Remembering Bethlehem Steel
Exhibition of Stephen Wilkes' large format photographs documents the abandoned "Plant that built America."
Santa Fe (PRWEB) October 5, 2005 -- Monroe Gallery of Photography, 112 Don Gaspar, is pleased to present Remembering Bethlehem Steel", an exhibition featuring the documentary project of leading contemporary photographer Stephen Wilkes. The exhibition opens on Friday, October 7, with a public reception for the photographer from 5 – 7 PM on Friday, October 14. The exhibition continues through November 20.
Remembering Bethlehem Steel" is a collection of large format (up to 48 x 60 inches) cibachrome photographs of the abandoned buildings that once formed the great Bethlehem Steel plant. Known as The Steel", the former plant, which closed on November 18, 1995, encompasses about 100 acres with more than 25 buildings and other structures dating from as early as 1863. Wilkes photographs capture the haunting beauty of these historic buildings. Virtually nothing has been done to protect the buildings, which have experienced deterioration and vandalism. Roofs are leaking and, in some cases, have blown off, and windows and doors have been broken and interior contents damaged. Using natural light, Wilkes painstakingly photographed the peeling paint, rusted iron, broken glass and halls with wind-strewn debris and created an ethereal diorama that is captivating and compelling. I felt as if the workers had just left for a coffee break," said Stephen Wilkes, whose photographs document the stillness of a plant that, even in its desuetude, remains a potent symbol of the nation's industrial might.
Steel from the Bethlehem Works was used to build 80% of New York Citys landmark skyscrapers, including the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building; additionally its steel built the George Washington Bridge, Golden Gate Bridge, the Lincoln and Holland Tunnels, the locks of the Panama Canal, battleships and armor plates for two World Wars, as well as and to reconstruct the White House in the Truman era. Today, the sprawling mill lies dormant after Bethlehem Steel lost the property in 2003 due to bankruptcy, in danger of being cleared for a retail complex or industrial park. In 2004, a development group unveiled preliminary plans for an industrial-themed mixed-use redevelopment that includes a slot machine gambling parlor as the "economic engine" that will help finance the preservation and rehabilitation of the historic structures. Unless preservationists succeed in saving the birthplace of integrated steel-making, there might not be a single blast furnace, machine shop, foundry or crucible building left on the site of one of Americas – and the worlds – greatest industrial triumphs.
Wilkes' photographs preserve a memory of that not-too-distant age, when proud men and women produced the steel that built a nation.
Stephen Wilkes is one of the leading location photographers in the United States, recognized for his work in the corporate and advertising industries, for his fine art photography, and for his international projects. In 1998, Wilkes photographed the abandoned south side of Ellis Island, and was able to help secure $6,000,000 in funding to restore the buildings there. Today all that remains of the past are Wilkes' haunting images
Photography has been Stephens passion since age 12, when his fascination with science led him to take photographs through a microscope. He began working on his own at age 15, attended Syracuse Universitys Newhouse School of Communications, graduating in 1980. Just two years later, Wilkes opened his own studio in Manhattan.
Ever since I took my first pictures, photography has always been the joy of discovery for me," says Wilkes. The excitement not only lies with what I see and how I see it, but mostly when someone looks at the finished photograph and feels the same emotions I felt when I took the picture. There is something sacred about the right moment. The frame where all the energy comes together and, in one instant, a story is told."
Wilkes has completed corporate and advertising photography for many of the countrys leading advertising agencies and companies, including American Express, ABB, Maxwell House, Epson, Nike, Sony, AT&T, Visa, Amtrak, Ogilvy & Mather, among others. His editorial work has appeared in Travel & Leisure, Fortune, The New York Times Magazine and Life Magazine. A monograph, Ellis Island" will be published by W. Norton in the fall off 2006.
Monroe Gallery of Photography was founded by Sidney S. Monroe and Michelle A. Monroe. Building on more than four decades of collective experience, the gallery specializes in classic photography with an emphasis on humanist and photojournalist imagery.
Gallery hours are 10 to 6 Monday through Saturday, 10 to 5 Sunday. Admission is free. For further information, or to schedule an interview with Stephen Wilkes, please call: 505.992.0800. Media kit with images available upon request.
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