Thursday, January 23, 2014

San Pedro's New Visitor's Center Opens with Photography Exhibition Curated by Ingrid Dietrich. January 22, 2014. PhotoJournal by Ginger Van Hook

Ingrid Dietrich, Curator of "San Pedro In the Eyes of..."
Director and Curator of the Arts Department for the San Pedro Convention & Visitors Bureau.
www.sanpedrotourist.org







 

As the sun was setting in the horizon,the fog was rolling in from the sea and I exited the 110 freeway making my way down to 6th Street where I made a right turn looking for the San Pedro Convention & Visitors Bureau. A quaint, artistic community, a sleepy little town of seagulls and sailors by the ocean where mighty ships float gently on the shimmering water whispered promises of art and adventure.
My former student and now graduate alumna of Otis College, Ms. Ingrid Dietrich, had invited me to a new show she had curated titled "In the Eyes Of" where each artist photographer demonstrated their perspective of San Pedo's landscape and history from the city they lived in and then came to visit San Pedro to shoot the landscape. Each artist contributed only one image and I was really looking forward to the show. Unexpectedly, as I approached the entrance to the visitor center, all the people where leaving and milling about outside on the sidewalk. The fog embraced the crowd. The lights of the city dimmed in a blur of color. The musicians held their instruments, the audience held their breath.

Ah...this wasn't a firedrill...I surmised. It was indeed a RIBBON CUTTING EVENT!  What a nice surprise, since I arrived while everyone was exiting the building I was left behind, so to speak, in the front row where I got to shoot some perfect images of the President of the San Pedro Convention  & Visitors Bureau, Mr. Scott F. Gray, announcing the cutting of the ribbon and the OFFICIAL GRAND OPENING OF THE NEW SAN PEDRO CONVENTION &VISITORS BUREAU!

I learned of the pride the San Pedro residents have in their city as a port for the tourists from all over the world. This new center represents a welcome hand in friendship to those who may enter this fine city...

This is my favorite type of field work for me, documenting the artwork of the city, discovering new talents and promoting the hopes of artists that love to explore the inner and outer limits of a culture, something a kin to anthropologists studying the ways of the ancients.

As the ribbon was cut, there was applause and the audience spilled back into the gallery space that was thriving with song and blended harmonies of guitar and bass solos. There were delightful cookies and scrumptious sandwiches and fudge stacked in layers of trays tempting my every move, but I try not to eat while I shoot the scenes... And soon I was surrounded by my former students, all smiles,Ingrid Dietrich, Jenelle Casarez, Taylor Utley, Roger Thomas, Miguel Bejarano all now fully fledged photographers with careers of their own, their work hung just so all over the walls of the San Pedro Convention & Visitors Bureau. I got my picture taken with all my students, big smiles with lots of hugs and well wishes. The scenes on the walls reflected perspective. The perspective was that a tiny little community is packed with history in San Pedro and I have yet to take my time and explore every nook and cranny. But there in front of my eyes was an exhibition that encompassed a string of pearls of history...tied together with the history of the California Coast, my students had become a master of a story about to unfold.Thus, Congratulations goes to Ingrid Dietrich for curating a successful opening of a new portal into the city by the sea.
Congratulations to the artists who have taken on the courage to shoot such a diverse and tempting landscape. Congratulations too, to Scott F. Gray, the President of the San Pedro Convention & Visitors Bureau with whom I had the pleasure of meeting. For those of you who may be interested in enjoying a wonderful trip to San Pedro for fun in the sun or sailing by the bay do visit their website:

www.sanpedrotourist.org

The San Pedro Convention & Visitors Bureau is located at
225 West 6th Street, San Pedro, California 90731


Ingrid Dietrich poses by postcards of her photographs sharing her perspective of the city she is enchanted with, San Pedro, California. Photo by Ginger Van Hook©2013

In her debut exhibition, Curator Ingrid Dietrich, the recently appointed Director and Curator of Arts Department at the San Pedro Convention & Visitors Bureau, organized this show and selected work from her colleagues she had met through several semesters of the certificate program and graduates of the Continuing Education Program in Photography at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles. Ms. Dietrich has plans to unite educational facilities in the South Bay area to promote continuous upcoming exhibitions that reflect on the beauty and depth of San Pedro's Artistic Culture and Community.






"In the Eyes Of" Curated by Ingrid Dietrich  celebrated its opening reception, 
January 22, 2014 in San Pedro at the newly opened San Pedro Visitor's Center. 
Attending the event were the photographers, curators and artists 
From left to right, Photographers Ginger Van Hook, Taylor Utley, Ingrid Dietrich, 
Janelle Casarez, Roger Thomas, Miguel Bejarano 
posed for a reunion photograph shot by Churairat Maffei.
In her debut exhibition, Curator Ingrid Dietrich, the recently appointed Director and Curator of Arts Department at the San Pedro Convention & Visitors Bureau, organized this show and selected work from her colleagues she had met through several semesters of the certificate program in photography at Otis College of Art and Design, eventually, reuniting her former Photography Instructor, Ginger Van Hook with her recently graduated students from Otis College of Arts and Design. 

The artists:

"San Pedro in the Eyes of South Wittier"
Miguel A Bejarano

"San Pedro in the Eyes of Torrance"
Allan Stanburry

"San Pedro in the Eyes of Redondo Beach"
Jenelle Casarez

"San Pedro in the Eyes of North Venice"
Michael Detto

"San Pedro in the Eyes of Manhattan Beach"
Roger Thomas

"San Pedro in the Eyes of Long Beach"
Taylor Uttley

"San Pedro in the Eyes of East Venice"
Molly Mitchell-Hardt

"San Pedro in the Eyes of South Gate City"
Debora Gonzalez

"San Pedro in the Eyes of South Gate City"
Jorge Gonzalez

"San Pedro in the Eyes of Culver City/San Pedro"
Ingrid Dietrich


-- 
Ingrid Dietrich
Fashion Photographer-Stylist-Model
Tel. (213) 915-7705
Website: www.mobilestudio.us
Blog: www.ingriddietrich.com
Facebook: facebook.com/ingriddietrich.photographer








































































The artists:

"San Pedro in the Eyes of South Wittier"
Miguel A Bejarano

"San Pedro in the Eyes of Torrance"
Allan Stanburry

"San Pedro in the Eyes of Redondo Beach"
Jenelle Casarez

"San Pedro in the Eyes of North Venice"
Michael Detto

"San Pedro in the Eyes of Manhattan Beach"
Roger Thomas

"San Pedro in the Eyes of Long Beach"
Taylor Uttley

"San Pedro in the Eyes of East Venice"
Molly Mitchell-Hardt

"San Pedro in the Eyes of South Gate City"
Debora Gonzalez

"San Pedro in the Eyes of South Gate City"
Jorge Gonzalez

"San Pedro in the Eyes of Culver City/San Pedro"
Ingrid Dietrich

-- 
Ingrid Dietrich
Fashion Photographer-Stylist-Model
Tel. (213) 915-7705
Website: www.mobilestudio.us
Blog: www.ingriddietrich.com
Facebook: facebook.com/ingriddietrich.photographer




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