Villa Maria’s longest-standing photography professor has won the Juror’s Pick Award after displaying work in the 2021 CEPA Gallery Member’s Show. Snyder’s work is being recognized out of dozens of other local artists.
“The beauty, simplicity and abstract nature of these light patterns as well as their fleeting nature fascinate me,” said Snyder in her artist’s statement. “The sunlight, reflected off surfaces or through glass, is reminiscent of photograms, particularly their uniqueness. The light in these photographs lasts literally seconds and is dependent upon the time of day, time of year, and location.”
“The ephemeral nature of these glimmers of light, color and shadow are what intrigue me the most. It is because they are fleeting that I feel a compulsion to capture them using photography. These small patches of light parody our own existence as transient human beings, moving through our lives in a state of constant flux.”
Snyder’s award-winning photograph is below:
Jeannine Swallow, a 2002 graduate of Villa Maria’s photography program and one of Snyder’s students, was also awarded a Juror’s Pick.
Laura Snyder has been with Villa Maria College since 1997. She has 25-years of experience teaching photography. Snyder received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography from the Kansas City Art Institute and a Master of Fine Arts in Photography from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Snyder’s work explores abstract and ephemeral light and pattern that parallels our own transient human existence. She has received grants for her work including one from the Mark Diamond Research Foundation. Her photographs are in the collections of several prominent Western New York art collectors, the Attorney General of the State of Kansas and the Burchfield-Penney Art Center.
To learn more about Villa Maria’s Photography program, visit: www.villa.edu/academics/academic-programs/photography.
