June 21 to July 28, 2006

Transitions

Fran Forman

"The Playroom"

Fran studied art and sociology as an undergraduate at Brandeis University and then received an MSW, working for several years with heroin addicts. Discovering that she could indeed earn a living in the arts, she entered Boston University's School of Fine Arts where, specializing in photography and graphic design, she received her MFA. She has held a succession of positions in the field of design: branding, print, and signage for corporate, arts, and retail establishments; CD-roms for books, museum installations, sales and training; book cover illustrations; animations, multimedia, and web designs.

Most recently, Fran was Senior Designer with AOL Time Warner, where she was designer of the pre-eminent web site devoted to African American culture. Between professional life and raising two daughters, Forman continued to create her personal art, combining her illustrative and photographic skills with a passion for surrealism, paradox, illusion, assemblage, and the dislocations of time and place.

"Woman in the Window"

With a background in psychology, design, and photography, I am influenced by the photographic potential of fabricated worlds and the surreal intersection of portraiture, dreams, and memory. My collaged images often begin with the humble tintype portraits of anonymous mid-19th c. Americans. Dressed in their finest, posed in the itinerant photographer's makeshift studio, they sat immobilized, then waited to receive copies of their new 'instant' likeness. They paid a penny or less and presented their tiny metal images to loved ones, perhaps to mark a special event in their lives, or before they headed off to battle. Their desire was to be remembered.

I photograph and re-assemble these images into a fabricated environment; I incorporate objects as clues in an attempt to suggest a buried narrative and a connection to their past and future. Through them and the worlds in which I place them, I try to make sense of issues of time, relationships, and connections.

My inspiration derives not only from 19th c. photography but chiefly from the 20th c. artists using visual narratives and symbolism to convey ideas and interpretation of the human condition: the juxtaposed assemblages of Joseph Cornell and Max Ernst, the paintings of Rene Magritte, the poetry and photography of Duane Michals, and the ordinary but surreal imagery of Ralph Eugene Meatyard.

Education:

: MFA, Boston University; MSW, Simmons College; BA, Brandeis University

Exhibitions

2006: Duxbury Art Association, juried competition, Duxbury, MA; Concord Art Association, juried competition; Watermark 2006, juried international competition, North Carolina; Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, top 40 international competition, Los Angeles, CA; Attleboro Art Museum, National Small Works competition, Attleboro, MA; The Pen and Brush, juried international photography competition, New York, NY; Dangenart Gallery, juried international competition, Nashville, TN; Women's Caucus for Art, juried competition, Boston; Bunker Hill Community College, juried competition, Charlestown, MA; Upstream People Gallery, juried international competition, Omaha, NE; Red Dot Fine Art Gallery, juried competition, Santa Fe, NM; Northwest Art Center, juried competition, Minot State University, North Dakota; Energy Gallery, Freestyle 2D, juried international competition, Toronto; Pigmentia Gallery, Medford, MA; Belmont Gallery of Art, solo show, Belmont, MA; The Gallery at Concord Library, two person show, Concord, MA; Iona Gallery, solo show, Provincetown, MA
2005: Cambridge Art Association, juried competition "Red"; Pigmentia Gallery, Medford, MA; BB&N Gallery, Cambridge, MA
1996: Walt Whitman Cultural Arts Center, Rutgers University
1995: Brush Art Gallery, Lowell, MA; Boston Society of Architects, Women in Architecture group show

Honors and Awards:

2006: Best in Show, Duxbury Art Association juried competition, Duxbury, MA; Members Prize, Concord Art Association juried competition, Concord, MA; Special Recognition, Upstream People Gallery, Omaha, NE
1995: First Prize, Brush Art Gallery; Gold Award, Invision: Newmedia, "A Jack Kerouac Romnibus"
1994: Finalist, Invision: Newmedia, "¡Dime!"
1993: Finalist, Invision: Newmedia, "Quilt Windows"
1990: Adaptive re-use, South Station, Boston Society of Architects
1986: Polcari's, The Best of Restaurant Design
'80-'86: Various, Women in Design; Various, Art Directors Club of New England

Illustrations/Publications:
Illustrated Covers:
-Grassroots Spirituality (Imprint Academic, 2004)
-Mysticism, Mind, and Consciousness (State University of New York Press, 1999)
-Calendar Magazine, Boston Globe, 1977
-1990-2000: Illustration and Design - Major Titles: "A Jack Kerouac Romnibus" (Penguin Putnam, NY, NY)
-"Becoming Americans" (Strawberry Banke Museum, Portsmouth, NH)
-"His Name was Lincoln" published by Sunburst Communications
-Musicians Toolbox II, Cakewalk Audio
-The Art of Business Ensembles (Advance/Micromentor, Cambridge, MA)

Press Coverage:
-The Worcester Phoenix, October 27, 1995
-Boston Sunday Globe, October 8, 1995
-Brandeis Review: Beats and Bytes Fall 1994
-Brandeis Review: Banners
-Art New England: Art and Technology 1995
-The Sun (Lowell, MA) 1995
-Time March 21, 1977
-Time April 18, 1977
-Vineyard Gazette, May 27, 1977
-The Daily Free Press 1977
-Bostonia, Summer 1977
-New York Times, Jul7 3, 1977
-Nightly News with John Chancellor, 1977
-Channel 5 with Chuck Kramer, Interview, 1977
-The Boston Phoenix, August 2, 1977
-The Real Almanac, May 21, 1977

Graphic Design and Illustrations (2000-2006):
-AOL Time Warner, Art direction and design:
-Africana.com
-Black Voices
-AOL Small Business
-AOL Latino
-Moviefone
-Network Programming
-Historically Black College and Univeristies (HBUC) Sports
-On-line promotion for various clients, such as P&G, Buick, etc

Design of numerous websites, including:
BlackAids.org, Roxbury Film Festival, Anthony James Art, and GLC Development, African Child Restoration Initiative (http://www.ugpulse.com/acri/?channel=home)

Branding:
-Human Resources Management Group
-Massachusetts Youth Ballet

Professional and Board Memberships:
-Watertown Cultural Council
-Arsenal Center for the Arts - Visual Arts Board
-Cambridge Art Association
-Photographic Resource Center, Boston
-National Association of Women Artists
-Concord Art Association
-Massachusetts Youth Ballet (1994-1998)

Residencies and Teaching:
-Arsenal Center for the Arts, Watertown, MA (Digital imaging 2005)
-Harvard University, Carpenter Center, Department of Visual and Environmental Studies, digital multimedia (Teaching assistant, 1994-1996)
-Private tutoring in digital imaging (on-going)

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Location: Town Hall Complex, Homer Municipal Building; 19 Moore St, 3rd floor; Belmont, MA 02478
Hours: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 8 am - 4 pm

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For further information, contact the gallery administrator at admin@belmontgallery.org.