New Gallery East exhibit open to public

allery East will feature an exhibit of photographs by a Utah Valley University student which explores questions of self-definition and identification this month.
Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) candidate, Rebecca Poulsen Harbaugh, says that her photographs investigate the process of life, spirituality and personal development. “What defines us? What defines me? I am continually exploring this question.”
She adds, “My intrigue with our daily choices and how it influences our personal development led me to the creation of this project.”
The exhibit, showing at Gallery East from Nov. 8 through Dec. 16, is titled Ingressio: Entering In and is a series of photographic vignettes and small, narrowly-focused images that draw the viewer in, as the title of the show seems to suggest. The word Ingressio, a latin word meaning “an entering” or “beginning,” evokes the idea of passage and new life. Harbaugh uses the blue-and brown-toned cyanotype process to capture the iconic subjects of her personal vision.
Visitors who experience the exhibit will see that Harbaugh’s images touch upon self-reflection, life, worship and sense of place.
Harbaugh says the work in this show is inspired by an experience she had in her youth and the repercussions she witnessed as a result of the choices she made at the time.
“I observed how the decisions I was making brought about consequences, be it good or bad, and that the regular choices I make daily can drastically alter the path I take through life,” she says. “The resulting dialogue comes from a universal question of how we define ourselves. This has become a recurring theme in my work.”
According to Harbaugh, the details of each piece are intentional. “I am constantly evaluating what subject matter, material, color palette and photographic process would be appropriate for the current concept.”
In describing her creative process, she says “using my hands is an essential part of art making. I often use historic processes that allow me to personally apply the chemistry on paper and print using ultraviolet light. Printing becomes just as expressive as taking the photographs, allowing each step of the art making process to be personal and meaningful to me.”
Harbaugh is a senior majoring in arts and visual communications at UVU. Her emphasis is photography. Her passion for learning has excited her to prepare for graduate school where she hopes to continue building her visual vocabulary. Photographing, and even to a greater extent, altering and hand-printing the photographs she creates has become a captivating interest in her life.
She loves photographing nature, herself and occasionally other women. She has a cheerful outlook in life and loves the small and simple things. Harbaugh currently resides in Lehi with her husband Devon.
An opening reception will be held on Nov. 12, from 6-9 p.m. The gallery is free and open to the public during the academic year from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday. It is closed Fridays, weekends and holidays. For more information contact Noel Carmack at 613-5241 or by e-mail at [email protected].