Now on display in the PAC Members Gallery at Roast Coffee and Tea Trading Co. is a series of photographs by Carole J. Amodeo. Her photographs fabricate the experience of walking down a lively, busy street, capturing not only the storefront mannequins that model elegant dresses, but also the sounds of traffic and tall buildings that are cast by the reflective glass windows. Amodeo’s work brings to mind notions of consumerism, fashion, and the hustle of a city lifestyle.
One photograph in the exhibition, Blue Heaven, depicts a mannequin dressed in a royal blue overcoat with a blue fur trim, black shawl, and black hat. Her stance is sturdy; with feet spread shoulder length apart, she uses an umbrella in her left hand as a walking cane for additional support. She averts her gaze from the viewer, instead looking down and away. She is in the company of an expressionless white horse sporting a black top hat and an elaborate ruff, similar to those found in 17th century portraiture, around its neck. A white door with a silver kick plate divides the two, hiding the body of the horse. The pair is seen from behind glass, with a street scene unfolding in the darkness of the figures’ clothing and background. Beyond the mannequin’s storefront dwelling, the viewer finds cars that are stopped at a stoplight and pedestrians walking down the street going about their days.
In NY Beat, Amodeo alters the point-of-view of the audience, showing a figure as seen from above. Here, the mannequin, dressed in a black-feathered top with a gold lining, sits at a drum kit. With drumsticks in hand, she is posed in a manner to mimic playing the instrument. Sheet music is scattered on the black-and-white checkered floor, and beyond that, in the reflected surface of the window, skyscrapers. Not only is it interesting to see the juxtaposition of the interior storefront scene seen against New York City skyscrapers, but the unique point-of-view of the piece also allows the viewer to contemplate how the artist was able to create such a stimulating composition.
Amodeo is a Patchogue based artist who is drawn to the interpretation of light and the vibrancy of color in landscapes and cityscapes. She is a member of the Women Sharing Art, Inc., the South Bay Camera Club, and the Patchogue Arts Council. Her work has been published in The Photographer’s Edge, and the Patchogue Chamber of Commerce Magazine.
The Patchogue Arts Council is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation founded in 2008 to promote, encourage, and support the arts on the greater south shore of the Town of Brookhaven. The Patchogue Arts Council and Roast Coffee and Tea Trading Company created the PAC Members Gallery at Roast in the summer of 2013 as an alternative exhibition venue where PAC members can exhibit their artwork. In addition to exhibiting artwork and brewing award-winning coffee, Roast Coffee and Tea Trading Co. hosts weekly open mic nights on Tuesdays and Fridays and a monthly poetry night on the first Saturday of every month. Looking Through A Window: Photographs by Carole J. Amodeo is on display at the PAC Members Gallery at Roast from March 9 – April 30, 2014. An opening reception will be held at Roast on Sunday, March 15, from 2 – 4 PM.