Baltimore, MD (September 1, 2001) -- UMBC's Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallerypresents Light²: Images from the Photography Collections. The exhibition will be on view from September 10, 2001 through December 8, 2001.

The Albin O. Kuhn Library's Photography Collections are one of the largestacademic collections in the world, with holdings of approximately 1.8million images. Established in the early 1970s, the PhotographyCollections began with the acquisition of socially and aesthetically important images, such as 5,000 images Lewis Hine made for the National Child LaborCommittee and major works by Ansel Adams, Minor White, Diane Arbus, and many others. The Collections continue to acquire many images each year, and Light² provides the public a first look at many images acquired since the 1980s, including approximately 80 works by Diane Arbus, Gary Auerbach, Lewis Baltz, Richard Benson, Marilyn Bridges, Wolf von dem Bussche, Richard Buswell, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Kristin Capp, Clarence Carvel, Gary Carwood, Chim (David Seymour), Larry Clark, Barbara Crane, Cary Beth Cryor, John Patrick Dugdale, Harold Edgerton, Elliott Erwitt, Jan Faul, Eric Fischl, Roland Freeman, Sally Gall, Ralph Gibson, Richard Gordon, John Gutman, Robert Heineken, Allen Janus, Richard Jaquish, Barbara Kasten, Stephen Marc, Mary Ellen Mark, Jill Mathis, Joel Meyerowitz, Duane Michals, Gilles Peress, David Plowdon, Jack Radcliffe, Gail Rebhan, Leland Rice, David Seltzer, Cindy Sherman, Raymond R. "Pete" Starr, Jr., Jaromir Stephany, Barbara Traub, Jerry N. Uelsmann, Barbara Young, Frank Van Riper, Bruce Weber, Gary Winogrand, Minor White and David Wojnarowicz.

Three of the most prominent photographers represented in Light² are Minor White, Chim and Gilles Peress. White, one of the great masters of photography, sought metaphorical meaning in everyday reality through his images. He persuasively urged that mystical qualities could be revealed through photographs, and said that photographs could show "things for what they are" and "for what else they are." White is represented in Light² by the portfolio Fourth Sequence (1950).

Chim (David Seymour) was a pioneer of photojournalism and a keen observerof human nature who photographed political upheaval, wars, and some of theimportant people of his time. He made images that are eloquent testimonyto the strength and vulnerability of humanity, all the while revealing thathis own heart was vulnerable to emotional response. He was a co-founder in1947 with Robert Capa and Henri Cartier-Bresson of Magnum, the exclusiveinternational picture agency that is still run today by photographersrather than editors or art directors. Chim is represented in Light² by three prints: Greek Earthquake, Zante; Toscanini at the Piano; and Greece, May 2, 1947.

Gilles Peress is a photojournalist who has made a career in the world'smost troubled places such as Bosnia, Iran, and Rwanda. His striking images cryout for peace. He is a member of Magnum in the style of its founders.Peress is represented in Light² by four prints: Massacre Site, Nyarubuye, Rwanda; On the Loyalist Shankill Road, Belfast; Sick, Abandoned Rwandan Hutu Children; and Bosnian Muslim Refugees from Banja Luca.

On Wednesday, October 10th at 4 p.m., the Gallery will present a lecture by Andy Grundberg. An independent writer and curator for 25 years, Grundberg has focused on elucidating photography's crucial roles in art and visual culture. From 1981 to 1991 he was a photography critic for The New York Times, which allowed him to cover the rapid acceptance of photography within the art world. From 1991 to 1997 he was associated with The Friends of Photography in San Francisco, serving for five of those years as itsdirector. There he developed exhibitions focused on new developments inphotography, education programs directed at youth and underservedcommunities, and a new publication, see, which was distributed by MITPress. Currently he is organizing an exhibition for The Nature Conservancy,called In Response to Place, which begins a nationwide tour with an opening at Corcoran Gallery of Art on September 15th.

In addition to The New York Times, Grundberg's writings have appeared inArtforum, Art in America, American Photo and Art Press, as well as inMetropolitan Home, Modern Maturity and British Vogue. A collection of hisessays on photography, Crisis of the Real, was published by Aperture in1990(expanded, second edition, 1999). His other books include AlexeyBrodovitch,a monograph on the graphic designer and his work; Mike and Doug Starn, asurvey of the artists' collaborative photo works; and a how-to manual, Grundberg's Goof Proof Photography Guide. In 2000 he received an Infinity Award for his writings on photography from the International Center ofPhotography, New York. Among the many traveling exhibitions he hasorganized are Photography and Art: Interactions Since 1946 (1987), Content and Discontent (1994), Points of Entry: Tracing Cultures (1996), and Ansel Adams: A Legacy (1997). Grundberg has taught the history of photography and photography criticism and theory at Dartmouth College, the San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco State University, the School of Visual Arts in New York, and the University of Hartford. He makes his home in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Grundberg's talk will be immediately followed by a reception at 5 P.M.

Light²: Images from the Photography Collections was organized by Cynthia Wayne, Curator of Exhibitions for the Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery; and Tom Beck, Chief Curator, Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery.

Light²: Images from the Photography Collections is supported in part byUMBC; the Friends of the Library & Gallery; the Maryland State ArtsCouncil,an agency funded by the State of Maryland and the National Endowment fortheArts; and the Baltimore County Commission on Arts and Sciences.

Gallery Information
The Albin O. Kuhn Gallery at UMBC serves as one of the principal artgalleries in the Baltimore region. Items from the Special CollectionsDepartment, as well as art and artifacts from all over the world, aredisplayed in challenging and informative exhibitions for the Universitycommunity and the public. Moreover, traveling exhibitions are occasionallypresented, and the Gallery also sends some of its exhibits throughout thestate and nation. Admission to the Gallery is free.

Hours of Operation
Sunday: Closed
Monday - Saturday: 12 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Saturday: 12 p.m. - 5 p.m.
The Gallery will be closed November 22 ­ 25, 2001.

Telephone and web
General Gallery information: (410) 455-2270
UMBC Artsline (24 hour recorded message): (410) 455-ARTS
Media inquiries only: (410) 455-3370

UMBC Arts website: http://www.umbc.edu/arts
Gallery website: http://aok.lib.umbc.edu/reference/gallery.php3

Directions
From Baltimore and points north, proceed south on I-95 to exit 47B. TakeRoute 166 toward Catonsville and then follow signs to the Albin O. KuhnLibrary.
From I-695, take Exit 12C (Wilkens Avenue) and continue one-half mile totheentrance of UMBC at the intersection of Wilkens Avenue and Hilltop Road.Turn left and follow signs to the Albin O. Kuhn Library.
From Washington and points south, proceed north on I-95 to Exit 47B. TakeRoute 166 toward Catonsville and then follow signs to the Albin O. KuhnLibrary.
Daytime metered visitor parking is available in Lot 10, near theAdministration Building. Visitor parking regulations are enforced on allUniversity calendar days. Hilltop Circle and all campus roadways require aparking permit unless otherwise marked.
See also this campus map.

Images for Media
High resolution images for media are available online:http://www.umbc.edu/newsevents/arts/hi-res/or by email or postal mail.