Photographs capturing ‘Serenity’ on display at SAMA-Johnstown

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Through the eye of the camera lens, this showcase offers solace in the beauty of the world that’s all around.

“Serenity,” an exhibition of photography by the late Donald M. Robinson, is on display through Aug. 11 at Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art at Johnstown, located at Pasquerilla Performing Arts Center on the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown campus in Richland Township.

The show features mesmerizing compositions of serene landscapes and stunning nature scenes by the Pittsburgh photographer, and is meant to inspire peace and calm.

With a keen eye for detail and a profound appreciation for the natural world, Robinson celebrated moments of serenity found in the familiar and the unexpected. The photographs are a documentation of a changing world.

“The show focuses on natural and human- made landscapes and wildlife, and it conveys a sense of stillness to the viewer,” said Beverlie Hartnett, SAMA’s registrar. “It invites the viewer to contemplate what’s shown in the photographs. I think of it as these are all images of nature taking a breath.”

SAMA is the foremost repository of Robinson’s work. It has a collection of 751 photographs by Robinson from the late 1960s to the mid-2000s.

“While we have a gallery in SAMA-Bedford that’s dedicated to his work, we also like to use our location at SAMA-Johnstown as a place to display his photographs,” Hartnett said.

She said the exhibition features 30 photographs, and the theme of serenity was used to select the pieces for the show.

“We went through all of the nature landscapes and figured those would convey that concept best,” Hartnett said. “Robinson loved doing landscapes, and with this selection, we feature the countryside of western Pennsylvania, national parks across the United States and sites around the world.”

Robinson was an internationally recognized and award-winning photographer, who explored the world with love and respect for its wildlife and its varied cultures.

His deep sense of admiration permeated his work, and he spent decades documenting people, landscapes, animals and plants all over the world.

“His use of color photography was amazing,” Hartnett said. “In photographs of forests or lusher places, the green just comes off the photo at you. One of my favorites in the show is called ‘Spice Bush and Fog,’ and the greenish-blue mist in the background makes the yellow of the spice bush and the yellow of the ferns pop out at you. The trees in the background tend to be very vertical, but the spice bush is kind of diagonal and doing its own thing, so that’s an eye for composition that he had that was really amazing.”

She said Robinson also did a series of photographs that included “Pole to Pole” from the Antarctic to the North Pole, “Faces of India,” and a sequence of photos of orchids that are on display at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh.

“It’s an individual orchard, but it’s more like a portrait than just a picture of a plant,” Hartnett said. “He was able to give personality to the landscapes he photographed.”

She said the show is arranged by common themes, such as wildlife or regional landscapes.

“Very often, we put all the art out and kind of see what flows well and what conveys a story well,” Hartnett said. “We’re able to show serenity locally, but it can be found wherever you go at all these different locations.”

Robinson was educated at the University of South Carolina and Harvard Business School.

He developed two successful businesses and was involved in humanitarian aid.

Robinson’s photography has been exhibited around the world, and in 1991, he received the EFIAP Award (Artist of Excellence) by the Federation Internationale de l’Art Photographique.

He was awarded the Photograph Society of America’s Galaxy Award and won numerous gold medals for best of show in various international photography salons.

Hartnett said viewers of the exhibition will be able to imagine themselves in the photographed scenes.

“They can think about when they were at a similar location,” she said. “You can walk in during a busy day, take a breath and take in some art. Maybe you’ll be inspired to take up photography on your own; nearly everyone has a camera in their pocket these days.”

There is no fee to attend the exhibition.

The museum is open by appointment only by calling 814-472-3920.

For more information, visit www.sama-art.org.