For Immediate Release
December 8, 2006
Contact: Corey Cronin 781/259-3628, ccronin@decordova.org
Stephen DiRado: JUMP
Arcade Gallery
January 20 – April 22, 2007
Opening Reception : Friday, January 26, 6 - 9 pm
LINCOLN , MA —Over the course of several summers, Worcester photographer Stephen DiRado has photographed vacationers and residents as they jump off the American Legion Memorial Bridge on Beach Road between Edgartown and Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard . This 18-foot descent into the waters of a tidal inlet has been a rite of passage for generations of youth. DiRado’s black-and-white prints capture the anticipation, desire, anxiety, and release associated with the moment of letting go, as terra firma is abandoned and the void embraced. Figures fall, fly, leap, and dive with expressions of intense concentration, joyful abandon, or sheer terror. This exhibition will include 20 photographs from this compelling series.
According to the artist, “Over time I got to know the regulars, and came to recognize the athletes with their graceful half gainer dives as well as those who quietly stepped off the rail, and dropped....You knew the first-timers because they would hesitate before leaping, bringing others to their attention, everybody spontaneously chanting, JUMP, JUMP, JUMP!”
JUMP is organized by Mary Levin and William Koch Curatorial Fellow Lisa Sutcliffe .
Stephen DiRado will give an Artist Talk on Saturday, March 31 at 3 pm , free with Campus admission.
For images, please contact Corey Cronin at ccronin@decordova.org or 781/259-3628.
General Information: DeCordova Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm and on selected Monday holidays. General admission during Museum hours is $9 for adults, $6 for senior citizens, students, and youth ages 6–12. Children age 5 and under, Lincoln residents, and Active Duty Military Personnel and their dependents are admitted free. The Sculpture Park is open year round during daylight hours. The Store @ DeCordova and the School Gallery are open Monday through Thursday, 9:30 am to 7:30 pm , Friday through Saturday, 9:30 am to 5:30 pm , and Sunday 10:30 am to 5:30 pm. The Café @ DeCordova is open Tuesday from noon to 3 pm, and Wednesday through Sunday from 11 am to 4 pm. Free guided public tours of the Museum's main galleries take place every Thursday at 1 and Sunday at 2 pm. Free tours of the Sculpture Park are given on Saturday and Sunday at 1 pm from May to October. Call 781/259-8355 for further information.
