Trenton, NJ has had a vibrant artistic world for many years, but has seldom had spaces in which to showcase the paintings, photographs, and multi-media artwork of locals, including MCCC students and faculty.
But in the past four years, the college’s Trenton JKC Gallery has become a venue supporting new and established voices.
The most recent exhibit was called The Mark and the Memory. According to curator of the exhibition, Ryann Casey, the theme of the exhibit was “How photography responds to trauma.”
When putting together the exhibit she said she was looking for “how artists used a variety of techniques to either process trauma or to reflect on it.”
Visitor Bonnie Randolph says of her visit to the Gallery, “There were several installations at that exhibit that I really liked. The one that struck home for me was the one of the woman coming to terms with the relationship with her mother (who was never there for me). She is now caring for her mother. I plan to attend more things at the gallery. When I went, I wasn’t expecting to be overly impressed with anything. I was surprised by the depth and emotion of each installation.”
One of the featured artists, Tim Dill is a retired investigator and a former MCCC student. He got a bachelor’s degree in Baltimore, then he started studying photography at Mercer.
When asked about his interest in photography he said, “I love photography. For me it’s a way to express myself. I enjoy what I’m doing right now, and I don’t see any reason of doing something else as long as I’m having fun doing it.”
Dill says he took a break from photography for a while. He struggled with alcoholism but got back into photography about 10 years ago when began his recovery.
Dill’s pieces for the exhibition were self-portraits about his story. He used a glass-head to represent the memories of what he went through in his life.
The glass head was put in situations and places that are meaningful to him or represent a part of his life.
In fitting his pieces with the theme, The Mark and the Memory, Dill said, “There are good and bad memories. Everybody has that mark. My job in law enforcement, my struggles with alcohol, these are all marks in my life, they were all memories in my life.”
Dill grew up Catholic and criticizes how religion affects people saying, “I grew up in an environment where I went to Catholic school, and they were really strict. There were some things they taught us which I know today, aren’t true or accurate. But they have a lasting impression on somebody.”
Dill says that one of the people that helped his recovery was a retired priest who taught him about letting go. During one of their talks, he says the priest asked him if he still wore the same pants he wore when he was 12 years old. When he said “no,” the priest responded, “Well, that’s right; you can’t fit into those pants you wore when you were 12 years old. What makes you think your conception of God or religion should be the same when you are 55 years old?”
He also cites Professor Michael Chovan-Dalton as one of the people that has influenced him in his career because it was possible to have consistent feedback and to feel more confident in his work.
Professor Michael Chovan-Dalton teaches photography at Mercer and is the Director of the Gallery. He has been a photographer for over 30 years.
His interest began in high school when was recommended by his cousin to take a photography class.
“I was hooked immediately. I became that student that hung around the photo lab so much that the teacher would let me run it for other students,” he said.
When asked about his current projects he said, “I am currently photographing the Passaic River but most of what I am doing right now is editing and scanning 30 years of photography to try to make sense of all of my work.”
Professor Chovan-Dalton also hosts a podcast called, Real Photo Show.
“I started the podcast, Real Photo Show, because I loved podcasts and I wanted to meet more photographers, curators, publishers, and other members of the photo community who provide spaces to help promote others. It’s all about building community in a highly virtual world”
He also has done work in Israel while in an exchange program at Bezalel Academy at the School of Visual Arts.
While there he met some Palestinian men who were involved in the first Intifada. They let him know when demonstrations were happening and photographed those demonstrations.
He then began to be more interested in family life there which then became a primary interest in future photo projects after he returned from being there for 7 months.
Professor Chovan-Dalton volunteered to be director and began running the Gallery in February of 2017.
He says, “The gallery was built so that the college could add to the existing and growing art community in Trenton.”
When asked about how he comes up with the themes and deciding which artists to showcase, he said, “About half of the shows at the gallery come to me through requests by others or people who walk into the gallery. The other half are through contacts I have made over the years of just being in the art world.”
Casey describes her approach to each exhibit saying, “I see curation as a form of activism for myself. I look at it as a way to expand our mission of not only things like trauma but also giving spaces for voices that are often marginalized. Curation is an extension of political activism that I have but also an extension of what I think photography can be ethically.”
The Mark and the Memory exhibition ran from June 21 to September 17. Although it may be closed now, viewers can still see the artist’s work on the JKC Gallery website.
There is also a catalog available digitally as a flip book.
For the new exhibition, Ryann Casey will be curating again. However, this show will be virtual, but in March the show will be physically in the gallery.
The title of the exhibit is The Road Home. The theme according to Professor Chovan-Dalton is, “It’s a show by artists who have been displaced from their homelands or have experienced other forms of displacement, either physically or socially.”
There will be prints for sale and the money raised will be donated to organizations that help the homeless or displaced peoples.
When asked about what his hopes are for this exhibition, Professor Chovan-Dalton said, “I am expecting more, I am hopeful that things have more normalcy or returning to something like that. We are all planning for things to get better but we are still figuring things out as we go.”
For Ryann Casey she said, “I’m optimistic because people have been coming to the events and the shows…But I have also no idea in a month how things it’s going to look [in terms of COVID]. Unfortunately we have to be quick in our feet.”
NOTE: An earlier version of this article Professor Chovan-Dalton was referred to as Professor Dalton.
