Harkening to the call of savvy photo voices

“Photovoices”

Various artists

Through April 2

Pittsburgh Filmmakers Galleries

447 Melwood… “Photovoices”

Various artists

Through April 2

Pittsburgh Filmmakers Galleries

447 Melwood Ave.

There are photographs that educate and instructors who exhibit manifestations of their mind’s artistic fervor. We see portraits of Latinos with striking eyes that have seen desperation and witnessed a crumbling community. We see men working at a Chinese take-out restaurant with hopes of a prosperous future.

At Filmmakers Galleries, such images that teach and showcase myriad scenes explore a Latino community unbeknownst to most Pittsburghers and display works from faculty members.

Pittsburgh’s Filmmakers Galleries, located at 477 Melwood Ave., will feature two new exhibitions through April 2. Photography and video innovations by 10 Latino artists will be featured in the Outer Gallery.

The group show is titled “Photovoices” and presents artwork sure to have an influence on spectators, portraying the strengths and difficulties that exist in the Latino community.

In the New Gallery are works produced by the faculty of Pittsburgh Filmmakers’ School of Film.

Latino photographers, videographers, installation artists and health advocates have combined their ideas and artistic efforts to create “Photovoices.” The innovators seek to illustrate the themes and strengths of Pittsburgh’s overlooked and “invisible” Latino community.

“Photovoices” is the first of a four-part Latino Health Advocacy and Leadership Program project. The participants of LHAL are active members of Pittsburgh’s Latino community and have expedited improvements in Latino health with the aid of the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs (GACLA) and the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

With the additional help, LHAL has initiated several projects such as health promotion/education, expansion of clinical capacity and a formal community health assessment to help progress the state of Latino health in Western Pennsylvania.

Several of the photographs capture daily moments frequently witnessed: A child is captured playing in a park and teenagers are caught swimming in a pool. However, these common occurrences are made new through vibrant colors and a simplicity that captures the smiles and happiness of the Latino community. This austerity is reminiscent of photographs found in a family album and serves to whet the viewer’s sense of Latino familial intimacy.

“Photovoices” consists of photographs containing arresting and lush colors. Philomena O’Dea’s “Dia de los Muertos” focuses on a Latino woman and the bright and sensuous colors and patterns of her clothing. Fiona Wilson’s “Boy in Park” consumes the eyes through its incredible hue of green grass that surrounds the small child.

In the featured black and white photographs, the stark contrasts create images that convey bold statements on the state of Latino health. In Annie O’Neill’s photograph, “Mother and Child,” a mother cradles her child and wears a poignant expression that causes questions to arise – Is she ill? Is her child sick? Lynn Johnson and Elizabeth Press create a visual declaration in their photos “Birth in Dominican Republic,” “Dialysis in Cuba” and “Cuba Pediatric Care” in which startling images of a birth and sicknesses follow one after the other.

The “Faculty Show” features photography, film, video and installations produced by the faculty members of Filmmaker’s working artists. Photographs range from Pittsburgh city skylines and bridges to captured street corners in Shanghai. The talented faculty reveals the work in several ways and through different mediums. Some incorporate graphite into their photographs while others print “emoticons” onto T-shirts.

The works of art displayed at Filmmakers are diverse and powerful images, videos and installations. They capture and collaborate simple yet fascinating works of art that convey multiple messages. Whether through inspiring sadness or awe, the exhibit will surely provoke and entertain.