D. R. Cowles Photographs of Jewish Morocco in NYC

D.R. Cowles has photographed extensively in Morocco and his photographs will be on display at the 92nd Street Y starting on Friday, Sept. 4. For some of his photographs of Jewish Morocco click here and here. His Morocco photos were taken in 1993 and 1995. I have visited most of the Jewish sites that he photographed - some have been restored (like the synagogue in Arazan) and some have almost completely deteriorated (like the Mansano Synagogue in Fes). This exhibit is a must see. Information is below: D. R. COWLES—PHOTOGRAPHS, 1993-2008 Using a hundred-year-old photographic process, D. R. Cowles has spent the last fifteen years turning it to contemporary purposes: documenting vanishing architecture and artisanal traditions, reinterpreting art antiquities and exploring the untapped potential of his nearly-obsolete medium to advance a modern aesthetic. In his choice of subject matter as in his means of rendering it, the past is given new life: human history, art history and the history of photography converge in images equally informed by the present. This exhibition traces an artistic journey, representing several phases of Cowles’ work with key pieces. Fri, Sep 4—Wed, Oct 21, 2009 Viewing hours are 12–4pm on the following days unless otherwise stated: 9/4 9/8 9/9 (12:15 start) 9/18 9/21 9/25 9/29 10/7 (12:15 start) 10/8 10/13 10/15 10/20 About D. R. COWLES Born in Boston, David Cowles studied at New York University's Graduate Institute for Film and Television and later at Concordia University where he majored in European and Jewish history. In 1993, fusing historical with photographic interests, he made the first of numerous trips to North Africa to document remaining Jewish sites in Morocco, Egypt and Tunisia. In the course of this project, Cowles also photographed Islamic and traditional Moroccan architecture, Roman ruins, and art antiquities. Since 2002, he has moved from artistic documentary to making photographs as pure art, refining his late 19th century printing process and applying it to semi-abstract still life studies and multiple-print composite images. Cowles has lived in Montreal since 1976. His work is represented in numerous private and public collections including the National Gallery of Canada, the Canadian Centre for Architecture, the Tel Aviv Museum and the Jewish Museum of Casablanca.

All prints are courtesy of the artist. D. R. Cowles is represented by Yosefa Drescher Fine Art,www.ydfa.com.

For more information regarding this exhibit, please call 212.415.5740. General Viewing and Contact Information for the Weill Art Gallery The Milton J. Weill Art Gallery is open to patrons of Kaufmann Concert Hall during regularly scheduled events. For viewing at other times please call 212.415.5563 to schedule an appointment. Milton J. Weill Art Gallery, 92nd Street Y 1395 Lexington Avenue , New York City 92YTribeca Gallery Click here to visit the 92YTribeca Gallery at the 92YTribeca site.