New Exhibition, ‘Picture I.D.,’ To Open March 23 at UTD

RICHARDSON, Texas (Feb. 27, 2001) – An innovative new exhibition entitled “Picture I.D.” and curated by UTD Associate Professor Marilyn Waligore, will be held from March 23 to April 21 in the Main Gallery of the Visual Arts Building on the campus of The University of Texas at Dallas. “Picture I.D.” is an exhibition of photographs and digital works created by Texas artists Nicole Arendt, Tammy Cromer-Campbell, Wade Crowder, Kaleta Doolin, Randall Garrett, Alan Govenar and Tim Tracz that explores issues relating to likeness and identity.

The exhibition will be free and open to the public during gallery hours Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. There will be an opening reception on Saturday, March 23 in the Main Gallery of the Visual Arts Building beginning at 6:30 p.m. A panel discussion will follow at 7 p.m. featuring artist Randall Garrett, artist and writer Alan Govenar and Barbara McCandless, curator of photographs at the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth.

“In an era when we now establish one’s physical identity through signifiers such as fingerprints, DNA, and the mapping of the human genome, the picture I.D. might seem somewhat anachronistic,” Waligore said. “However, the functionality of picture-based identification persists in daily life. Connecting digital technology with its analogue predecessor, we move from a catalogue of mug shots to computerized pattern recognition systems that interpret facial I.D.s. Photography’s connection to this shared experience and our participation in the creation of a portrait archive are legacies of the 19th century. Now is the ideal time to reflect on the camera’s connection to picture identification, the use of camera-based images to establish identity.” Waligore added that the artists in the exhibition “investigate, challenge, and negotiate the conventions of photographic representation to reveal the methods we use to locate our own identities.”

For information about the many musical, arts, theatre, dance and other performances and exhibitions held throughout the year at UTD, please call 972-UTD-ARTS (972-883-2787) e-mail utdarts@utdallas.edu, or visit the School of Arts and Humanities’ web site at www.utdallas.edu/ah/. Persons with disabilities needing special accommodations may call 972-883-2982. Texas Relay Operator: 1-800-RELAYVV. The University of Texas at Dallas, located at the convergence of Richardson, Plano and Dallas in the heart of the complex of major multinational technology corporations known as the Telecom Corridor, enrolls more than 7,000 undergraduate and 5,000 graduate students. The school’s freshman class traditionally stands at the forefront of Texas state universities in terms of average SAT scores. The university offers a broad assortment of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs. For additional information about UTD, please visit the university’s web site at www.utdallas.edu.