Photography exhibit reveals 'Jeannette Unvarnished'

When Beth Yadamec worked at the Jeannette Public Library, she sometimes arrived early to spend a little time walking through the streets — and the alleys — of the city.

“There are cameras all over Jeannette, and I have purple hair, and I often wondered if people glanced up and saw this chubby, purple-haired librarian roaming through the city,” said the Penn Township resident. “What did they think I was doing roaming around Jeannette so early on a Saturday?”

She was taking pictures on her iPad. A collection of those images is included in “Jeannette Unvarnished,” a photo exhibit opening Saturday at You Are Here in Jeannette. Hours will be 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the gallery at 406 Clay Ave.

Also featured is the work of photographers Steve Parsons, Candace Kubinec and Kim Rentler.

“For the last couple of years, our first show of the year has been directly about Jeannette,” said gallery co-founder Mary Briggs, who organized the exhibit with co-founder Jen Costello. “We’ve worked with all of these people before.”

A self-taught photographer, Yadamec said she prefers taking photos on her iPad, rather than the digital camera that was a gift from her partner.

“It’s a a wonderful camera, but I didn’t use it because it was a pain to upload the pictures,” she said. “With the iPad it was instant — open your editing software, boom, and go.”

Yadamec said she finds beauty in things that other people might not notice or think are beautiful, including the urban decay of Jeannette.

“Jeannette as a city has a lot of challenges, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t beauty to be found,” Briggs said. “These photos show the city as it really is.”

Apt title

“Jeannette Unvarnished” started out as an off-the-cuff, working title for the exhibit, Briggs said, but the participants decided it was apt.

“What you see in these photos, and in all of art, is supposed to be about truth,” she said.

Along with images of rundown or abandoned buildings, the exhibit also features photos of community residents and gatherings, minute details and sweeping landscapes.

“It looks at Jeannette in all its true identity,” said exhibition coordinator Natalie Condrac. “Sometimes people try not to acknowledge the no-so-good things, but this looks at the good, the bad and everything in between.”

A reception is scheduled for 5 to 8 p.m. Feb. 11 in the gallery, featuring an hour-long ekphrastic poetry reading at its midpoint.

An ekphrastic poem is a piece written about a particular artwork, said artist Stacey Pydynkowski, who is organizing the reading.

Poets include photographer Kubinec, Bart Solarczyk, Don Wentworth, Mary Ellen Raneri, Milo Wolverton and Tamara DiBartola, each of whom will present short-form poems responding to two of the photos.

“The poetry is inspired by the visual imagery, so the work can be viewed through another lens, allowing them to feed off of one another,” Pydynkowski said.

Visitors will be able to order a booklet of the poems and photographs featured in the event.

“Jeannette Unvarnished” will run through March 11. Gallery hours are 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursdays, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays and Sundays by appointment. For information, visit yah406clay.org.