In my work I photograph people who have a deep felt sense of tradition. For a year of days beginning in the Autumn of 1999, I lived in a remote village in the Maramuresh region of northern Transylvania, Romania. This area came to my attention through my love of Balkan Folk Dancing. My research revealed the Maramuresh region to be unique amongst the former Soviet Bloc for the way it had preserved its way of life. After World War II, for forty years of communist rule, a few valleys in Maramuresh escaped collectivized farming because of poor soil and hilly landscape. In the post cold-war period, preservation continues because of pervasive impoverishment which slows the advancement of modernity into the reaches of northern Transylvania. But nothing will stand still forever. While the older generation still don winter footwear that pre-date the Romans, the younger generation flock to market to buy shoes bearing that ubiquitous swoosh of western manufacture.

My purpose is to capture and convey images of their way of life before it becomes further compromised by globalization. In our modern world, we often feel we have ÒlostÓ something important, something precious. Though they do not know it now, these peasants are losing their customs in the same way our forebears lost theirs. They do not see themselves as beautiful or special, because they feel poor and ordinary. But I hope to show they embody beauty because of the way they have spent their days walking paths trodden by their grandparents. Because of the way their lives have become well worn like an old wooden spoon.

KATHLEEN LARAIA MCLAUGHLIN

Education
2001          M.F.A., Photography and Film Department, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
1990          B.S., Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
 
Fellowships and Grants
2003        United States Department of State Federal Assistance Award
2002-3    Fulbright Lecture/Research Senior Scholarship, Council for International Exchange of Scholars (CIES), Washington, D.C.
2002-3    Individual Advanced Research Opportunities (IARO) Fellowship, International Research & Exchange Board;  National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship, Washington, D.C.
1998        Graduate Studies Fellowship, Virginia Commonwealth University, School of the Arts, Richmond, Virginia
 
Solo Exhibitions
2003        National Museum of Art, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
2003        Museum of the Romanian Peasant, Bucharest, Romania  
2002        Ethnographic Museum, Sighetu Marmatiei, Romania
2002        Galeria, National Academy of Art, Bucharest, Romania
2002        University of California Berkeley Extension, San Francisco, California 
2002        Franklin Street Cafe, Tribeca, New York City, New York
2002        East-West Gallery, Romanian Cultural Center, New York, New York
2001        Romanian Embassy, Washington, DC
2001        Anderson Gallery, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
1998        Sara D. November Gallery, The Jewish Community Center, Richmond, Virginia
 
2-3 Person Exhibitions
2004        Maude Kerns Art Center,  Eugene, Oregon
2003        Eastern Kentucky University,  Giles Gallery, Richmond, Kentucky
2001        Soho Photo Gallery,  New York, New York
 
Group Exhibitions
2003        The Contemplative Man, Cultural Center, University of Nantes, France
2002        The Photo Review 2002 Photography Competition Exhibition, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
2002        Lancaster Museum of Art's Photo National 2002, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
2002        Il Primo Internazionale della Fotographia Chiaramonte Gulfi, Gulfi, Italy
2002        Midwest Photography Invitational: XII, Lawton Gallery, University of Wisconsin, Green Bay, Wisconsin
2002        Humanity Photo Award 2002, Beijing, China
2002        The 145th Royal Photographic Society Exhibition, Stoke Museum and Art Gallery, England
2002        Contemporary Photography in Virginia, Western Virginia Museum of Art, Roanoke, Virginia
2002        Gallery Print Photographic Awards, Gallery Print, Stillwater, Minnesota
2002        Women’s Center Juried Exhibition, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho
2002        Threads of Tradition, Smithtown Township Arts Council, New York
2001        Annual Juried Photography Exhibition 2001, Corporate Museum & Frame Gallery, Richmond, Virginia
2001        7th Annual National Photography Competition, Texas Artists Museum, Port Arthur, Texas
2001        Folio, Charles H. Taylor Arts Center, Hampton, Virginia
2001        9th International Photographic Art Exhibition, Scengde City, China
2001        Latent Images, Our Dream Gallery, Portland, Oregon
2001        Spectra ’01, Third National Photography Biennial, Silvermine Guild Arts Center, New Canaan, CT
2001        Honoring the Crone, WomanMade Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
2001        Current Works 2001, Society for Contemporary Photography, Kansas City, Missouri
2001        The 144th Royal Photographic Society Exhibition, Stoke Museum and Art Gallery, England
2001        She-Painting, East-West Gallery, Romanian Cultural Center, New York, New York
2001        Fresh Works, A Celebration of Virginia Photography, 1708 Gallery, Richmond, Virginia
2001        May All Media Show, Shockoe Bottom Arts Center, Richmond, Virginia
2001        7th Biennial Juried Competition in Southeastern Photography, Crealdé School of Art, Winter Park, Fl
1999        1st Annual Richard Nagler Photography Competition, Judas Magnes Museum, Berkeley, California
1998        New Visions, Main Exposure Gallery, Richmond, Virginia
 
