Fitchburg Art Museum CELEBRATES Italy, Photography & Family with 3 New Exhiitions

185 Elm Street Fitchburg, MA 01420 Phone: (978) 345 – 4207 Fax: (978) 345-2319 Fitchburg Art Museum www.fitchburgartmuseum.org

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FITCHBURG ART MUSEUM CELEBRATES ITALY, PHOTOGRAPHY & FAMILY WITH 3 NEW EXHIITIONS

Fitchburg – Fitchburg Art Museum presents a trio of exhibitions with connections to Italy, photography and family. The exhibitions are sponsored by the Clementi family foundation with support from the Italian consulate, and opens October 5. The exhibitions run January 4, 2009.

“The Allure of Italy: Photography, Fashion and Design since 1945” focuses on Italy’s artistic, cultural, and industrial rebirth over the past 60 years. The 80 original Italian objects on display include a beaded Versace evening gown and a Ducati super bike. Photographers whose work is on view include Paolo Monti and Mario Giacomelli.

“Italian design is known for combining cutting-edge technology with superb craftsmanship. Whether it’s clothing, furniture, or shotguns, each item in the exhibition demonstrates the strength and allure of Italy’s cultural and artistic legacy ” says Kristina Durocher, the Museum’s Curator.

Museum photography consultant Stephen Jareckie, co-curatored the 55 photographs on exhibit. “Native-born photographers and non-Italians are represented in the show; their work is linked to give viewers a broad and rich picture of Italy. “

The “Dinner Series: How we Lived” presents photographs by the Worcester-based Stephen DiRado. This has been a life long project for the Clark University lecturer, recording the meals he has enjoyed with family and friends while watching relationships unfold around a table. Stephen explains that the eighteen photos “ are inherently autobiographical, and illustrate how I envision myself at specific points in my life within this community.”

Peter Laytin, Professor of Communications Media at Fitchburg State College coordinated “Italy in View”. This group show of 18 photographs presents various views of the country by Fitchburg State College students who studied in Verona, Italy last summer.

About the Fitchburg Art Museum The Fitchburg Art Museum is North Central Massachusetts’s oldest and most treasured cultural institution, founded in 1925 through a bequest of artist and educator Eleanor Norcross. Fourteen galleries house a diverse collection of over 3000 objects spanning

~ MORE ~ more than 50 centuries. These include American and European paintings, prints, drawings, ceramics and decorative arts as well as Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Asian and pre-Columbian antiquities and changing exhibitions.

Highlights from the permanent painting collections include masterworks from John Singleton Copley, Rockwell Kent, Georgia O’Keeffe, Joseph Stella, Raoul Dufy and Joseph Wright of Derby.

Hours: Tuesday – Sunday from noon – 4pm Admission: Free for members; $7 for Adults. $5 for seniors and students (13+). Fitchburg Art Museum supports Fitchburg’s First Thursday and is free from 4.30 PM – 8PM every first Thursday. The Museum is wheelchair accessible. Info: Call 978 345 4207 or visit www.fitchburgartmusuem.org/. Contact: Peter Timms – Director. Email - [email protected]. Phone – 978 342 4207 ext 301 Fiona Casey –Director of Marketing. Email – [email protected] or phone – 978 342 4207 ext 312

Sample exhibit photos and additional information:

1. Allure of Italy: Sample of exhibits: 1. Copy of Olivetti typewriter warranty – CIRCA 1967 2. D&G American outfit

Featured photographers

Italian - Paolo Monti, Nino Migliori, Mario Giacomelli, Tazio Secchiaroli, Franco Fontana, Paolo Ventura and Massimo Vitali.

Non-Italian – Americans Paul Strand, Jules Aarons, Joel Meyerowitz, Stephen Brigidi, Mark Cohen, Elliott Erwitt, Anro Rafael Minkkinen and Frenchman, Henri Cartier- Bresson.

Stephen Di Rado’s Dinner series, sample picture: 1. John and Jim, February 17, 2007, Worcester, MA. Images captures John O’Reilly and Jim Tellin at dinner. 2. Fish stories, July 24, 2001, OAK Bluffs, MA

Fitchburg State College, Italy in View, sample pictures: 1. Resting Chefs – Gina Descarreaux 2. Light – Meagan Leonard

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