Capcana Luminii 'Light Trap' Photography show 2008

Robin Fowler inspired me with her photos last year and gave me the idea that more people need to see her work. We found public space at the Cultural Centers Gallery and we invited our friend Dan Burlacu a local high school art teacher to present photos with us.

Take a look at Robins Work in our show we titled 'Light Trap'

Here are my (Joel's) contribution to 'Light Trap'.



The show opened with a short introduction by the new Art Guild director who is speaking in the picture. Then an art critic from the Modern Art Museum of Galati presented at length the exhibit as a whole and then took each artist in turn and discussed each.



The museum director spoke of a delight that the photos represented to him a return to nature and sensitive use and limitation of color and composition. I was proud to present Robin to the small crew gathered as a first time appearance in an official way in the art world in Galati. I am glad she was able to hear from the museum critic that her work is great.

This is another photo taken by Robin Fowler on their trip into Moldova. Below is a poem written by April Folkertsma on the ride.


I Can't Do Anything with this Dark

It's a quarter to 4 a.m.
And I can't do anything with this dark,
sleep, read, pray.
I can see only as far as the bus headlights illuminate,
along a bumpy Moldovan road,
On my way to Chisinau for clarification
or further vision.

My fellow travelers sleep
and I am asleep-awake in the twilight
world of jetlag.
This road leads past the lives of the living poor
whose barren vineyards are eery shadows-
appartitions who trail us, me, mile after mile
in this dark,
and I can't do anything

A fog settles in and not even headlights
are enought to cut through what I cannot see,
along a bumpy Moldovan road
on my way to Chisinau.
The fog breaks
The bumps increase,
We turn a corner
and I find I still can't do anything with this dark.

We pass a man walking in the night
and I wonder where he is going all alone,
so late, so early, without a light.
Perhaps he knows what to do with the dark,
and that is nothing more than go straight.
"Go straight," I hear him say as we speed by,
Our lights catching his eyes reflection,
illuminating. "Go straight," he whispers.
I catch a gleam of his life, and
breathe deeply the beauty of this,
a night when I could do nothing.

These insightful photos were taken by Robin Fowler now on staff in Romania. Usually photography is a wreck of unwanted colors, lines, and other distracting visual information. These are great examples of economy of information for the sake of an image that makes a whole and then draws you into the space it has created for you. Looking at most photos is like climbing into a dumpster, Robin has created sanctuaries for rest and reflection. Thanks Robin!