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Arts & Entertainment

Viewfinder: The Art of Gary Dates

NJ Emerging Artist Series at the Monmouth Museum

The New Jersey Emerging Artists Series at the Monmouth Museum at Brookdale Communith College is presenting the work of photo-artist Gary Dates.  The opening night of the Dates show was held on Friday.

Dates manipluates images through in-camera wizardry and in-post in Photoshop to create an alternative to reality.  "I like to create images depicting scenes that are impossible in the real world, yet not necessarily abstract, or surreal," Dates explained.  "I am always happy to allow the viewer to decide the meaning of my images, since I'm far from certain myself. In the end, I just enjoy the process of making these pieces. I am a firm believer in the idea that creativity is a 'grown-up' word for fun."  Dates' work is clever, humorous and often dark.  It has a wry, black comedy feel to it. 

The New Jersey Emerging Artists Series consists of six annual monthly solo exhibitions to showcase the new work of NJ artists who have not previously held one-person exhibitions in our State.

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The artists selected for this series represent the diversity of talent in the State and demonstrate thier creativity in a wide variety of media. Selected artists are guided through the exhibition process, provided promotional materials and are encouraged to give an artist’s talk during their exhibition to further increase their visibility.  Dates will share insights on his work in a discussion at the Museum on May 25th from 7 to 8 p.m.

Dates' work will be on display at the Museum until May 29.  He is also a Brookdale Community College alumni.

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