UpDate - Vol. 15, No. 16, Page 3
January 4, 1996
On exhibit; Portraits of homeless in Gallery through Feb. 18

     For one year, award-winning photographer Howard Schatz took his
camera into the streets of San Francisco and other parts of northern
California to capture on film the faces of real, homeless people. The
portraits are of heroic proportion-each print is 40" by 30"- and are
on view now through Feb. 18 at the University Gallery in an exhibit
entitled "Homeless: Portraits of Americans in Hard Times."
     In the foreword to a book of these photographs, Owen Edwards,
former executive editor of American Photographer, wrote:

        In the best tradition of photographic portraiture, with
     that rare, affable ability to gain trust that lifts the form
     to its most memorable height, Schatz has made a record of
     people in the grip of hard times, not as symbols of human
     need but as themselves. By dedicating himself unequivocally
     to the act of photographing and giving both subjects and
     viewers the dignity of art's formal distance, Schatz renders
     irrelevant the dangers that lurk in photographs of the poor
     and downtrodden-the sympathy that can so easily become smug,
     the pathos that leads to patronizing, the sense that "there
     but for the grace of God go I" that can lure us into relief
     and a self-congratulatory sort of comfort, the shock that
     arouses first shame and then rejection.... He doesn't grab
     us by the shoulders and shout, 'Feel sorry!' Instead, he
     turns us toward the light and says, simply, 'Look'.

     A copy of the book, published in 1993, was sent to every member
of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. All proceeds from its
sale are donated to Comic Relief, an organization dedicated to helping
the homeless.
     University Gallery events are free, but during this exhibition,
visitors are asked to donate nonperishable foods and personal grooming
items that will be distributed to Emmaus House, a shelter for the
homeless in Newark.
     A roundtable discussion on the homeless in Delaware will be held
in the gallery from noon-1:30 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 16. The presentation
will be conducted by April Veness, associate professor of geography;
Mary Ellen Green, co-director of Emmaus House; a representative from
Friendship House, a homeless shelter in Wilmington; and members of the
homeless community.
     On Thursday, Feb. 15, Schatz will speak about his experiences
photographing the homeless from 3:30-5:30 p.m. in the gallery. That
evening, at 7:30 at Borders' Books in Newark, he will give a slide
lecture and speak about his other photographic projects.
     Born in Chicago and a long-time resident of the Bay area of San
Francisco, Schatz is an award-winning photographer. His first book,
The Gifted Woman, contains 50 black-and-white photographs of American
women known nationally and internationally for their achievements.
That collection of photographs is now in the permanent collection of
the Oakland Museum.
     His second book, Seeing Red: The Rapture of Redheads, is a loving
study of the endless allure of those with red hair.
     Sixty of those photographs were featured in his first solo show
in Europe, and the series won numerous awards from Advertising
Photographers of America, Nikon and the Association of Magazine
Photographers, among others.
     Schatz is interested in people and says he feels that most of his
photographic sessions lead to interpersonal connections that are
crucial for a good portrait and show that the subject trusts the
photographer enough to let down his or her guard and make the
photograph real and beautiful.
     Future projects for Schatz may include a study of newborns, no
more than seven days old, in black and white; an underwater project in
color; and a study of dancers.
     Project director for the exhibit is Beverly J. Ornstein. Funding
for the exhibition catalog was provided by Gladys Valley, with
proceeds from its sale also donated to Comic Relief.
     The Delaware showing of this exhibition is made possible, in
part, by the Delaware Division for the Arts, a state agency committed
to enhancing and supporting the arts in the state.
     The University Gallery is located on the second floor of Old
College. Gallery hours are 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Mondays through Fridays,
and from 1-5 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays.
     The University Gallery is wheelchair accessible. To request other
disability accommodations, individuals are urged to contact the
gallery at 831-8242 (voice), 831-4330 (fax) or 831-4552 (TDD).
                                                          -Beth Thomas