About Bill
Bill McLaughlin is a self-taught landscape painter and photographer living and working from his organic homestead in New Berlin, NY.
His paintings are predominately influenced by artists of the Tonalist Movement of the late 19th century which emphasized mood and atmosphere while seeking to evoke emotion in the viewer.
Recently, he has begun to explore photography to address current issues. He is particularly interested in the "power of the portrait" as a vehicle to call attention to marginalized populations and also to combat the growing voices of division and exclusion.
A previous photography project, “Living in Limbo: Portraits from the Border”, was widely exhibited throughout Central New York during the last two years.
His current project, “Face to Face: Portraits from the Precipice”, continues the use of portraits to explore and celebrate the rich diversity of the upstate community while seeking to neutralize the rising tide of hate and bigotry.
Artist Statement
“There is one thing the photograph must contain, the humanity of the moment”. - Robert Frank
“Face to Face: Portraits from the Precipice” seeks to explore and acknowledge the diversity and richness of our upstate community through portraiture. It is also a subtle reminder that as the voices of hatred and intolerance seek to divide us, that as a community, we share much more that unites us than separates us.
We are increasingly exposed to repetitive cycles of political outrage and retribution. We are reminded daily that we are a deeply divided nation poised for confrontation, immersed in myopic tribal thinking.
Tragically, much of that is true, as evidenced by the rise of right-wing domestic terrorism, political violence and the undermining of our most basic democratic norms. We are standing at a precipice. How we will proceed is uncertain.
With those thoughts in mind, I believe now is the time to reaffirm our commonality and our shared values. Face to Face: Portraits from the Precipice offers one small way in which we can remind ourselves that when we talk about “those others”, we are talking about our neighbors, our friends and the people we interact with daily.
It's been said that every portrait is also a self-portrait. And so hopefully it is also true that in viewing these photographs we will see ourselves in each of these faces, and in doing so, recognize our shared humanity.
As the forces that seek to divide us racially, politically and economically intensify, it is my hope that this exhibit will help foster tolerance rather than division; understanding rather than exclusion.