On-Line Exhibitions
2003        WomenInPhotography.org
2002        Sightphoto.com 
2001        GalleryPrint.com
2001        AbsoluteArts.com
2001        IRIS - International Centre for Women in Photography, Staffordshire University, England
1999        Kathleen's Home Page
 
Publications
2003        The Times Saturday Magazine, reproduction of photographs (cover and photographic essay), March 8, 2003, London, England
2002        LensWork #44, reproduction of photographs (cover and portfolio), December 2002/January 2003, Anacortes, Washington
2002        The Photo Review, reproduction of photographs, Langhorne, Pennsylvania
2002        Humanity Photo Award 2002, (exhibition catalogue), reproduction of photographs, Beijing, China
2002        Contemporary Photography in Virginia, (exhibition catalogue), reproduction of photograph, Western Virginia Museum of Art, Roanoke, Virginia
2002        New Rag Rising, photographic essay, High Point, North Carolina
2001        Style Weekly Magazine, reproduction of photograph, December 11, Richmond, Virginia
2001        The Photo Review, reproduction of photograph, Langhorne, Pennsylvania
2001        7th Annual National Photography Competition, (exhibition catalogue), reproduction of photograph, Texas Artists Museum, Port Arthur, Texas
2001        144th International Print Exhibition Catalogue, reproduction of photographs, Royal Photographic Society, Bath, England
2001        7th Biennial Juried Competition in Southeastern Photography, (exhibition catalogue), reproduction of photograph, Winter Park, Florida
2001        Style Weekly Magazine, reproduction of photograph, April 24, Richmond, Virginia
2001        Tribeca Trib, reproduction of photograph, July/August, New York, New York
2001        Downtown Express, reproduction of photograph, July 3, New York, New York
2001        The Villager, reproduction of photograph, July 4, New York, New York
 
Teaching Experience
2002-3    Visiting Artist Lecturer, Ioan Andreescu Academy of Visual Arts, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
2002        Assistant Professor, Cinema and Photography Department, Park School, Ithaca College, Ithaca, New York
2001        Photography Instructor, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
2001        Photography Instructor, The Hand Workshop, Richmond, Virginia
1998-9    Teaching Assistant, Rockland Community College, Suffren, New York
 
Professional Memberships
2001-03    TheVirginia Society for the Photographic Arts
                    Society for Photographic Education
                    College Arts Association
                    Women In Photography International
2001-02    Society for Contemporary Photography
                    Center for Photography at Woodstock
The Print Center

 
Permanent Collections
                      Western Virginia Museum of Art, Roanoke, Virginia
                      Judas Magnes Museum, Berkeley, California
                      Photography and Film Department, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
 
Honors and Awards
2002        1st Place Award, Photo Review, 2002 Photography Competition, Langhorne, Pennsylvania
2002        4th Place Award: Portrait & Costume Category, Humanity Photo Award 2002, Beijing, China
2002        2nd Place Award, Women’s Center Juried All Media Exhibition, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho
2001        Best in Competition, Gallery Print Photographic Awards, Stillwater, Minnesota
2001        1st Place Category Award, Documentary, Gallery Print Photographic Awards, Stillwater, Minnesota
2001        1st Place Award, May All Media Show, juried by Joseph Johnson, Shockoe Bottom Arts Center, Richmond, Virginia
2001        2nd Place Award, 7th Biennial Juried Competition in Southeastern Photography, Crealdé School of Art, Winter Park, Florida
2001        Photography Award, Spectra ’01, Third National Photography Biennial, Silvermine Guild Arts Center, New Canaan, Connecticut
1999        1st Place Student Award, 1st Annual Richard Nagler Photography Competition, Judas Magnes Museum, Berkeley, California
1998        Outstanding Service Award, Virginia Commonwealth University, School of the Arts, Richmond, Virginia
 
Art-Related Work Experience
1998        Internship, Mary Ellen Mark, Falkland Road, Inc., New York, New York
1999        President, Organization for the Exhibition of Photography and Film, Student Organization, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
1998        Internship, The Bowyer Studio, Richmond, Virginia
1997        Gallery Coordinator, Main Exposure Gallery (managed and operated by graduate students), Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia

BOOK PROPOSAL

THE COLOR OF HAY: Ancient Peasant WaysÊ in Modern Transylvania

The quality of a haystack can be told by its color, the quality of a man by the time he takes to bring one in.
Photographs by Kathleen Laraia McLaughlin, Text by Henry Woods McLaughlin