“Since Seeing You is an observation of the lingering experience of the final week of my mother's life. She rarely let me photograph her, except in those last days when she changed her mind and without any hesitation, gave her permission and blessing. During that time there was a quality of acceptance and ease within and around her. After she passed the nurses seemed in a rush to cover her body and take her away. I wondered why. It seemed so natural that I would want to stay with her for a while. Since that final time, I have taken a lot of photographs in nature; immersed in its aliveness, decay and wild beauty. I feel her spirit in the tilting trees or when there is a light rain. At times, the memories of her gently fade out and blur, only to return as a wind that changes direction, in a wave of strong emotions.The pictures on view are a selection of what I hope to have published as a book. Because of the ephemeral feeling in the imagery, I imagine that the solidity of a book would balance this transient quality by giving it a structure and pace that would be tangible.”
Online Exhibition: June 1 – 30, 2021
Ruth Lauer Manenti received an MFA from The Yale School of Art in painting and drawing in 1994. In 2012, she was given a large format camera and taught herself how to use it. Gradually she accomplished what she was striving for in drawing and painting, through photography. Her mother was also an artist who left behind a legacy of unknown work. Part of Ruth's determination as an artist is to reward her mother for her efforts and to create a continuum. She was awarded a NYFA grant in photography in 2016 and had a solo exhibition at The Center for Photography in Woodstock, NY in 2020. Her book Alms was recently on view in an online exhibition at The Griffin Museum of Photography. Since breaking her neck in a car crash at the age of twenty, Ruth has developed a spiritual life and practice that has propelled much of her photographic work. She lives in the Catskill Mountains in NY, with her husband who is a nurse and their 3 cats.
