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Gallery Opening: Peter Bosco’s “Hand of Man, Pencil of Nature: Pictures of the Constructed and Natural World”
April 26 @ 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm EDT
“The title of this exhibition references two historic figures and occurrences in the literature of photography. The Hand of Man was the title of an iconic image made by Alfred Stieglitz, long considered the high priest of American photography. Stieglitz made his 1903 image. Hand of Man, from the back of a moving train car in Long Island, New York. The scene depicts the action of man in a smoke-filled hellscape — a train yard filled with heavy industrialization. New York City and America were seeing unprecedented growth and development.
The Pencil of Nature is the title of a book from Englishman William Henry Fox Talbot, one of the inventors of photography. Mr. Talbot was a renaissance man who experimented and engaged in all manner of science. He was fascinated with optics and securing an image with his camera lucida. He remarked that his optical device produced a far superior image to what he could draw with his “faithless pencil.” Talbot later created the first photographically illustrated book of the natural world, The Pencil of Nature, c.1844.
Like most people, I live in both the man-made and natural worlds. While they are quite different, I am insatiably curious about each. The world of urban America is full of social and cultural references, in a state of constant change. The natural world is universal and timeless. I enjoy the juxtaposition and visual challenges of each genre. The work herein includes several projects from forty-plus years of photographic exploration, but my approach does not waver. My intention is to make pictures of pure description, without judgment or prejudice, to impart a sense of humanity. My best hope is to make an image that approaches poetry — to leave something for others after I’m gone.”
Peter Bosco
Shaftsbury, Vermont
A photographer for 40 years, Peter Bosco holds an MFA in photography from Ohio University and taught photography at several colleges in Connecticut. He was the teacher coordinator at the renowned Maine Photographic Workshops in Rockport, where he worked with celebrated photographer Arnold Newman. Peter later worked as
Mr. Newman’s first assistant and personal printer in New York City.
Peter makes pictures of America and the natural world. He works primarily with 8 x 10” and 11 x 14” view cameras, working exclusively in film. He produces old-school darkroom images using gelatin silver or platinum materials. Peter was a grant recipient of the Connecticut Commission on the Arts. His photographic work has been exhibited throughout the northeast, with a solo show at the New Britain Museum of American Art, and a group exhibition at Yale University. His photography is in the collection of the Newark Museum of American Art, the Mount Washington Observatory Museum, as well as private collections.
Peter has also produced a documentary film, George Tice: Seeing Beyond the Moment, about the life of renowned American photographer George Tice. The film received high praise and was screened around the country following its June 2018 airing on New York City Public Television.
Mr. Bosco is a resident of Shaftsbury, Vermont.