NYAB Event - Gabriel Angemi and Mia Tyler “Caution”

Gabriel Angemi and Mia Tyler “Caution”

Joseph Gross Gallery

This event has ended.

Caution, the title warns, is a show of complex and difficult subject matter. Viewing Mia Tyler’s mixed-media photography, it is not hard to imagine what the French mean by their idiom for orgasm, la petite mort, “the little death.” Tyler presents a dark world where desire and despair are interchangeable, and images appear literally, a climaxing man on his back, or as euphemism, a deep hole shown from the bottom looking out.

The pleasure of giving in and letting go is evident, but the ‘lovers’ depicted are solitary; DIY-ing their pleasure, embracing plastic sex dolls, or viewed from a remote lurker’s angle, sex comes across not as the ultimate measure of worth (as advertisers would have us believe), but rather a flawed expression of the human condition, a frailty. For Tyler, an established model, this perspective is fresh and daring, the point of view of someone who has spent a career being watched and desired turning the tables on social taboos and sexual norms.

Gabriel Angemi’s photographs of the everyday catastrophes and destruction he experiences as a fireman in Camden, New Jersey, remind us of our ultimate frailty–the delicate condition of being alive. For Angemi, a second generation firefighter in his hometown of Camden, both America’s poorest and most dangerous city, his photographs take an unflinching look at the conditions and human toll that is the reality behind the city’s statistics.

Angemi, who spends his downtime cruising the Camden streets with a police scanner to be amongst the first at a scene, presents the gritty imagery with the cool professionalism of someone living with these realities on a daily basis. Like a photojournalist, he inserts himself where the action is, delivering imagery from the frontlines of an ongoing battle for dignity and meaning in the face of poverty, despair, and the overall delicacy of life, changeable in an instant. Reminiscent of Weegee’s seminal New York crime photographs, Angemi’s images portray the ride or die reality of those living in a notorious city most would rather forget. Together, Tyler and Angemi in Caution present a view that is evocative, deeply human and, like the Realist painters of the 19th century, attempting to capture some semblance of reality, warts and all.

Gabriel Angemi, born in 1975 in Camden, New Jersey, is an American artist, photographer, writer, and instructor. Although never having any formal art schooling outside of a few classes in high school, Gabe has honed his skills thru creative endeavors with friends, growing up riding a skateboard, and the last 15 years as a fireman working in Camden. Having a camera of some kind in his possession some 20 years now, photographs are his main artistic venture. However, he also makes drawings, weapons, sculptures, and collage art out of found objects. Gabriel has recently shown his photographs in “99 days,” a group show at Philadelphia Photo Arts Center, PA; “Rise Above” group show at ArtNowNY, NY; “A Backward Glance Over Traveled Roads,” a 3 person show at Philadelphia’s Gravy Gallery, PA; and contributed several photographs to the Camp Starlight Art Auction in Portland, OR that benefitted children affected with HIV/AIDS. Aside from his art, Angemi travels the country teaching and lecturing on firefighter tactics and techniques and recently placed well enough on a promotional exam to hopefully be promoted to Captain by the end of this year. Gabriel currently resides in Merchantville, NJ with his wife Nicole and two daughters.

Mia Tyler, born 1978 in Lebanon, New Hampshire, is an American artist, photographer, actress, and model. She is the daughter of Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler and model Cyrinda Foxe. Mia’s love of the arts began at an early age, when she visited museums around the world with her mother. She has appeared acting on MTV and CBS, and various shows. In 2008, Mia released a memoir, published by Simon & Schuster, titled “Creating Myself,” about her life growing up in the entertainment world. After receiving a camera as a birthday gift from her father, she assumed a new role behind the lens. Consciously deciding not to draw influence from other photographers, Mia was able to develop a style that was truly her own. Her debut show titled “Through the Looking Glass” opened February 2012. Mia’s experimental approach has resulted in a strongly stylized expression that is edgy, honest, and revealing on a personal level. Currently, Mia resides in New York, where she lives and works as an artist.