Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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JANUARY 4-10, 2017 UCW 13 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM SONI MARTIN, Contributing Writ- er. COMMENTS? Editor@upand- comingweekly.com. 910.484.6200. COVER STORY From f loating women in abandoned buildings to double-exposed portraits, photographs by Michele Bir evoke a second glance. Appearing as moments, the circumstance in Bir's narrative ranges from dreamlike to the supernatural. While viewing Perceptions of Circumstance: Photographs by Michele Bir at Gallery 208, visitors may sense they have discovered something voyeuristically intentional; while other photographs evoke quite the opposite – we have interrupted something very private. Whatever the intent of the artist, vulnerability is always present. Bir's background stor y as a photographer is unusual. She earned a Master's in Public Administration and concentrated on Public Polic y and Law and only became interested in photography when her husband was deployed in 2010. She purchased a 35mm Canon Rebel camera from eBay for $50 and st ar ted to explore the urban env ironment as a hobby. Since that relatively recent commitment, she doggedly researched the ar t of photography, photographers and Photoshop techniques. As recently as 2013 she decided to pursue photography as a career. Her t alent, diligence and compassion were rewarded when she was able to work as a freelance photographer for the Fayetteville Obser ver and Cit y View Magazine. Bir is presently employed as a photojournalist with the Sanford Herald in Nor th Carolina. Bir shared that she has been inf luenced by Surrealism and the idea of dream imager y. Develop e d i n t he 1920 s , Su r r e a l i s m a r t i s t s of t en ut i l i z e s t he element of s u r pr i se w it h r a ndom obje c t s a nd u npr e d ic t able ju x t ap os it ion s t h at one m ig ht f i nd i n a d r e a m . T he i r r at ion a l b e c ome s t he nor m; it i s a s t y le t h at pr ov ide s t he f r e e dom t o c onvey fe el i n g s a nd t hou g ht s . For Bir, "It isn't about capturing a moment in time or natural environments, but a way to recreate my dreams." That can be a Surrealist approach, but which one? When I think about Bir's images, I don't think of Surrealist Salvador Dali and his famous melting clocks. Instead, I am reminded of a quote by Surrealist Giorgio de Chirico: ""Although the dream is a very strange phenomenon and an inexplicable mystery, far more inexplicable is the mystery and aspect our minds to confer on certain objects and aspects of life." Bir seems to be ref lecting de Chirico's "aspect s of our mind confers on aspect s of life" in her own way - creating an eerie mood, one that we might encounter in a dream. The ar tist combines multiple images t aken at var y ing exposures, then merge them into a single image. The ar tist explained how an " image cont ains any where from six to12 different exposures and the incorporation of models allows for elevated stor y telling." Bir shared that her "photographs are my dreams and my nightmares. My work is an attempt to convey my emotions without words. It inhabits the undefined space where my soul meets my body." For me, she is like many contemporar y photographers and the photograph is a medium to evoke another way of seeing. A ll are backdrops for some k ind of transformation or revelation located in places hidden from us, forgot ten or abandoned. The public is inv ited to at tend the exhibit and the opening reception. Perceptions of Circumst ance: Photographs by Michele Bir opens on Tuesday evening , Jan. 10, bet ween 5:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Ever yone at tending the reception will get a prev iew of the exhibit and meet the ar tist . Bir will speak at 6 p.m. to brief ly t alk about her work . The exhibit will remain at Gallery 208 until mid- March 2017. Gallery is located at 208 West Rowan Street, Fayetteville. Hours of operation are Monday- Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. For information, call Up and Coming Weekly at 484-6200. Perceptions of Circumstance: Photographs by Michele Bir by SONI MARTIN Ash Fly Travis Fly