Generally, I do one side of the camera – the viewfinder side. Period. But when local photographer KC Kratt asked if I’d sit for an upcoming exhibition, I thought of it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity (plus I remembered all of the beautiful work I’ve seen come from KC), and I consented. More than that, I was excited, especially when he said I could be joined by my ’75 Buick, name of Bernice.
One month and a few hours of fun later with KC, his precious wife Gail and an intern, and it was a wrap. The show opens at Grant Street Gallery (215 Grant) tonight at 6PM and runs through July 30th. I stopped in last night, and found my print in good company with the other women about town that KC chose to do portraits of. The women are in black and white, and each portrait captures the subject in two poses that flank a shot of flowers from KC and Gail’s home garden.
But Wallflowers? The compound word comes from the backdrop in each photo, as well as the flowers that are part of each portrait. Walls that KC chose complement, and in some cases sharply contrast with, some aspect of who the women are. My shoot was done against a brick wall, something so common in the cobblestone district where BR offices are. During the shoot, the guys across the street at a loading dock finally pulled up chairs to watch as I crawled all over the Buick, and we had a good laugh about it.
The flower images that are centered in each study also seem to pick up a little personality from each subject, though KC says the decision about which flowers to pair with the women had more to do with aesthetic elements of the portraits, i.e., color, texture and form. But he had to say this due to my reaction when I saw my portrait on the gallery wall.
“Hey,” I asked thornily, “did you pair me with a thistle?”
Gail laughed and said, “It’s sea holly, Elena. Very exotic.” Well, then.
Be sure to stop by the show and see who else you know among the Wallflowers (and steel magnolias) on this Garden Walk Buffalo weekend. Prish Moran looks like sunshine personified between volleyball games. Luanne DiBernardo looks sultry and defiant in front of a church. Eva Hassett is ever-steady and charming, posed with her cycle and helmet, and Mary Ramsey evokes angel’s beauty, a veneer for her monster talent. There are 12 portraits in all, and you never know who you’ll recognize – or who you might see for the first time.