (Riverside); Sant Khalsa (San Bernardino); Dennis Keeley (San Pedro); Brian Moss (Santa Monica); Victoria Heilweil (San Francisco); Debbie Christ (San Bernardino); Julie Krueger (San Bernardino); Paul Talavera (San Bernardino); Ricardo Gil (Sacramento); Gail Brown (Los Angeles); Linda Kroff (Los Angeles); Tony Maher (Rancho Cucamonga); Jen Cappuccio (Rancho Cucamonga); Julie Shafer (Los Angeles); Andi Campognone (Alta Loma); Ann Mitchell (Long Beach); Steve King (Pasadena); and Thomas McGovern (San Bernardino).
From New York City are: Marc Asnin; Arlene Gottfried; Staci Schwartz; Caitlin Price; Jaime Permuth; Meredith Arena; Ryan Monaghan; Molly Chudacoff; Elena Dahl; and Michael Itkoff (also Philadelphia).
And from Pennsylvania is Steve Rubin (State College); from Indiana is Kristen Wilkins (Crawfordsville); from Massachusetts is Peter Monroe (Turners Falls); and from Colorado is Clare Cornell (Denver).
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