Some thoughts about the exhibition „Now and Then“

The origins of this exhibit actually go back into the 1970’s and my arrival in Europe from North America. Life was secure in its identity and purpose then and I was unaware that a new set of circumstances and experiences would change this situation. I had only come for a visit, thereby confirming my voyeuristic attitude toward anything new.

In the meantime, my visit has lasted some 28 years and been anything but passive. Although having pursued widely different endeavours in the arts as well as pedagogy in Europe during this time, I settled on photography as my central means of artistic expression. This meant that a camera was a constant companion recording my discoveries with utmost mechanical and electronic objectivity. As the simple documentation of scenes gave way to a desire to visually explore structures, surfaces and their relationship to light and shadow, my photographic results began reflecting a strong connection to painting, and in some cases were visually interchangeable.

My purpose remains, however, to explore life photographically. The exhibition reflects various travels as well as experiences lived in part on both sides of the Atlantic and reinforces the common values inherent in various cultures. Things are not better or worse
here or there, but simply different. Our curiosity as children and life’s confirmation as adults has still left the door open to a vast array of diversity.

In assembling the photographs for the exhibit, I was constantly reminded of their similarities, regardless of chronology or intent. The arrangement of prints in pairs or small groups underscores this reality. Their content encompasses one of my earliest photographs taken in Egypt and progresses through various experiences in North
America, Europe and Hong Kong. Some are abstract, some figurative. This is an autobiography. A view of life inherently unchanged in purpose and only affected by technological advances in photography.

Paul Boisvert, April 2006

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