FotoFocus show hosted in Cohen gallery

Xavier University and the Department of Art recently featured
a pair of exhibitions in conjunction with Fotofocus Cincinnati
during the month of October. Fotofocus, a nonprofit arts organization, promotes the presence of photography everywhere and its importance within contemporary
culture. Launched just this past month, Fotofocus's goal is to recapture "the spirit of Cincinnati's legacy as an epicenter of art production and creative exchange, and seeks to revitalize that spirit for the 21st century," according to their website. This past month Xavier University Art Galleries hosted the exhibits Connie Sullivan: After Life and
Photographers x Photographers. "We always are excited to bring a variety of art for our students and guests to see and interact with," Director of the Art Gallery at Xavier Kitty Uetz said. "We always hope to be a part of any big art event locally." After Life, a photo-based installation created by Connie Sullivan, provided comic and somber interpretations of what happens to us after we die, all in an exhibition of three-dimensional photographs. The images were skeletons posed in humorous and sometimes solemn poses with everyday objects and pieces. Each picture was then placed in light boxes to create the appearance of a three dimensional image.
Photographers x Photographers began as a project by local photographers to step outside of their own camera, becoming another artist's subject. Local photographers drew names out of a hat earlier this year to determine who
they would shoot. The project provided the artists with an opportunity to learn and understand what it means to be someone else's subject. Throughout this process they
learned more about their work, finding inspiration in the way another photographer works. "The idea was to really capture what each photographer is really all about," Uetz said. Photographers x Photographers featured over 60 local artists from various disciplines within photography,
including commercial, fine art, weddings, journalistic, portrait and more. The opening of Fotofocus brought the largest opening reception Xavier University's Art Galleries has ever had. Also featured in the exhibition were recent photographs from two 2012 graduates of Xavier's Department of Art program -Emily Berg and Alexa Von Bargen. Their images were displayed on the third floor of the Gallagher Student Center.