Welcome to Sam Low.com - Photographs, Articles, and Musings

The Sam Low Photography Galleries are Copyright SAm Low. Please do not use these images without Sam's permission. He grants it here. THANK YOU! MAHALO!

GALLERY 1 | GALLERY 2 | GALLERY 3 | GALLERY 4

Photo Essay

Martha's Vineyard Night

Photo Essay

Vineyard Lifeline

New - Graphic Art

New- Maine Roller Derby

Exhibit of Sam's Photographs at

Dragonfly Gallery

Oak Bluffs, Martha's Vineyard

June 21 - July 2, 2006

Artist's Reception 5 - 7 PM June 24.

THE TWO COUSINS EXHIBIT

September 3, 2005 - the old Agricultural Hall in West Tisbury on Martha's Vineyard. Along with my cousin Lanny McDowell and a half dozen or so helpers, I unload a plethora of cars and trucks to set up my first photographic exhibit. The task before us is formidable. Within the next five hours, we have to convert a dark barn-like hall into an art gallery for a one day photo and painting exhibit. Thrirty six flood lights have to be mounted, some 80 works of art hung, a huge digital TV monitor hooked up, tables unfolded, flowers arranged, champagne chilled and a half ton or so of finger foods prepared.

Perhaps I am a little ahead of myself.

Here, read this Vineyard Gazette article to get yourself placed in time:

Front Page

Friday, September 2, 2005

PAINTING AND PHOTOGRAPHY TEAM UP FOR UNUSUAL COUSINS SHOW .

Cousins, Partners in Art Open Two-Man Exhibit At West Tisbury Grange

By BRIEN HEFLER

LANNY MCDOWELL (LEFT) AND SAM LOW SHARE LAUGHTER AND

ARTISTIC GENES. Photo by M.C. Wallo

Sam Low and Lanny McDowell have a lot in common.

For a time the two raced performance cars on Connecticut tracks. They each dabbled in other occupations before discovering their calling. And a rainy-day lunch of dill havarti cheese and ripe tomatoes seems to sate them both.

But what really unites them is something in the genes: Mr. Low and Mr. McDowell are artists and second cousins once removed. The two share a love of color and vibrancy, a glib sense of humor and a willingness to explore their respective medians: acrylic paint for Mr. McDowell and digital photography for Mr. Low. Come Saturday, the artistcousins will hold their first collaborative show at the agricultural hall in West Tisbury .

Seated on plush couches in Mr. McDowell's barn-turned-gallery in West Tisbury , surrounded by their varied and complementary works, the two artists beg the question of how large a role heredity plays in personality.

Both hail from artistic families. Mr. McDowell's mother, Martha McDowell, was a renowned sculptor; Mr. Low's parents Sanford Ballard-Dole-Low and Virginia Hart are both known for their masterful paintings.

For Mr. Low's part, a filmmaker and photojournalist most of his life, it was the technological advances made possible by digital cameras that more recently inspired him to explore the fine art field. Armed with a Nikon D-70 camera, Mr. Low traversed the Island landscape all last fall, waking at dawn and shooting throughout the day. Once he captured an image that tickled his fancy, he would return home to manipulate the colors, tones and textures on his computer. The process, he explained, was largely one of serendipitous experimentation.

One of his favorite pieces, Propeller, is a close-up of a bright, brass propeller. Using the powerful computer program and an artist's eye, Mr. Low brought out minuscule details, such as a tiny nick on one of the blades that suggests the working nature of the boat and crew manning it. Another featured work, Morning has Broken, captures a crimson sunrise peeking through phragmites tassels.

Standing on an easel is another favorite, Homeport, a photograph of the schooner Alabama slumbering at its mooring in Vineyard Haven while the Islander lumbers toward it in the distance. Mr. Low took the shot by paddling out in his kayak and cradling his camera just millimeters off the water's surface.

His work — bold, different and captivating — soon attracted the attention of Mr. McDowell, a well knownIsland painter. As luck would have it, he was looking for an artist to participate with him in an upcoming show. The two recalled visiting an exhibit in New Britain , Conn. , in 2002, which featured both their mother's works, and gradually realized they, too, could pair up and showcase their art. The idea simmered until recently, when Mr. McDowell called the photographer and popped the question — which did not go over well in the beginning.

