“While I Am Still” Photography Exhibit Debuts at The Studio at The Sahara West Library Feb. 13
Visual artist Linda Alterwitz will debut her exhibit “While I Am Still,” combining art with science and technology to explore the human spirit, at “The Studio” inside the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District’s Sahara West Library from Feb. 13 through May 9 (Photo credit: Linda Alterwitz).
An opening reception will be held on Friday, Feb. 13 at 7 p.m.
“While I Am Still,” a mid-career retrospective exhibition of Alterwitz’s work includes five series: “In-Sight” (2009-2014), “Flesh and Bone” (2011), “Just Breathe” (2013-14), “Mojave” (2014) and a traveling installation that launched at the Las Vegas art and music festival “Life is Beautiful” (2014).
Alterwitz’s work embraces science and technology. Her inspiration originates from the inner workings of the human body and the external surrounding environment. A common theme identified throughout her work is the intricate connection that exists between art and technology.
In her work, she utilizes alternative imaging cameras from low-tech plastic cameras to medical imaging machines using cutting edge technology.
The focal point of the exhibit inside The Studio will be “Just Breathe,” which consists of individual photographic “star portraits” captured by resting a camera on a person’s chest and pointing the camera up to the night sky for a 30-second exposure. Acting like a fingerprint, the unique movement of each person’s breath creates a visual oscillation of the stars above. These individual portraits are assembled, end-to-end and side-by-side in a grid giving the appearance of a large star field in the night sky and making reference to a microcosm of human life on earth.
Alterwitz collaborated with the Clark County School District to develop an accompanying curriculum. Over 700 students in grades 5-12 from across the valley will visit the exhibit. The students will discuss the artwork in advance and engage in specialized projects designed to further introduce them to the art and science components in the installation. Activities have also been created for younger students to have a hands-on experience while visiting the exhibition. Artists from Opportunity Village will also be touring the exhibition.
The Las Vegas-Clark County Library District Foundation named Alterwitz their first Artist-in-Residence beginning with the debut of her exhibit, which also coincides with the release of her new publication, “While I Am Still.”
Las Vegas-Clark County Library District’s Sahara West Library is located at 9600 West Sahara Ave., Las Vegas, NV 89117.
Linda Alterwitz (b. 1960, Gary, Indiana) combines the visual languages of art and science by weaving together personal, medical and scientific narratives. Her philosophy addresses the constant challenge to keep a balance between the two sides of the brain: the logical and the creative. Her artwork embraces science, technology and art, explores these boundaries and reinforces their interconnections.
Alterwitz has had solo and joint exhibitions in the United States and England and participated in several domestic and international exhibitions including in Japan, Spain, Israel and Poland. In 2014, she had a solo exhibition at the Trifecta Gallery in downtown Las Vegas and was invited to participate in Krakow Photomonth in Krakow, Poland and Life is Beautiful in Las Vegas, Nev. She also received the Nevada Arts Council’s Visual Artist Fellowship in 2014. In 2012, Frank Pictures Gallery in Santa Monica, Calif., debuted her series In-Sight. She has had solo exhibitions at the Los Angeles Center for Digital Art in Los Angeles, Calif. and The Donna Beam Gallery at UNLV. Recent group exhibitions include The Center for Photography at Woodstock, (Woodstock, New York), James Madison University (Harrisonburg, Va.), Project Basho (Philadelphia and Tokyo) and The Center for Fine Art Photography (Fort Collins, Colo.) among other national and international juried competitions.