"El Centro"

Event: "El Centro": An exhibition of photographs by UTB students
Juried and curated by: Brad Doherty
Participants:
Ruby Campos
Adriana Cisneros
Analisa Garcia
Louise Goforth
Martha Del Pozo
Aide Escalante
Yareth Fernandez
Maria Garcia-De-Alba
Alejandro Macias
Miguel Roberts
Maria Rodriguez
Maria Valdez Gomez
Magallie Torres
Location: Richardson Art Gallery, Art Building, University of Texas Brownsville-Texas Southmost College
Dates: Opening Reception June 7@6:30pm
Continuing through June 28
Gallery Hours: Monday through Thursday 10:30am to 5pm
For further information or special accommodations: email gallery@utb.edu .
Admission $1.00.
Juror's Statement
During the 07 spring semester the photography students learned they would have an opportunity to participate in an all photography exhibit, at the Richardson Art Gallery. The exhibit would be the first strictly photography only exhibit. Along with all the with all the students' excitement the first consideration I had was what would the theme be. As I remember it, Yareth Fernandez immediately suggested downtown Brownsville, and Ruby Campos commented that she had always known downtown as El Centro. So in a matter of minutes a theme as well as a name was decided upon, not by the instructor, but by the students.
Downtown Brownsville is not just downtown Brownsville, to many people it is El Centro. As the name El Centro implies, the area is a wealth of activity with many people buying, selling and going about their daily lives, some in a rush and many content with a slower pace. El Centro is filled with historic buildings some restored to their original beauty and some cursed with a mid-century makeover. Block after block there is an eclectic mix of people, history, architecture and icons from both sides of the border, Elvis, Marilyn, Villa, Zapata and Coca-Cola.
For visual artists and especially photographers, El Centro is alluring. Thirteen UTB-TSC photography students spent time documenting the area during the Spring 2007 semester. All thirteen shooting black and white film. Some photographers shot by day and others chose to explore the streets at night to capture the ordinary as well as the extraordinary scenes that abound. Some of the photographers were equipped with 35mm cameras, some with Holgas, and one with a cardboard pinhole camera sought to capture the essence of El Centro.
Look closely at these images, spend some time with them and enjoy what the photographers saw. El Centro is like a stage where the scenes consisting of light and shadows are constantly changing, as well as the cast of characters. One of the students, Louise Goforth stated that once she was there photographing she was not merely observing or passing through, but had actually become part of the landscape. Observing for sure, but also interacting and taking her place there.
Brad Doherty, Photography Instructor.