BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//sebbo.net//ical-generator//EN NAME:Salt Lake City Public Library X-WR-CALNAME:Salt Lake City Public Library BEGIN:VEVENT UID:0888f1fd-046f-4db2-986f-260cbe0f3705 SEQUENCE:0 DTSTAMP:20260725T094556Z DTSTART;TZID=America/Denver:20230812T160000 DTEND;TZID=America/Denver:20230812T173000 SUMMARY:Unseen Struggle LOCATION:Main Library\nMain Library X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Main Library;X-APPLE-RADIU S=10;X-TITLE=Main Library:geo:40.760082,-111.884841 GEO:40.760082;-111.884841 DESCRIPTION:Artwork by Thomas Szalay - Exhibit runs from Aug 12 to Sep 22\ , 2023..\nhttps://slcpl.libnet.info/event/8784791 X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

ARTIST STATEMENT:

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Documentary photography for me has been a journey into self-discovery. I work in two ways when I set out with my camera: Long-term projects require patience and building a relationship of mutual trust. The rest of my imag e-making practice (besides family snapshots) is derived from walking aroun d and paying attention to light\, the background\, and the mood. I practic e making compositions quickly and quietly\, watching human gestures and pr aying to the photo gods to bless me with a moment in time that can never b e repeated. I don&rsquo\;t stage my photographs.

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Photographic Proj ects reflected in this exhibit\, "The Unseen Struggle\, Invisible to Visib le" include the first photo essay created in 1978-79 while attending Ohio University. It is about an older man named Tom Castell. He lived in a coun ty home for the mentally ill and abandoned elderly just a few miles from A thens\, Ohio. I spent over a year with Tom\, photographing him once a mont h or so\, documenting his life in the home or on outings like attending a circus or visiting the cemetery where his parents lie. Our relationship be gan as a subject/image maker and ended with a bond more akin to family.

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I truly feel that part of me is guided by a combination of empathy a nd spiritual awareness when I step out of my comfort zone to engage with o thers. Another example is when. I photographed the dawn lighting up Mr. Li ncoln&rsquo\;s statue when the National Park Service custodian suddenly ca me to work. He mopped off the previous day&rsquo\;s footprints with respec t as if he was paying homage.

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Photography has sustained me for ove r 50 years now. I started in my teenage year\, began my career as a newspa per photojournalist\, and ended my work day world as a photography teacher at West High here in Salt Lake City. Journalism opened my eyes to the des pair of orphans living in Romania\, the resilience of migrant workers\, an d more. As a teacher\, I became a student learning about the life of Somal i refugees displaced by conflict. My years in the classroom covered the tr ansition from analog photography to the digital era. I witnessed how techn ology changed the teaching profession and the social interactions with tee ns.

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My photographs in this exhibit span 45 years. Circumstances an d attitudes may have changed the world we live in\, yet it is the human he art that speaks to me the loudest Each time I hold a viewfinder to my eye\ , I create a silent visual poetic composition that brings me closer to und erstanding just how connected we all are.

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Thomas Szalay
May 2 023

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See more artwork on my online gallery: Circle7finearts.c om
Thank you

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ARTIST \;BIO: \;

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Thomas Szalay grew up in San Diego\, California. He picked up a camera in high school and after graduation\, he ventured out on a cross- country road trip with his two of his brothers. He bought dozens of rolls of Kodachrome and Tri-X film. He was drawn to the black-and-white document ary photography tradition when photographing people. He completed his BFA degree at Ohio University in 1979. He worked for his hometown paper\, the San Diego Union-Tribune\, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat\, and the Ogden St andard-Examiner. In 1995\, he switched his passion for taking photographs to teaching photography. He taught adjunct at Weber State University\, and then full-time at West High School in Salt Lake City. He retired in 2019. During his time as a teacher\, Szalay continued to do freelance photograp hy on the side. Assignments for the LA Times and smaller magazines. His wo rk has been exhibited in galleries\, museums\, and libraries in Portland\, Maine\, Utah\, and San Francisco. His work documenting Romanian orphans h as been published internationally.
During his photojournalism career\ , Szalay won numerous press awards\, including Picture of the Year. He rec ently started to enter international contests and has recently garnered ho norable mentions from the Annual Spider Awards which recognized great Blac k &\; White Photography globally. On Magcloud.com. he has self-publishe d three books: Even The Sparrow Has Found a Home\, Timeless\, and Wings an d Hoofs. His next book\, Conversations\, will be published this
year.

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Szalay&rsquo\;s work can be viewed at:
● Website: Circ le 7 Fine Arts (https://www.circle7finearts.com/)
● Portfolios: The Social Documentary Network
(https://socialdocumentary.net/exhibi t/Thomas_Sz...
● Books: Magcloud. (https://www.magcloud.com/bro wse/issue/1423687)
● Instagram: @tommybszalay
● Inst agram: Circle7finearts
● Facebook: Thomas B SzalayPhotography\n

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This exhibit is held in conjunction with artist Sa ra Naylor. \;

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