MARY GIANCOLI

ARTIST STATEMENT:

I am interested in the landscape and cultural traditions. My color work combines a lush, visual style with a deep interest in the customs of distinct Latin communities in Mexican communities here and abroad. My images capture the rhythms of dancers’ lives, their costumes, dances, as well as the magic and myth in the stories the dances tell. My photographs follow in the tradition of melding the documentary mode with a sense of personal vision and social commitment with emotional intensity and directness, celebrating traditions left behind.

I walk along the beach to discover where the sky meets the sea…the place where the sky was born. These beaches are from the West Coast, where I grew up. In my search for solace and mystery, I am drawn to the rugged wilderness and craggy rock formations lining the coastline, and the splendor of Pacific Ocean waves in constant motion. Looking at the sunlight and reflections on the water and sand make me feel more sensitive and more alive. The sound of the ocean, the wind, and deep views of the horizon lead me into the water.  I am using a medium format box

Bio:

Mary Teresa Giancoli is a photographer, photo editor and tutor. She received a B.A. from Wellesley College, and an M.F.A. in Photography from Hunter College, CUNY. As a high school and college student, Giancoli studied in Florence, Italy and began photographing landscapes and cultural traditions in Southern Italy. Giancoli combines a studio practice with collaborative projects in photography, video and dance.

As a Swing Space Artist in Residence with the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and a recipient of funding from USA Projects, she created Cuetzalan, a book and a series of exhibition prints exploring dance and rituals among women’s communities in the Puebla region of Mexico. As part of this research on Mexican culture, Giancoli collaborates with Mazarte Dance Company to practice and document indigenous dance, music and cultural rituals as lived and performed in the New York region.