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Center for Creative Photography depicts faith through photography

Exhibit highlights religious diversity among Eastern and Western

"Looking Into the Collection: Faith," features nearly 40 photographers whose works focus on religious life around the globe.

The exhibit, on display at the Center for Creative Photography, generates intrigue through the mysterious and secretive qualities of foreign symbols and rituals.

In "Witchdoctor, Chichicastenango, Guatemala," (1979) Rosalind Solomon presents a man caught in the moment before pouring a clear liquid out of a bottle and onto a rock that is stained with the blood of a rooster.

Surrounding the man are burning candles, various papers and rocks - all of which provide a surreal and sacred atmosphere for the performance.

Similarly, the rituals of dance and costume are represented in Gail Skoff's color photograph, "Trance Dancer," (1977) in which a central figure dances in soot wearing an elaborate costume and mask.

Particles of dust rise and engulf the figure, who is squinting in concentration. An audience surrounds him - protected from the violent movement and debris by leaves and vegetation.

These images focus on the relics and actions used in religion to conceal and simultaneously express symbolic meaning.

Henri Cartier-Bresson's, "Moslem Women Praying, Kashmir," (1948) presents a group of women facing away from the camera toward a mountain range engulfed by low clouds. The women's faces and bodies are hidden by robes so their bodies appear to be bundles of rocks.

One of the two women standing lifts her arms with her palms open as if waiting to receive a gift from the sky. The photograph emphasizes the unity of community concentration in contrast to the women's individuality.

Other works focus on religions more common to Western Society.

Mary Ellen Mark's "Mother Teresa, Shishu Bhawan, Calcutta," (1980) presents an elderly Mother Teresa pausing in a moment of reflection outside an old building.

The hard edge created by the dark shadows and recesses of the building against her sunlit white robe draws attention to her upward gaze and expression - suggesting a moment where physical concerns have been overtaken by spiritual concentration.

Mark's clarity and precise focus embellish rhythms within the wrinkles of Mother Teresa's skin and robe.

Max Yavno's two works deal with art as spectacle within a broader society.

His "Wailing Wall, Covered Section (Jerusalem)," (1979) presents a thickly walled room lit dimly by small holes in the corners. At the far left, a priest stands in a formal robe, illuminated by a thin ray of light.

This sacred moment is in contrast to a man in urban attire who faces the wall in the center of the photograph. The man appears to be enchanted by the architecture but not involved in the religious process.

The photograph captures an almost quilt-like texturing on the wall which is towering and oppressive. The work's dramatic quality and high contrast is reminiscent of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio's late 16th century paintings of interiors.

Many works in the exhibit avoid the temptation of idealism and present the human aspects of these spiritual events. The works seem most powerful in their ability to capture the paradox between intimate and social acts.