Beacon - It began as something professional; however, its result was very personal.
In February of 2006, photographer Jonathan Torgounik headed to East Africa, capturing images for Newsweek for the 25th year since the outbreak of the AIDS epidemic. While in Rwanda, he heard testimony from a genocide rape survivor who gave birth. A year later he returned to that same spot. This time it was personal. Capturing images of hundreds of rape victims, along with their children, Torgounik, narrowed his collection of photographs to a dozen. Each is now on display, along with an accompanying narrative, at the Fovea gallery, located on Main Street in Beacon. The riveting exhibit is one of several that opened to the public Saturday evening, as hundreds of guests visited an assortment of galleries that inhabit a bustling Main Street setting.
In each of the photos a mother could be found with her son or daughter; some were in close proximity, while others were off in the distance. There are an estimated 20,000 children that were born from rapes committed during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. The ensuing struggle faced by those survivors can be detected in their eyes; sometimes it exists in their words.
"I don’t love this child; maybe I will in time," said one mother.
"We were forced into marriage and being mothers," said another victim.
Some were raped by one man; others five or ten, while still others can’t recall the exact number because it was so high. In one case the assault lasted nearly six hours, leaving the woman nearly dead.
As visitors viewed the images, their emotions quickly surfaced.
"This is devastating; after all the killing and destruction, all of these mothers are still in pain," said Beverly R. of Beacon. "They carried life forward, yet they were treated as if they were not expected to live and managed to continue the human race." She added, "They lived, so they felt they were chosen to go forward."
Thanks to Foundation Rwanda that progress will be assisted. An organization aimed at sponsoring education for these children, as well as providing mothers with links to medical and psychological support, the Foundation has helped many. Guests at Fovea have an opportunity to contribute to that cause; a small money box is situated at the front of the gallery.
Another artist on the Main Street strip has produced art as a result of his travels. Beacon resident James Westwater’s "Postcards and Matches" exhibit can be viewed a few doors down from the Fovea, at the Van Brunt Gallery. Adorning the walls are 25 boxes, encased with multiple postcards accumulated by Westwater over the years. Born in Salvador, Bahia Brazil, he has lived in Portugal, the United Kingdom, Los Angeles, New Mexico and New York. The cards, which depict everything from beaches to cowboys to rodeos, contain a chiefly late 19th century backdrop. Some, such as the nine Beacon shots, housing DIA images, are modern day. Despite the specific locale portrayed on the postcard, each has a trademark Westwater touch, an oval or square insignia.
"The purpose of the ovals and squares placed in the middle are to place a doorway into the piece," explained Westwater. "This allows the viewer to go into the work in a personal way."
Westwater, whose postcard art began as gifts to friends, has always been intrigued by those personal and oftentimes function elements of art. Also on display in his current Van Brunt exhibit are 25 matchboxes, hung on the wall and containing actual matches.
"I’m trying to break down the barrier between functional and fine art, to blur that line," said Westwater. "A lot of artists today are doing the same thing, especially with the Internet and other technology."
For one guest to Westwater’s exhibit Saturday, viewing the postcard segment did something a little more.
"Looking at these vintage postcards reflects just how much we have changed as a society, as so few people even write any more, especially this way," said Lavinia Wiggins, who was impressed by the way Westwater assembled colors in his postcard collages. "It’s really interesting how the cards show a bygone era we will never get back but can be appreciated this way."
To learn more about these two artists’ works, on display for the next month, come visit the Fovea and Van Brunt Galleries. While you’re there check out the twelve other galleries that dot the Main Street setting. And if the nightly scene is more your style, mark your calendars; the next "Second Saturday" is slated for August 7th.
