By Andrea Serna, Arts and Culture Writer
When a prolific artist approaches the end of her life, there is often the question of what will become of a large body of work. For fine art photographer Audrey Barrett, who spent the last five years of her life resisting cancer, there was never a question. Barrett wanted her work to raise money to fight the disease that would take her life.
Barrett’s family reached out to old friends and collaborators, Ray and Arnée Carofano of Gallery 478 in San Pedro, to help find new homes for her work. On July 8, Gallery 478 in conjunction with TransVagrant Projects will present Audrey Barrett: Available Light, an exhibition of photography and an auction benefiting City of Hope Metastatic Breast Cancer Research.
Barrett’s art practice was diversified. While studying for a degree in interior design at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, Barrett picked up a three-week class in photography. Although she worked most of her life in the field of fashion and interior design, her taste for surrealism led to experimentation with an 8 by 10 camera using platinum plating to create images with the tremendous tonal range which makes platinum prints so extraordinary. This exhibition consists of black and white gelatin silver and platinum palladium prints on delicate gampishi paper from her archive. Many artist’s proofs are included in the collection.
In her memoirs, Barrett wrote, “I became totally consumed … within that time I discovered something innate in me, a passion with the camera that brought forth something from deep inside of me.”
Her images were done with available light, and very little of it, using long exposure times, sometimes up to 45 minutes. During a photo session, she often encouraged her subjects to breathe and move if they needed, creating ghost-like images.
Serendipity brought together the Carofanos and Barrett. Professional photographers Ray and Arnée Carofano traveled to Texas for the International Fotofest in 1995. Casual conversation led them to discover that they lived just minutes away from each other in Redondo Beach. The fortuitous meeting led to bohemian gatherings at Barrett’s Studio 202 in Redondo Beach. Barrett would conduct lavish runway shows of her fashion creations, while available photographers would record the scene. The friendship and creative association lasted for 22 years, until metastatic breast cancer eventually overcame Barrett.
“When I do a photo session,” Barrett said. “I become a part of the photograph… I don’t know if I’m in the picture or behind the camera. I am both.”
The Carofanos’ hope is that Barrett will live on through her works, her donations to fighting cancer and the people who invite the work into their homes.
All proceeds from the auction directly benefit City of Hope Breast Cancer Research and are tax-deductible. Audrey Barrett: Available Light runs through Aug. 25. A public reception will take place from 4 to 7 p.m. July 8.
Time: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and by appointment
Cost: Free
Details: (310) 732-2150
Venue: Gallery 478, 478 W. 7th St., San Pedro