Art gallery shows work of famous photojournalist -
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Published on: 7/30/2004
Last Visited: 7/30/2004
The 54-year-old American photojournalist's work is a favourite of Philip Wood, the owner of the 10-year-old Philip Wood Gallery in Almonte.
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Wood, 55, a former employee of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, decided to go out on a limb when he retired and opened an art gallery, despite the fact that he has no formal training in the arts.He studied history at York University.
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"I wanted to move away from my previous work experience," Wood said."I came into it with no prejudices."
Almonte may seem an unlikely place for some, but for Wood, it is a natural.
"It is a small town with an art-friendly reputation," he said."I also believe that culture does not stop at the city lights."
"When I initially opened the gallery, I featured artists from the military or the police, because those were the only people I knew who had experience in the arts.Then about six months later, I expanded to include local contemporary artists."
Wood sees photography as an important art form, and sees Steve McCurry as one of the major figures in photojournalism.
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Wood had to assume all of the production costs himself.This included matting and framing the photographs as well as publicity costs.
Wood has been impressed by how well the show has been received by the public.
"I had to go out and buy a box of kleenex one day because someone was really overwhelmed," Wood said.
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Wood has sold 28 of them.
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In some people's minds, she has taken on the appearance of a Madonna," Wood said.
Others have told Wood they believe she represents "The face of war unmasked."
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Wood is no stranger to mounting important exhibitions.He has in the past shown Rod MacIvor's photographic tribute to former prime minister Pierre Trudeau.He also had a showing of the late environmentalist and filmmaker Bill Mason's art.