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Low Life Gallery located in Cleveland's Collinwood neighborhood
Click here for a video of the event!
Low Life Gallery is out to prove that, yes, there is beauty in an old rust belt town and that brain drain is just a myth. Low Life specializes in art from Buffalo, New York, to Gary, Indiana and all cities in between. Owner and curator of Low Life, Dave Desimone, calls this region the "armpit of Lake Erie." It's not a glamorous name, but rings true. This is a working class, elbows out part of the country and Low Life was created to show that great art can emerge from it.
The latest exhibition at Low Life is called This is Cleveland (All the Stuff I See). 30 people were given a disposable camera to take pictures of what Cleveland means to them. Out of the 27 exposures, 16 from each roll were chosen for display. That's a total of 480 4 x 6 photos arranged on the walls for viewing.
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Mallorie Freeman next to her photos
Much of the photos focus on the stripped down, gritty nature of Cleveland's inner city streets. Justin Vaughn's pictures center mostly the routes he drives, yet there is an underlying macabre sense of humor. There are abandoned buildings and lonely decay, but if you look in close, there are funny things going on. One photo has graffiti claiming, "B*tch, I'm from Cleveland!" And another features the graffiti tag, "RIP lil' Sh*t" which allegedly can be found all over East Cleveland.
Another series of photographs takes a completely different direction. Mallorie Freeman's can be called a mannequin tourist series. She brought a mannequin torso, which she bought at an antique store on Lorain in the early 90's, and propped it up at the touristy spots around town. There's one in front of the Terminal Tower, by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Edgewater Beach, and the list goes on. What's interesting about these is they became more about the experience of hauling around a crazy looking mannequin, than the photos themselves. You can only imagine the strange looks and odd conversations.
Low Life is a relatively new gallery, which just opened last September '08. It's all about embracing what this region has to offer. There's no pretention. Just an outlet for culture. The latest show is on display June 12 - 27.
Low Life Gallery
16001 Waterloo Road
Cleveland, Ohio 44110
lowlifecleveland@yahoo.com
www.myspace.com/lowlifecleveland
Dave Desimone - Culture Warlord
330-671-6123
For more info on Garrett Weider:
garrettweider@yahoo.com
http://www.garrettweider.com/
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