“My first reaction was unprintable,” Mr. Low said. “I wasn't ready.” After a little coaxing, a mock-up of their art side by side and a lot of gentle ribbing, Mr. Low had a change of heart. “This exhibit is really a process of development that Lanny kicked off,” he said. “It's a milestone for me.”

As for Mr. McDowell, he has been working full-time as an artist for over a year now. A former carpenter, he finally heeded the call and hung up his tool belt for good.

“At some point you have to pick a date and say, That's when that part is over and I get up and think about art and not what tools to put in my truck,” said Mr. McDowell of his decision.

“Part of it had to with the double-sided sword of growing up in an art family.”

Mr. McDowell works at his craft every day at the Ott Gallery behind his house. The building is resplendent with his varied paintings hanging floor to ceiling. Recently he has focused on three themes: conventional boat hulls against unusual backgrounds, water reflections and the magic of undulating grasses. His work has been praised for its color and vibrancy, a compliment that has baffled the painter.

“Everybody mentions it, and the curious thing is my materials aren't any different from the other painters,” he said.

A three-painting series of a fishing boat returning from sea is a prime example of the artist's unique take on light, color and horizon. Mr. McDowell was rounding Moshup's Point one winter day when he spotted the vessel. Returning to the gallery, he set about transferring the image onto canvas and realized one was not enough. The first painting, aptly titled South Coast Working Boat No. 1, shows a close-up of the boat returning, set against an aquamarine sky and deep blue sea. In the second painting, South Coast Working Boat No. 2, Mr. McDowell employed one of his favorite techniques: blending the sea and sky's horizon into one. The result is an almost three-dimensional depiction of the boat; it leaves it to the viewer to decide where ocean ends and sky begins. In the third, the familiar working boat turns orange in the evening sun and a speckled sky of clouds spreads behind it. Another painting in the gallery, Sargasso Overlook, is a strong example of Mr. McDowell's abstract interests. In it, he blends reds, greens and blues to create an impression of water and reflection. The painting is not based on any particular scene, but came straight from his mind's eye. Closer examination reveals which direction the waves are traveling, or which way the wind is blowing — though it all depends on the viewer's interpretation.

All of his work is uplifting, the result of the vivacious, make-your-eyesblink colors and the beauty of the scenes captured on canvas. This is not unintentional, as Mr. McDowell firmly believes in the optimistic side of art and its healing power.

“I am interested in harmonies, but they are strong harmonies. These are not foggy days,” he said. “It's about communicating some kind of up-attitude — that's what the colors are about.”

Mr. Low agreed, and the two stopped to compare notes on the importance of color and perspective. Then, considering their mutual endeavor, they both reached a similar conclusion: “I'm really happy that Sam is my partner in this enterprise,” Mr. McDowell said.

“And without Lan, there would be no enterprise for my art,” Mr. Low said. “I think these two types of art work very well together.”

The Two Cousins Art Exhibit opens Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Grange, with a reception from 4 to 8 p.m. Pianist David Stanwood will play at the event and light food and champagne will be served.

________________________________________________________

OK. So not only was I a little concerned about setting up the exhibit, I was worried about what would happen then. Would anyone come? Would they actually buy anything? Would they have fun? Would I and my friends have fun? Or was the whole thing an exercise in hubris? Had my ego led me down a twisted path to disaster?

I had been taking photographs most of my life and I had made a few dozen successful movies and videos. But this was a fine art exhibit and it was being put up on Labor Day weekend in one of the most intense art zones in the world. This was the home of photographers like Alison Shaw and David Fokos and artists like Thomas Hart Benton and Rez Williams. What was I thinking?

All that aside, I was also stepping into the shoes of my parents, two very successful artists. How could I possibly compete with them?

I was buoyed by the presence of my wife Karin and old friends who had swarmed to the island to help me out. They were filmmakers who had won many awards and knew the business of presenting visual images: Terry Rockefeller and her husband Bill Harris and their daughter Hannah; Bob Burns and Deborah Dorsey - my partners in Cambridge Studios - and their children Bobby and Georgia; and Melanie Wallace along with her husband Andre Martin and their daughter Samantha. If anyone knew how to get things done, it was this group.

As it turned out - I needn't have worried.

"This is the best damn art opening I have ever attended," one savant told me as the champagne flowed and David Stanwood struck up on the piano in the background. Photographs seemed to fly off the walls - I sold twelve of the twenty I had hung and later received orders for five more - almost a sellout!

Here's what it looked like: