Griffin Gallery

© Elliot Ross


© Elliot Ross

Elliot Ross has big questions about relationships between the species, which he explores in his photographic series Animal.

"Each image in Animal is not only a portrait of a non-human animal; it is, in many ways, a self-portrait," says Ross. "And also a question; what can be known and what is unknowable about individuals of other animal species?"

Animal is featured in the Griffin Gallery of the Griffin Museum January 21 through March 28. An opening reception with the artist is January 21, 7-9 PM.

In describing the underlying question of his series, Ross quotes contemporary American philosopher Cora Diamond. "In the case of our relationship with animals, a sense of the difficulty with reality may involve... a sense of astonishment and incomprehension that there should be beings so like us, so unlike us; so astonishingly capable of being companions of ours and so unfathomably distant."

"How powerfully strange it is that they and we should share as much as we do, and also not share; that they should be capable of incomparable beauty and delicacy and terrible ferocity; that some among them should be so mind-boggingly weird or repulsive in their forms or in their lives."

The photographs are constituted of ink on paper and are the result of digital imaging techniques "akin to the process of drawing and sculpting with light," Ross says. "Each image is a subjective work growing out of the more or less objective record that a photograph represents."

"Ross´ images are arresting portraits of animals positioned against a dramatic black backdrop," says Paula Tognarelli executive director of the Griffin Museum of Photography. "This deliberate placement of the animal away from the context of the environment forces us to confront what exactly endears us to these living beings."

Ross received a master of fine arts degree from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1971. His work has been exhibited internationally and is in collections in the United States and abroad. His project Animal was featured in Germany's fotoMAGAZIN in 2009 as part of its Masterpiece of Photography series. His book, Animal, is scheduled to be published in the fall of 2010. Ross lives in San Francisco, CA.

The reception is open to all. Please RSVP by January 14. Prior to the reception, 6:15-7 PM, Ross presents an informal talk about Animal for museum members only.

The Griffin Museum of Photography is open Tuesday through Thursday, 11 am - 5 pm; Friday 11 am - 4 pm; and Saturday and Sunday, noon - 4 pm. The Museum is closed on Monday. Admission is $5 for adults; $2 for seniors. Members and children under 12 are admitted free. Admission is free to all every Thursday. For more information, call 781-729-1158.