Exhibit of “ODU Portraits” Opens Friday at the Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries
November 13, 2019
Glen McClure sets up a shot last spring. Photo by Cullen Strawn
Glen McClure with ODU student assistants in April 2019. Photo by Cullen Strawn
By Amy-Matzke-Fawcett
An exhibit opening Friday aims to capture the richness of life at Old Dominion University.
"Eye to Eye: ODU Portraits by Glen McClure" will be on display in the Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries on Monarch Way and features 60 photographs taken of students, faculty and staff at the University over three days in April.
McClure, a Norfolk-based photographer known for his street portraiture, worked with student volunteers to take photos of anyone who wanted their picture taken on campus.
"With street portraits, you're not sure who will show up or not show up or how the light will look at that moment, and it's challenging because it's happening fast," McClure said.
University students set up lights and equipment, helped adjust camera settings, took information from those photographed for captions and assisted McClure with other parts of the process. That included standing on a ladder to hold up a board to block light to ensure correct composition of a photograph. The assistance allowed McClure to shoot more portraits in his distinctive style while giving the students experience.
"The University received an open invitation to be photographed," said Cullen Strawn, executive director for the Arts at ODU. "The exhibition depicts those who came out and reflects ODU's vibrancy and rich diversity. While much of Glen's work is presented in black and white, 'Eye to Eye' is in color and features prints of different sizes, some quite large."
McClure says he loves that street portraits provide a moment in time.
"I look at it as a sort of historical document of what's current, because even in five to 10 years, clothes and hairstyles change, and even something as small as the kind of headphones they're wearing change," McClure said.
McClure estimates he's taken thousands of photographs of people on the street in over the past 42 years. This "mixing bowl of humanity" is displayed all over his Norfolk studio, with portraits of people from around the world, including France, Italy, Ireland, Cuba, Costa Rica - and now ODU.
The exhibit's opening reception, which is free and open to the public, will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday. "Eye to Eye: ODU Portraits by Glen McClure" will be on display until May 17.
For more information on the exhibit, visit https://odu.edu/life/culture/arts. For more on the arts, follow @oduarts, @gordongalleries and @oduartsletters on Instagram, and Arts @ ODU and ODU College of Arts & Letters on Facebook.
