Photography Exhibit, Theater and Classical Performances Planned

Through his art, photographer Ken Light has documented an array of social issues for more than 40 years. On Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the Davidson Auditorium, Light will discuss some of his work, which currently appears in the campus exhibit “Physical Labor: Photographs of Workers, 1940 to the Present.”

Light’s work in the exhibit features workers from across the United States, from the California fields, south to the Mississippi Delta, and across to the Appalachian coal mining country.

“The physicality of labor can be understood in these photographs, which use the documentary approach to raise awareness through social activism, while at the same time serve as vehicles of artistic expression. The hands, faces and feet of the manual laborer often reveal the full effects of the labor left behind on the body,” said PhD student Lupita Murillo Tinnen, who is curating the exhibit.

Currently on display in the Edith O’Donnell Arts and Technology Building Gallery (near ATC 1.3S1), “Physical Labor” features photographs by Light, but is also complemented by a range of works from the Comer Collection. The exhibition includes photographs by Sebastião Salgado, Joel Leivick, Marcus Bleasdale, George “Elfie” Ballis, Ernest Lowe, Arthur Leipzig, Gordon Parks and Luis Mallo.

This exhibition marks the first decade of the Comer Collection in the School of Arts and Humanities at UT Dallas; the collection was initiated in 2004 through a donation from Marilyn and Jerry Comer. This wide-ranging archive, made up of more than 300 photographs and hundreds of books and journals, serves as a resource for graduate students pursuing research in the area of photographic practice and contemporary art.  Documentation of exhibitions organized from the collection is available at the Comer Collection website.

Light has been published in eight books. He is also the author of Witness in Our Time: Lives of Working Documentary Photographers, now in its second edition. His work has been in numerous photo essays in magazines, newspapers and a variety of media, and presented in exhibitions worldwide including a one person show at the International Center for Photography in New York City. He is the Reva and David Logan professor of photojournalism at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley and director of the University’s Center for Photography.

Tinnen holds a master’s of fine arts in photography from the University of North Texas and a bachelor’s in photography from Texas A&M University-Commerce. Tinnen serves on the National Board of Directors for the Society for Photographic Education. As an artist, her work deals primarily with cultural and personal issues stemming from her background as a first-generation MexicanAmerican and has been exhibited throughout the United States

To celebrate the opening of the exhibition, there will be a reception before Light’s talk from 6-7 p.m. in the Edith O’Donnell Arts and Technology Building Gallery. Both Light and Tinnen will attend.

Musical Performance Brings in Many Characters

Opening on Thursday and running through Saturday, the musical “Songs for a New World” transports the audience from the deck of a 1492 Spanish sailing ship to a ledge 57 stories above Fifth Avenue. The performance includes an array of characters, ranging from a young man who has determined that basketball is his ticket to a better life to a woman whose dream of marrying rich nabs her the man of her dreams and a soulless marriage. The music and lyrics are both written by Jason Robert Brown.

“This performance is about stories and the journeys we take. Not a traditional book musical, but sometimes billed as a ‘song cycle’ or an ‘abstract musical.’ We are invited into the lives of a number of characters, to witness a moment of decision, of contemplation or the start of a new adventure,” said Kathryn Evans, who is director of the program and an Arts and Humanities senior lecturer.

The show opens at 8 p.m. in the University Theatre. Admission is free and open to the pubic.

Members of Clavier Trio to Play Music of Fauré, Poulenc and Brahms

On Friday, at 8 p.m. in the Jonsson Performance Hall, Jesús Castro-Balbi, cello, and David Korevaar, piano, will play selections from the classical composers Gabriel Fauré, Francis Poulenc and Johannes Brahms.

Both musicians are members of the Clavier Trio, which serves as ensemble in residence at UT Dallas.

Jesús Castro-Balbi is the first full-time cello professor at the Texas Christian University School of Music, where he has developed a first-rate studio of talented cellists from around the world. At TCU, he is also the founding artistic director of the TCU Cello Ensemble, the biennial TCU Cellofest, and of the Faculty & Friends Chamber Music Series. In addition to his work at TCU, he conducts master classes and lectures at Beijing’s Central Conservatory, The Juilliard School, Paris Conservatoire, Leipzig’s Hochschule and the Yale School of Music. He has adjudicated for the Sphinx Competition and the Carlos Prieto and the Lutoslawski international cello competitions.

David Korevaar, whose playing has been called a “musical epiphany” by Gramophone Magazine, performs an extensive repertoire as a soloist and chamber musician, and has been a guest artist with many international orchestras and ensembles. His recently released recording of Bach’s Partitas marks his 26th recording and his fourth dedicated to the music of Bach. His other recordings have explored a wide range of solo and chamber music.

General admission tickets for this show are $15, and can be purchased at the ticket box the night of the event. Admission for students, faculty and staff is free with a valid Comet Card.