American photographer Lawrence D’Attilo will hold two art exhibitions with Vietnam as their subject from August 26 to October 9 in the US.
The five art projects in the exhibitions include photography and collaborative cross media installations with music. They were put together by Lawrence D’Attilo and fellows from Vietnam and America during the artist’s four years in Vietnam from 2006 -2010.
The first exhibition’s three projects, including Time for New Women – photography with mixed media, The New Women Entrepreneurs – photography, and Hanoi Windows, as exhibited in Milan, Italy in 2007, will show in RedLine Milwaukee Time from August 26 through September.
Two other projects, Hanoi: A Portrait of a City – After One Thousand Years of History; and Ha Giang, Vietnam – Ethnic Minorities and Water Issues, will run from Sept. 7 to Oct. 9 at Crossman Gallery – UW Whitewater.
“Hanoi Windows: Inside Looking Out, Outside Looking In” was first presented in Campus Hanoi in 2006. It identifies Hanoi’s iconic life at night. Lawrence’s negative film photos about Hanoi with the city’s street sounds are displayed while music by US violinist Pamela Foard and Vietnamese composer Vu Nhat Tan plays in the background. The exhibit will feature hanging transparent photos with the accompanying sounds and will be set in a large tubular room.
Viewers can best enjoy the installation by walking through the structure so that their bodies can relate to the forms and sounds.
Ha Giang - Ethnic Minorities and Water depicts the relationship between the terrain, the weather and the water supply, which have a huge influence upon the living conditions of the tribal ethnic minorities in the mountainous province of Ha Giang, bordering China in the north.
People in the province have electricity, satellite TV, and motorbikes, but the local economy is weak. The weather is one factor that greatly influences the economy. Vietnam has two seasons: rainy and very dry. Meanwhile, productive farming in the area requires a continual supply of water throughout the year.
At high altitudes, like those of the mountainous province of Ha Giang, irrigation and water reservoirs are almost impossible, creating difficulties for farmers.
A lack of water year round means fewer crops per year. Farmers struggle to grow enough crops. There is no surplus they can sell, and therefore no income to spend on other needs.
Lawrence D’Attilio is a fine arts photographer whose work has featured various locations all over the world. He has taught various photography courses over twenty-five years at several institutions including UW Madison, Cardinal Stritch College, The Milwaukee Center for Photography, and The Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts.
His photography has been exhibited in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Milan, Chicago and Milwaukee.
