Capturing colorful Canada
Captivated by the colors, textures, and culture of Canada, photographers Keith Spiro and Art Ferrier wanted to share their passion for the country in images for everyone to see.
''There is this absolute feast of visual stimulation out there," said Ferrier, describing the inspiration behind the photos in his portion of the Chimera Gallery exhibit. ''It gives you an idea of what it is that drives us to Canada."
The exhibit features 60 photographs, 30 each from Ferrier and Spiro. The opening reception Saturday, sponsored by the government of Quebec and the Canadian Consulate in Boston, will be Canadian-themed with live music and entertainment and traditional Canadian pork pies. Open to the public, the event will welcome Mael Solen Picard, public affairs director of Quebec; Marc A. Jacques, academic and cultural affairs officer of the Canadian Consulate General; and Jay Minkarah, director of economic development for Nashua.
''The photos go from landscapes in the Canadian Rockies to abstract stuff in Montreal and Quebec," said Ferrier. ''We've covered Canada coast to coast and province to province," added Spiro.
Every inch of the 2,100 feet of space in the Chimera Gallery is devoted to this exhibit through May 27. The space is divided in half with Ferrier's work on one side and Spiro's work on the other.
''You look at it," Spiro said, ''and, depending on where you're standing, you're either overwhelmed by color or, standing on his [Ferrier's] side of the Canadian world looking out at mine, you see the gritty Canadian city. There's a piece of gritty and there's a piece of pretty."
Ferrier lived near Lebanon, N.H., for 17 years and used to make the three-hour trip to Montreal often. He has driven across Canada twice, but is especially drawn to Montreal and Quebec City.
''Aside from San Francisco, they're the two most visually and culturally alive cities I've ever been to," he said.
Spiro has traveled to Canada at least twice a year for the past 30 years, but this show focuses primarily on his last five years of image taking. Some of his favorite photographs are several older images from the area near the Arctic Circle. The black-and-white photos capture the old narrow-gauge railways left over from the Klondike gold rush in the late 1800s that still exist in Carcross in the Yukon Territory.
''You get a sense of it through the color, or the lack of color," he said. ''These are four images that cover that part of the world and that part of history."
The two photographers traveled Canada independently, and this is the first time their work has been exhibited together. When the two men came together to go over the photographs for the show, they realized that, although they had traveled all over the country of Canada for their photos, they had taken one photo that was the same. ''We both took a photo of Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac, a very imposing hotel, a very grand European-style hotel with turrets, in Quebec City," said Spiro. These photographs mark the entryway to the exhibit.
''I think people will be very excited to see everyday visual images from a fine arts photographer's point of view," said Spiro. ''It really is a celebration of all things Canadian."
