Opening Reception Today! Richard Norton Belfast: 1978-1988

- Private group -
Fri, 06/14/2013 - 6:45am

Waterfall Arts' big summer exhibit, Richard Norton Belfast: 1978-1988 and Invitational opens Friday June 14th with a public reception from 5 to 8 pm. Over one hundred of Norton's hand printed black and white photo-journalistic images of Belfast and Waldo County taken between 1978 through 1988 and a selection of his large kinetic color photographs are included in the show. The exhibit also features contemporary work of a number of artists who were Norton's friends from mid-coast Maine.

Norton (1947-1988) was a central figure in the art and journalism world of Belfast and Waldo County in the 1980's. His interest in people and skill in photography landed him a job in 1980 at the Republican Journal. In 1985, he helped found the Waldo Independent, where he distinguished himself as the chronicler of local life. For years, he was always there for local events, the escapades of high school athletics, the drama and the color of local personalities and politics, from the celebratory to the irascible, the tragic and back again.

Norton also pursued his own expressive work: street photography in the tradition of Cartier-Bresson, Gary Winogrand and Robert Frank. His spontaneous shots are painterly impressions in rich colorful strokes of people moving swiftly along busy New York, Boston and Maine streets

Norton also was a well-known participant in the early days of the emerging Belfast creative scene, where local and flatlander artists began the industrious mingling and friendship which has become the trademark of the Waldo County community today.

In 1980, Norton and a group of artist friends formed "Artfellows at the Odd Fellows", a cooperative gallery housed in a small suite of offices on the second floor of the Odd Fellows building, currently just above Bay Wrap on Main Street. Artfellows, with Norton as president and chief catalyst, quickly became known statewide for the quality of its shows and for its annual Summer Invitational Exhibit, featuring work of nationally-known New York and Boston artists in the funky, but loftily re-purposed three-room space.

His exhortations, "Are you working? What are you making?," created the momentum for many artists living the life of jobs, kids and building a home to get into the studio and make more and better art. In 1988, Richard died unexpectedly at the young age of 41 of a heart condition. His family and many friends were devastated to lose such a positive force for community and creativity.

Now, twenty-five years later, with the close collaboration and support of Denise Remy, Waterfall Arts honors Norton's legacy. The exhibit is sponsored by many local businesses: Bangor Savings Bank, Cold Mountain Builders, Front Street Shipyard, Sam Mitchell Realtor, Darby's Restaurant, Rockport Mechanical, the Caldbeck Gallery, Consumer's Fuel, Frank Lehman Tax Services, Michael Hurley, Light in the Forest Photography, Elaine Tucker and Tony Kulik, the Theo Fund at the Maine Community Foundation and the many Friends of Richard Norton.

Invitational artists include Janice Kasper, Peggy McKenna, Michael Reece, Dennis Pinette, Chris Osgood, Lesia Sochor, Mat O'Donnell, Lorna Crichton, Stew Henderson, Cathy Melio and others.

The exhibit will be on display through August 23rd. Panel discussions, talks and other events related to the exhibit will take place throughout the summer. For more information on the exhibit, related events, gallery hours, art classes and studio rentals visit www.waterfallarts.org or call 207 338-2222. Waterfall Arts is located at 256 High Street in Belfast.