South Texas College’s Technology Campus Library presents “Portrait of a Poet,” an exhibit featuring photography by Ileana Garcia-Spitz. The exhibit opens Thursday, Feb. 6, 2014 and will be on view through May 9. An artist lecture will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 13 at the Technology Campus Library, located at 3700 W. Military Hwy. in McAllen. Admission is free and open to the public.
Ileana Garcia-Spitz never set out to document the Valley poetry scene, but it beckoned to her to do so. After attending a performance, her love for sounds of words bonded her to the performing poets. As an English teacher, Garcia-Spitz is drawn to words and their smiths, and as a photographer she is drawn to the impact of words as they are spoken and heard.
“The portraits displayed are taken in passing moments that were never intended to be documented,” Garcia-Spitz said. “But it is within those stolen moments that the beauty, strength, and frailty of words and people are captured.”
Garcia-Spitz received her bachelor’s degree in English and works as a teacher and a local photojournalist. Being raised by a former migrant worker turned D.C. politician and a Catholic nun turned social worker, she has certainly been exposed to the dualities of life. Her studies in the humanities have also developed her appreciation for the differences between cultures. This exposure has made her sensitive to the human condition and its spirit, developing her eye and readying her for spontaneous opportunities to capture the story.
“This is an area of the arts that has yet to be documented in the Rio Grande Valley,” said Dawn Haughey, STC Library Art Gallery associate. “Garcia-Spitz’s keen photographic eye and quiet patience have allowed her to bring this culture alive to us all.”
STC’s Library Art Gallery exhibits regional, national and international artwork, explores new visions and theories of creativity, and introduces innovative artistic expressions to the South Texas region.
For more information, contact Max Garcia at max@southtexascollege.edu or 956-872-6207; or Dawn Haughey at 956-872-3488 or dhaughey@southtexascollege.edu, or visit http://lag.southtexascollege.edu.
