Artists and Light Bulbs

Our regional wealth of creative people fuels many intitatives, big and small, private and communal.

Of course, not everyone is equally cognizant of the creative community around us. Some of us live within this environment much as we live in an oxygenated atmosphere - the arts are so constant in our lives that we take them for granted, and fail to see. Conversely, some people find the arts a foreign world, and never realize how richly they are surrounded.

But then there are those who, while living within the world of the arts, also observe that world with a journalist's eye, and draw the rest of us forth to share in it. One such observer is Phil Gallos, pictured above, a photographer, writer, and historian in Saranac Lake.

He is creating a project called, "How Many Artists Does it Take to Screw in a Light Bulb?" and subtitled, "Portraits from the Saranac Lake Area Creative Community". (Click the link to see the photos, which are best viewed in "Slideshow" format.) Begun in 2006, the project is scheduled to include a show at Bluseed Studios this August.

This is an organic project, both reflective of and participating in the natural expressive growth that flourishes in this region. Phil is connecting with artists whom he personally knows and wishes to work with; he knows a lot of people! Most of these artists live in or near Saranac Lake; in a few instances, he has traveled further afield to photograph people in other North Country communities.

Many of these images capture creators creating, whether playing a musical instrument, or processing film in a darkroom, or spinning yarns in the presence of the sheep who grew the wool. You see the blur as fingers fly, the light of channeled potency burning in the eyes. You see, too, the creator's environment, his or her milieu. In some pictures, background tools and props enrich the narrative, while in others, the artist appears almost as a self-contained world.

Then, too, a number of shots convey the contemplative quality of an inner dialog, the thoughtful energy of gathering strength and vision. It's like clouds mounting in the sky before a rainfall, or flower buds swelling with fresh promise. The product has not yet emerged, but you know it is burgeoning. In some of these images, you feel as though you are eavesdropping on a conversation between an artist and a muse.

As is so often the case, words cannot do justice to this portrait collection. Just as each participant creates from his or her unique vision, so does each set of photographs reflect a unique creative fire.