Photo by Julie Brennan

In anticipation for their first gallery show, I decided to have them answer a few questions for our members, helping us really understand these photographers not as students, but artists. .

Harry Corthell: Why do you photograph? What got you into photography, and why do you love it?

Julie Brennan : Before I picked up a camera, I had the Photoshop skills to create graphic designs. It wasn’t until later I realized that I should mix in photography. Ever since I decided to take that one step further, I’ve been creating impossible worlds and sketching in journals for new photo concepts about how to make them real. For me, photography allows myself to show other people the confusing, impossible worlds that I imagine on a regular basis. 

Photo by Thomas Dougherty

Thomas Dougherty: I started taking pictures because I needed something to keep me busy, and it does. It keeps me constantly thinking about new ideas, new ways to take pictures, and new things to take pictures of. I love photography because it keeps me rooted, and gives me something to look forward to as I continue to grow and evolve in my art.

Harry Corthell: What’s the hardest part about making art for you?

Julie Brennan: The hardest part of conceptual photography would be taking a sketch of a concept made in my head and trying to accomplish it in Photoshop. Being self trained, everything is learned by trial and error. 

Thomas Dougherty: The hardest part has to be finding inspiration, even with all of the photography magazines and websites. Finding materials and other photographers that inspire me can be a challenge, and without inspiration the new ideas stop flowing.

Harry Corthell: What do you want people to take away from your photos and art?

Julie Brennan: I want my viewers to escape into another dimension. To see the worlds I wish existed; the other side of reality. I want to make the impossible, possible. 

Harry Corthell: If you were about to take a one month trip around the U.S. and could bring only one camera body and 2 lenses, what would you bring? 

Julie Brennan: I would bring my Canon 450D, along with my 50mm f/1.8 and 18-55mm.

Thomas Dougherty: I would bring the Sony a99, a 70-200mm f2.8 G, and an 11-18mm f3.5-4.5.

Harry Corthell: If you could photograph anything, what would it be? What would the project include?

Thomas Dougherty: I would want to go somewhere overseas : Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, or

Photo by Thomas Dougherty

somewhere in the surrounding region, and document the life of one family for a year, the way they live, where they go, their home, and their friends, to the point where you feel as if you know the family just through the pictures.

Harry Corthell: For the photography fanatics at the DAC, could you tell us what your favorite piece of photography equipment is (i.e. camera, etc) ?

Julie Brennan: My favorite piece of equipment would be a toss-up between my camera remote,

Photo by Julie Brennan

which I take on every photo shoot and allows me to take pictures while in front of the camera, or my 50mm f/1.8, which makes all images absolutely dreamy. 

Thomas Dougherty: My favorite has to be my Sony a55.

Harry Corthell: Do you like using props and setting up a situation, or do you prefer capturing the existing world around you?

Julie Brennan: My photography relies on location, expression and props. If I could photograph anything, or anywhere per say, I would pick a deserted forest. The possibilities are endless for storytelling photos in that type of setting.

Thomas Dougherty: I don’t really like using props, although I am open to them and have ideas involving them. Generally I like to keep things natural and untouched, to show the reality of the subject.

Harry Corthell: What do you think the importance of photography is? Is it a way of capturing the world around us, or does it alter our perspectives? (Negatively or otherwise?)

Julie Brennan: The importance of photography is different for everyone. Photography can range from landscapes to conceptual. It can mean simply to capture a moment, to remember a special place, or to express oneself. Photography, to me, combines all of those ranges of style into one. I like to challenge the human eye by taking photos that look real but have those little details that show something is not quite right. My true objective is to have my vision extend beyond the realm of the camera. 

Underage opens tomorrow, Friday, June 21 at 5 pm. Wine, cheese, fruit and lemonade will be served at this free event.

See you around!

Ernő Dohnányi was born in the Kingdom of Hungary in 1877, to an ennobled family. He first studied music with his father, and then at the Budapest Academy of Music, which he would eventually become Minister of, after touring Europe with his many cello and piano works. Much of his work was praised by composer Johannes Brahms. Leaving Hungary at the end of World War II, Dohnányi became a resident (of all places) in Tallahassee, Florida, where he taught music at the Florida State University until his death in 1960.

Ernő Dohnányi’s personal life contains many peculiar details. Dohnányi was married thrice, his first two marriages ending in divorce before 1940 – odd for the time. Before World War I Dohnányi met and fell in love with his second wife, German actress Elza Galafrés, who was married to the great Polish violinist Bronisław Huberman. They could not marry as their respective spouses refused to divorce them. They nevertheless had a son out of wedlock, Matthew, in January 1917. They married in 1919 and divorced fifteen years later when he met Ilona Zachár, who was married with two children. He and Ilona travelled throughout Europe as husband and wife, but were not legally married until they had settled in the United States.

When Ernő Dohnányi was minister at the Budapest Academy of Music, he was branded as a Nazi sympathizer. To keep his love of music alive in his home country, he agreed with Nazi politics. This involved firing his his favorite Jewish pupil, Gyorgy Farago. At the same time he did nothing to save his one time friend and colleague, Leo Weiner, from losing his job and later did nothing to keep him from starving in the Budapest ghetto. Dohnányi also ignored the 6% of Jews still permitted by the anti-Jewish laws to enter the Master Class of the Academy, purging the entire Academy of Jewish participants. After his death in 1960, his widow Ilona Zachár mounted a campaign to disprove his reputation as a Nazi sympathizer.

