A photo taken by Philip Franta, a 3rd-year in art. Franta’s exhibition ‘Paris: Object Awareness,’ at the Ohio Art League starts Thursday and runs through Sept. 27. Credit: Courtesy of Philip Franta
The scenes that photographer and third-year art major Philip Franta captures are those of an urban wilderness.
“As an artist, I’m trying to communicate something not only about subject matter, but also the nature of perception itself,” Franta said. “The viewer may have difficulty discerning what the image is … it becomes a meditation momentarily. That’s part of the experience I’m trying to create.”
This nature of perception will be explored in the Ohio Art League’s exhibition of his work, titled “Paris: Object Awareness,” starting Thursday and running through Sept. 27. By using certain photographic techniques, Franta isolates specific elements of his photos to emphasize the object.
Seventeen of Franta’s photos will be on exhibit, all of which were taken during a vacation he took to Paris in October 2012.
“This is actually the first time I’m putting together a one-person show, and all the work will be from Paris,” Franta said. “I’m concentrating on certain aspects of the modern environment that give an insight into the post-modern environment we live in.”
“Object Awareness” delves into the dichotomy of the environment in which society exists, and another, subliminally transmitted environment, Franta said. Although all of the photos were taken in Paris, not much of the city itself is observed. In that respect, Franta said this project could have been executed in any major urban area.
“You don’t see a whole lot of Paris, it mostly comes through the edges. Within that is sort of a modern context of scenes that reflect the street culture,” Franta said. “Also the effects of commercialism and electronic media. They all come together in this dance.”
Former Ohio Art League intern and fourth-year in photography Olivia Miller said exhibitions from Ohio-based artists such as “Object Awareness” are representative of the types of displays the Ohio Art League wishes to hold.
The Ohio Art League is a nonprofit art organization for artists living and working in Ohio and presents opportunities for these artists to sell and show their work, often for the first time, Miller said.
“People should come to shows just to see different artists that work in the community and throughout Ohio,” Miller said. “It’s just a really good place to see different artworks and it’s really close to campus, too.”
The Ohio Art League is located at 1552 N. High St. in the South Campus Gateway.
