Greenville Technical College’s (GTC) Department of Visual Arts (DVA) presents the exhibition “Passages: Contrasting Photographs by Blake Praytor and Andy Warhol” at the Benson Campus Galleries through September 24.
“’Passages’ is an exhibition of contrasts,” said Fleming Markel, gallery director. “Blake Praytor's elegant black and white photographs carefully composed and skillfully realized in the darkroom contrast with Andy Warhol's black and white snapshots and Polaroids of friends and food and parties. Both made these particular photographs in the late 70's and early 80's but in different environments for different reasons and from different world views.”
Praytor recently digitally remastered the silver gelatin prints originally created between 1977 and 1979 and reinterpreted them as a narrative series of diptychs.
"I recognize them as more than just snapshots from my journey; they are a framework for optimism, a demonstration of how even the most chaotic moments can converge to create a larger, richer, more meaningful human experience,” said Praytor.
USC Upstate's Andy Warhol Collection generously loaned GTC the Polaroid and black and white photographs included in the exhibition.
Praytor served as chair of GTC’s DVA for nine years and as lead professor of photography until his retirement in 2012.
To learn more about the exhibition, visit http://www.gvltec.edu/benson-campus-gallery/. Exhibit is open to the public Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Benson Campus Galleries are operated by and for the faculty and students of GTC’s Department of Visual Arts, and are located at 2522 Locust Hill Road (Hwy 290) in Taylors.
Masks covering the nose and mouth are required to be worn at GTC by all campus visitors, students and employees. To learn more about the college’s response to the Coronavirus, visit www.gvltec.edu/COVID/.
Image provided by GTC Department of Visual Arts: "No Cats" by Blake Praytor from 'Passages' exhibition