As a composer, Dohnányi favored piano compositions, aiding his pursuit of becoming an acclaimed concert pianist. This is why his string piece, the Opus 10 is quite rare, and we are pleased to be presenting it Saturday June 22, at 7:30 pm with the DaPonte String Quartet.

With a messy life containing divorce, scandal and even Nazis, Ernő Dohnányi’s one constant in life was his music. He dedicated much of his life to sharing and teaching music to the world, a value we share here at The Denmark Arts Center.

Below, take a look at Ernő Dohnányi and his music across Europe, in this great file footage:

We were also gratified to see that two of our events share some page space with DownEast’s May issue. Our Made-in-Maine film BlackRock gets a nice review in their back pages. Then, one of our guests for Dinner & A Movie, Jason Mann, gets a shout-out in their article about the fabulous sounding Nebo Lodge, which is owned and run by the family of our other guest, Cecily Pingree.

So, May we please say, THANKS, DOWNEAST!

This year, the Denmark Town Meeting is on June 1, and we at the DAC are excited to attend.  As an added bonus: we’ll have our new calendars to hand out!  Hope to see you there.

…and here’s a sneak preview:

Greetings.  So, we’ve been asked a couple times, “When is your summer calendar out?” and I wanted to offer an answer.  We usually get our summer calendar out by Memorial Day.  But CURSE THIS GREGORIAN CALENDAR, Memorial Day moves about all the time, and this year, it is quite early. Doesn’t this sound like an excuse? It is.  We won’t have our Calender out by Memorial Day this year, but rather by June 1. And it will be worth the wait–you’ll see.

In the meantime, we will have our entire summer program up on our website by Memorial Day, so do stop back here then.

And until then, we’re busy today with much better things: namely, EUROVISION!

Cheers!

Jamie Hook, Program Director

Saturday April 20 from 9:30 am to 4:00 pm at the Denmark Arts Center and Bicentennial Park the 20th Annual Sheepfest will be taking place!

Bring the whole family to this historic, traditional and annual event in the town of Denmark, ME. There will be sheep shearing in the park, demonstrations of fiber arts, rabbits, alpacas, vendors and good food too!

You can register your sheep at (207) 452-2687 or email Linda at linda@pinestarstudio.com

For more information go to denmarksheepfest.com

Adult admission – $2, Children – $1

See you there!

Harvest Hills Animal Shelter, a non-profit of Fryeburg, Maine is holding an art show and sale

March 30 at the Denmark Arts Center from 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm! 

The show will feature more than ten artists from around the state of Maine. Quilters, painters, photographers and more will present their work for sale, all to benefit the wonderful Harvest Hills Animal Shelter.

Come out and support this wonderful cause, the Denmark Arts Center is proud to be the location for the event!

Contact the shelter at (207) 935-4358 for more information.

The Denmark Arts Center is looking for any and all interested in volunteering for our annual water-front music festival “The Dam Jam”. Though not for many, many months (the awesome fest is gonna be on July 27) we are already trying to organize volunteers. Because, you know, they are definitely gonna be needed. Below is a tentative list of jobs you may be assigned to for any and all interested in helping out with this great event right in our own backyards! If you are so interested in volunteering, please contact our Program Assistant Harry Corthell at harrycorthell@aol.com for more information and any questions. There will be a volunteer meeting in July for further planning and staff tee shirt hand out.

Positions needed:

Set Up and Break Down Crew: A strong set of men and women who are interested in helping set up the event. This will include setting up the stage, tents, ropes, lights, technical equipment etc. Odd jobs may be assigned.

Merchandise Table: A few select needed to run the Merchandise table. It would be spectacular if you were good with money and personable. Merch includes tee shirts, band cd’s and the famous Blueberry “Dam Jam” from Pleasant Mountain.

Tickets: We need men and women at the door of the event handing out tickets, counting patrons and of course carding those who wish to go under the beer garden tent.

Hospitality: Ever wanted to work backstage with famous bands? Now may be the chance for charismatic, personable people who take direction well.

Art Pavilion and Kids Tent: We’ve got a big kids tent full of artsy and fun things. Those who work well with kids, and like arts and crafts need apply. Warning, lots of paint and chalk will be staining your clothing.

Odd Jobs: Extra crew is always helpful, and we are sure there will be many odd jobs during the event. If you’re a good listener and have an affinity for getting-things-done-fast this may be the position for you.

Join the Denmark Arts Center for a bit of mid winter fun! On Friday February 15 and Saturday the 16, we will be hosting another one of our famous cabarets! The event is BYOB, with free popcorn and drinks.

The Performers:

Susie Mosca, Janet Gill, Teresa Dyer,
Ginnie Spaulding, Sue Farrington, David Cronin, Chaz LaFreniere,
Tom Ferent, Dave Mason, Craig Holden

Directed by Lillian Lee Morse
Proceeds for the benefit of the Denmark Arts Center, 50 W. Main St, Denmark, ME

We  bring you all very important news! The Bridgton Winter Carnival is underway Saturday January 26 and the DAC will be participating! We will have Board Members at the festival from 10 am until 2 pm selling cookies and promoting summer programs! That evening at the DAC, we will be holding a children’s movie night. We will be FEATURING the children’s winter classic BALTO on our silver screen.

Have you kids bring their sleeping bags and popcorn and we will be having quite a cozy night!

See you at 6 pm!