nmwess ANTIQuEs

Chippendale
Queen Anne
George II

Painting With Light

Louis XV
Empire
Sheraton

Marji Silk's photographs reflect the approach of a painter.

FRANK PROVENZANO SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

p

hotographer Marji Silk
waits and waits for the
spontaneous to happen.
Patience is not merely a
virtue, but a prerequisite for pho-
tographers like Ms. Silk who set
out in the Ansel Adams' tradition
to "paint with natural light."

SPECIALIZING IN MAHOGANY & WALNUT

15531 W. 12 Mile • Just West of Greenfield
Southfield

810-569-8008

Hours: 10AM-6PM • Closed Tues. & Sunday

will be held from June 19 through
July 31 at the Woods Gallery in
Huntington Woods.
"Marji's work shows the excit-
ing spirit of Detroit," said Linda
McPherson, Woods Gallery coor-
dinator, "and her photography
captures the lively play of vibrant
colors in tight yet nat-
urally designed com-
positions."
Ms. Silk's pub-
lished photos appear
regularly in local and
regional publications.
The Cranbrook Acad-
emy Art Museum,
Detroit Science Cen-
ter and the Cannon

STUDIO

Appropriately, the influences
and inspirations in Ms. Silk's pho-
tography career include a few col-
orful personalities. Ms. Silk
prefers a more mystical explana-
tion. 'The moment I got into pho-
tography, something got hold of
me," she said. "I was finally dis-
covering what I loved. Things be-
gan to happen. It was like
destiny."
With the help of Mr. Nagler,
Joe Clark, a "shooter" for Life, and
the late Tony Spina, the leg-
endary Detroit Free Press pho-
tographer, Ms. Silk received
encouragement and advice about
the life of a freelance photogra-
pher. Although Ms. Silk may fol-

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Mon.-Sat. 10-6 ; Thurs '01 8

Bloomfield Plaza • 6566 Telegraph Road at Maple • Bloomfield Hills

851-5533

CO C3nri

F ocus on turning your snapshots into works of art!
Photography seminar by

Mati Silk

J CC

date: June 2S, 199S
time: 2:00 p.m. fee: $5.00
phone: (810) 661-7641

JANICE
CHARA CH
EPSTEIN

of Metropolitan Detroit

Gallery Hours:
Monday-Wednesday 11:00-5:00
Thursday 11:00-8:00 p.m.
Sunday ';1:00-6:00

8800 W Maple Rd.
VV. Bloomfield, MI 48322

p.m.

MUSEUM

GALLERY

PHOTOS BY MARJ I SILK

330

Great patience, as
Mr. Adams demon-
strated, is nothing
less than great love.
And Ms. Silk has
demonstrated an
Adams-type stamina.
She has stood be-
neath the People
Mover tracks at dusk
and waited for the
natural light to fade
ever so slightly before
she "got her shot." Marji Silk
She's stood in the
Top and right:
Marji Silk's photography.
yards of Cranbrook
Institute and waited
for the Orpheus Beethoven stat- House Capitol Building in Wash-
ue to "reveal itself." She's even ington, D.C., have permanent dis-
stood above her tripod set up in plays of her photos.
the grand aisles of the Notre
Several of her works have
Dame Cathedral in Montreal and found a place among popular im-
waited for the natural light to fil- ages of Detroit, including her se-
ter through the stained glass.
ries of photos of the Detroit
But when it comes to carrying cityscape and the People Mover
out her life's passion, Ms. Silk, an locations.
Oak Park resident, doesn't have
During the last two years, said
to wait any longer.
Mrs. McPherson, the Woods
Ten years after her career Gallery also has exhibited the
transition from legal secretary to work of two other metro Detroit
international award-winning premier photographers, Santa
photographer, Ms. Silk is at- Fabio and Monte Nagler. Unlike
tracting a wider audience to her those black and white exhibits,
lush color landscapes and stark the current exhibit features color
compositions. Her latest exhibit photographs.

low in the tradition of those
photojournalists who capture the
events of the moment, her work
is distinguished from typical pho-
tojournalism by an emphasis on
dramatic interpretation.
In other words, she doesn't
point and shoot. Rather, Ms. Silk's
approach is more like a painter,
choosing colors and arrange-
ments. "When I find a site that I
love, I'll go back as many times as
I have to to get the shot."
Unlike a painter, however, Ms.
Silk has to wait for the opportune
moment when the combination
of natural light, shutter speed
and daylight film come together

