‘Perceptual Doubt’

Past and future fog the present in James Barth’s photographic constructions

NARROWSBURG, NY — An exhibition of photographic constructions by James Barth, titled “Perceptual Doubt,” will open on Friday, July 6 at the Alliance Gallery at 37 Main Street, with an artist’s reception from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. The exhibit will be on view through July 27.

Barth describes his artwork as an exploration of “how the past and future may interfere with our ability to perceive the present,” whether disturbing childhood memories, internal narratives or self-reflective dialog.

Born in 1950 in the Bronx, Barth studied dance at the Herbert H. Lehman College before moving to lower Manhattan and becoming a performance artist. In his 1974 performance piece “Aces and Eights,” he delivered original text through recorded and live voice, and through slide projection. The recipient of a 1977 Creative Artists Public Service Grant, Barth is now creating photographic work composed of photographs and texts created over the past 30 years.

In 2003, Barth began teaching himself Adobe Photoshop, enabling him to combine text with photographs. “My current work is a direct extension of my performance art created during the mid 1970s,” he says. “In each case, I deconstructed an image into 81 sections. I then enlarged and printed 41 parts in color, and 40 in black and white, in an alternating pattern. I then trimmed each print and reconstructed the image.”

Barth currently resides and works in Beach Lake, PA and Jackson Heights, Queens.

This exhibit, free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance, the Arts Council for Sullivan County, NY, and is made possible in part with funding from the Visual Arts Program of the New York State Council on the Arts.

Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

For more information visit www.ArtsAllianceSite.org or call 845/252-7576.