©Jonathan Spath
© Jonathan Spath
In his series of photographs Romancing Σtone, Jonathan Spath unifies two areas of deep
personal interest - math and photography.
The photos, taken in a former granite quarry on Cape Ann, MA, also reflect his style of
photographing which "looks further and deeper into everyday surroundings to discover what singular
perspectives may exist both in the object and the space around the object," he says.
Romancing tone is featured at the Griffin Museum at Digital Silver Imaging in Belmont, MA, January
21 through March 28. An opening reception with the artist at Digital Silver Imaging is January 28,
6-8 PM.
"The stones' shapes, tones, textures, and scale were all of initial interest to me," Spath says.
"I then spent time sitting, being in and getting a sense for the place and its formations. After
some time passed, I began seeing the distinct geometric shapes, the spheres, the many triangles and
other polygons. My natural inclination to uncover the order, even the mathematical, within the
randomness of the stone piles emerged."
Spath adds that the photographs' titles also describe a mathematical quality he sees or feels
within the stone. In the photo Inscribed, for example, Spath says "the oblate stone is positioned
to almost touch the exterior triangle in three locations. The egg shape is therefore ´inscribed´
within the triangle."
"As an educator I love to take opportunities to teach through the arts," says Paula Tognarelli
executive director of the Griffin Museum of Photography. "Jonathan Spath has woven and integrated
some enduring lessons on math into the exhibition of his photographs that can long outlive the
classroom. Learning through the arts is learning that lasts a lifetime."
Spath began taking photographs in 1998, when he was looking for something creative to do and his
stepfather loaned him a camera. That year, he took his first photography class in the Berkshires.
When he moved to Boston, he took a darkroom class at the New England School of Photography and then
began taking classes at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education. He also has studied at the School
of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the Maine Photographic Workshops. He currently is
completing a certificate in digital photography at Rhode Island School of Design.
Spath is a secondary math and special education teacher in the Lexington, MA, public school system.
The reception is open to all. Please RSVP to the Griffin Museum by January 21.
The gallery is open to the public Monday through Friday, 10 AM to 5:30 PM, to mirror Digital
Silver's hours, or by appointment. Call 781-729-1158.
The Griffin Museum of Photography is open Tuesday through Thursday, 11 am - 5 pm; Friday 11 am - 4
pm; and Saturday and Sunday, noon - 4 pm. The Museum is closed on Monday. Admission is $5 for
adults; $2 for seniors. Members and children under 12 are admitted free. Admission is free to all
every Thursday. For more information, call 781-729-1158.
Digital Silver Imaging (DSI) was founded in 2008 as a dedicated black-and-white photolab. DSI
offers a unique printing process that provides beautiful fiber-based and resin-coated black-and-
white silver gelatin prints directly from digital files. Through a full suite of printing and
finishing services, DSI creates museum quality, continuous tone images, uniting the advances of the
digital world with the art and archival properties of true black-and-white printing. For more on
Digital Silver Imaging visit www.digitalsilverimaging.com or call 617-489-0035.
Custom framing provided by Ava Art
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