The exhibit in Saint Mary’s University Louis J. Blume Academic Library Gallery, curated by Brian St. John, features the work of Leonard Ziegler, San Antonio College Staff Photographer. Included below, after the images of the reception, are a few select reviews of Leonard Ziegler’s exhibit, written by students of Saint Mary’s University’s Art Program.

Saint Mary’s University. Main facade.

Interior courtyard and belfry.

Leonard Ziegler. Featured artist in the Louis J. Blume Library Gallery.

Janet Dizinno, Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, and Brian St. John, Coordinator of the Art Program and exhibit curator; Saint Mary’s University.

Brian St. John introducing Leonard Ziegler to the attending public.

Partial view of the exhibit.

Partial view of the exhibit in the Louis J. Blume Library Gallery.

Detail from Leonard Ziegler’s exhibit.

Art appreciation students commenting on Leonard Ziegler’s work.

Students taking notes on the exhibit for the university’s newspaper.

Detail from Leonard Ziegler’s exhibit.

Carrying a heavy load for art appreciation.

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Gallery Reviews of “Mi San Antonio Reflections: Photographs by Leonard Ziegler”

• Review by Art Program student Lorenzo Nichols:

St. Mary’s University held a reception on September 3, 2008 for Leonard Ziegler and his photographic works titled “Mi San Antonio Reflections” on display in the Blume Library. Ziegler is a life long resident of San Antonio and is the staff photographer for San Antonio College, a position he has held for the past twenty years.

The overall theme is San Antonio, the places and concepts that evoke Mr. Ziegler’s reflections. The exhibit is divided into several sub-themes with each theme (more or less)  mounted on the floating partitions in the gallery area with a large representational abstraction of the San Antonio skyline and its reflections, “Quarry Moon,” greeting the audience upon entry to the gallery area. The sub-themes include, native graffiti, classic/customized cars, nature, landscape, urbanscape, architecture, flowers, bicycles, celebrations and culture in San Antonio, generally speaking. The groupings of the sub-themes worked well because the artist shows a variety of photographic styles and clever development techniques throughout each.

Two works caught my eye: “El Carnival 2” and “The 55.” The former is in the celebration themed area and is a photograph of a Ferris wheel at a carnival in the evening as its central focus with men standing at the base looking at it and around themselves, with a swing-set off to one side. In this work, Ziegler left the exposure on his camera open long enough to record the thrill of the lights as they move around, blurry and excited, against the black, night sky, and the easy distractions of the of the men at the base looking different ways in the frame. Ziegler truly captures a myriad of feelings with this work: friendship, excitement, and appreciation of beauty on a comfortable evening in San Antonio. He also captures the lonely swing-set, sitting grey and alone off to the side of the Ferris wheel on the dark horizon, lonely and forgotten; all the children are on the Ferris wheel with its bright lights, movement with no human effort, and views the swing-set can’t compete with. The swing-set almost seems to be making a statement with its hard gray color: The Ferris wheel is bright and pretty and fun, but it will be gone soon and I’ll still be here. The juxtaposition Ziegler captures of the swing-set against the Ferris wheel makes a strong statement about reliability and the fleetingness of fancy.

The latter of the two works, “The 55,” is a photograph of the driver side fender, part of a whitewall tire, and  taillight of a restored, red, 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air taken at close range. Because of this close range, the work feels more like a representational abstraction. The color palette is monochromatic reds, that of the taillight and fender, with black, white and chrome as baseline colors that clearly show the subtleties of shades and tints of red making the work balanced with interplay of values. The work evokes appreciation of “space-age” design of the mid-1950’s and the culture of cars that is prevalent in the United States, especially here in San Antonio. This study showcases Ziegler’s appreciation of Mid-Twentieth century design and his expertise in the area of form, balance, and color.

All of Leonard Ziegler’s work demands defamiliarization. Through his works, Ziegler invites the viewers to look at San Antonio and its elements through his eyes. Both native and visitor can gain new perspectives on San Antonio and its culture with “Mi San Antonio Reflections” to gain better understanding of its people, places, and interests, but on further investigation, will discover that Ziegler’s photographs are introspective, thought-provoking works of substance.

• Review by Art Program student Rebecca Trevino:

What do hot rods, flowers, and a lake all have in common? Give up? They are all featured subjects of Leonard Ziegler’s exhibition “Mi San Antonio; Reflections”.

Audiences are first introduced to explosions of color through Ziegler’s hot rod collages. Wild and rebellious, the rods are adorned with brightly painted flames as if their engines are on fire. Each photo resounds with the loud roaring of a high performance engine and exudes the warmth of exhaust. Just the depictions of the racers are enough to conjure up the sense of danger and speed that makes the idea of driving one so thrilling.

The next section of the gallery leads viewers away from the thunder of the hot rods to a more gentle side of Ziegler’s work. The photos of beautiful Texas flowers are natural and relaxing. Each flower appears so vividly; as if it could be plucked right out of the frame and it’s sweet perfume inhaled.

Finally, Ziegler features photos of various locations around San Antonio; Woodlawn Lake, The Tower of the Americas and Rivercenter Mall to mention a few. Each scene is clear and recognizable as Ziegler’s photos steer clear from embellishment. They are scenes that can belong to anyone, but it is the universality that makes them so attractive.

The pride that Ziegler feels for his hometown and interests and all that they have to offer is evident from his gallery. It is his photographic memoir that is deeply personal yet easily relatable. Ziegler not only displays his home but allows viewers to become a part of it.

One of the artworks I examined more closely was “The 55”. The work is a picture of the lower left side of a candy apple red 1955 Chevy. A large red tail light dominates most of the picture outlined with bright chrome. The silver Chevy emblem is also visible right below the light. In the background, the window of an open door is visible at the top right as well as a whitewall tire on the lower left.

The work evokes the sense of timelessness and class of 1955. Even fifty three years later, this automobile maintains its shine with the same splendor it possessed during its hay day. Its squeaky clean image is representational of the entire 50’s era and like most products produced during the same time period, it is an absolute treasure.

The second work I examined more closely was “Like Butter”. This black and white photo depicts a white flower (possibly a gardenia) that is swarmed by bees. The petals appear soft and delicate but attention diverts to the dark crawling bees.

At first, the photo generates a feeling of annoyance with the bees, as if to say “Don’t they know they’re ruining a beautiful picture by crawling there?” At second glance however, the realization is made that the bees belong there just as much as the flower. In fact, the bees are pollinating. Pollination is necessary for the life of the bees. So in that regard, the photo is doubly beautiful. The flower, beautiful in itself, is also the possessor of life.