ALEXANDER’S CAFÉ AND WWW.STJOHNGALLERY.COM PRESENT
Jessica K Rosenberg
b/w photographs-New Work
February 14- March 13, 2003

"I very much appreciate Jessica’s photographs because they are a reminder to me of the artistic imagery in everyday scenes and life. So often in the Virgin Islands we turn the camera lens to the obvious beauty of our natural landscape. Urban landscapes on the other hand require the skill of seeing the beauty of form, pattern, and expression. That skill and the more subtle qualities in life captured in these photographs are what make this exhibit so interesting.” - Claire Ochoa

"Sax Lady " 11" x 16" black/white photograph $325 framed

OPENING RECEPTION WITH ARTIST
Meet St. Thomas artist Jessica K Rosenberg at Alexander’s Café in Frenchtown, St. Thomas on Friday, February 14 from 5pm until 6:30pm. Everyone is invited to attend the complimentary champagne and appetizer reception and register for a gift from Jessica. For more information, contact Show Coordinator Claire at (340)643.6363.

WHY PHOTOGRAPH?
“We make photographs because we can capture moments in time on film, which allows us to revisit that moment whenever we wish. We can see different things in the same photograph over time, as we change, as our collective vision changes, as times change. As a photographer, I feel film/cameras permit/make me “see” more acutely. The activity of taking pictures helps refine my vision, feelings, and perceptions. Furthermore, the pictures I take strive to show a slice of present-day life, be it a sad moment, a fleeting glance, numerous emotions, as well as light, composition. The image is generally composed in the viewfinder well before I release the shutter. It is an ideal situation to print the whole frame and not crop when printing.” – Jessica K Rosenberg

"Bike Man " 11" x 16" black/white photograph $325 framed

INFLUENCE
Rosenberg attributes two distinctive influences for her life long passion for photography: receiving her first camera at the age of eight and growing up with the book The Family of Man. (The book is a collection of over 500 photographs from Edward Steichen taken from all over the world that documented everyday life from birth to death.)

Rosenberg received a B.A. degree from Minnesota specializing in lithography and offhand glassblowing. After graduation, she built and operated two glass labs in Grenoble, France before branching out into design and illustration. She worked as a freelance art director in NYC for many years before moving to S. Thomas in 1985.

Her photographic influences include Dorothea Lange who documented farm and migrant worker families during the Great Depression, as well as Robert Frank and Garry Winogrand, both known for their urban landscapes, documenting the full experience of everyday life. More recently Rosenberg studied with George Tice, a contemporary American photographer and Jim Megargee, a master printer.

When not focusing on her art, Rosenberg is busy raising three children, now 10,13,and 15 years old. Presently she splits her time between her family, dogs, cats, parrot, sailing, painting with pastels, and shooting and printing black and white photographs in a darkroom she built at home.

The exhibit continues through March 13.