Linda Erickson Photography
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Linda Erickson Photography
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Hunterdon County Democrat Article on the Women of Frenchtown Exhibit Photo
Exhibit to Show 'Women of Frenchtown' It's
"a celebration of the women of Frenchtown."
That's how borough resident Linda Erickson described her upcoming
photography exhibit, "Women of Frenchtown," opening Oct. 19 at Cafe
des Beaux-Arts. Erickson,
52, who moved to town a year ago from New York City, has been a dancer,
choreographer and psychiatric nurse. Lately,
however, most of her time has been spent photographing 17 women who either live
or work in Frenchtown. Erickson
was introduced to fashion photography in the late 1970s when, as assistant
manager of the New York City Ballet, she produced the company's souvenir book.
The book’s photographer was Vogue magazine's Arthur Elgort.
Erickson went with Elgort to many Vogue fashion shoots, and said she
learned great deal from him and the peopIe around him. Ever
since, Erickson has wanted to photograph women, but in New York City, she said,
“you can't just go up to people on the street." Frenchtown
turned out to be the perfect place for the project.
Said Erickson:
“I feel like there's such a creative force and energy in this town --
we call it 'the vortex' – that you almost have to fight against it.” The
"Women of Frenchtown” idea began with an advertising shoot Erickson did
for Alchemy Creative Clothing on Bridge Street, with local models Natalie Glazer
and Erin Hearty.
Erickson met Alchemy owners Cleo and Barry Sharplin, who were new in town
themselves, when she walked into the store one day and introduced herself. "I
needed friends," she said. The
Alchemy shoot went so well that Erickson decided to photograph Frenchtown women
of all ages "to make them feel special and show them how beautiful they are
-- just as beautiful as anyone in a magazine." At
first Erickson thought she would photograph 12 women for a calendar, but as she
met more and more women, the project took on a life of its own.
Ultimately, she made-up and photographed 17 women. Townspeople
have been very helpful, said Erickson.
Borough resident Sharon Hladik has been her biggest supporter, recruiting
women and helping with lighting on the shoots.
The two women met at the Frenchtown Inn, where Hladik works.
Hladik said working on the project had been thrilling. What
Erickson has enjoyed most is getting to know so many interesting and exciting
women she might never have met otherwise. Doing
someone's makeup is a very intimate thing, she said, so conversations quickly
became revealing.
The women's generosity and trust has inspired Erickson to take pictures
which capture their true beauty. Some
women had no trouble being sexy in front of the camera, said Erickson, while
some were very shy. "I'm
right in your face,” she said.
“It can make people nervous." Erickson
looks carefully at her subjects to find their best angles. And,
she said, "being a woman helps. I
think the pictures are coming out the way they are because I totally
identify." In
the end, said Erickson, she got so many good photos that it's been hard to edit
them. Erickson
took two rolls of film of each woman -- one color and one black-and-white. They
will be exhibited as state-of-the-art Xeroxes, printed by Digital Arts Imaging
of Lebanon Township. Erickson
recently photographed Erin Hearty, 20, a Bucks County Community College student
and employee of Bucks Ice Cream. Hearty
sat patiently while Erickson applied her make-up --she normally doesn't wear any
-- beginning with black eye-pencil for an "edgy" look. "I
like to see what the eyes are going to do," said Erickson, 'then let the
face tell me what to do." The
biggest challenge comes when lipstick is applied, she said. When
Erickson was through with Hearty's make-up, she had a "smoldering"
presence, thanks to purple eye shadow and magenta lipstick. 'The
biggest trick is knowing when to stop," said Erickson, adding, "People
sometimes think it's too much, but you need it for the camera." Hearty
is "a complete natural" in front of the camera, said Erickson. She's
also tall, slender and beautiful, with that "edgy" look so in vogue. Nevertheless,
she has no interest in a modeling career because, she said, "modeling
portrays women negatively." Still,
she enjoyed being shot by Erickson. "It's
fun to have someone turn you into a piece of art,” she said, adding:
“There's a fine line between the artistic side and objectification." Erickson
declined to release all the names of the women in the show, saying she wanted to
create a mystique about who's in it. Men
have been overheard around town speculating as to the identity of her subjects,
she said. One
of the models is Natalie Glazer, a waitress at Bucks Ice Cream and Bucks Bounty,
who said Erickson made her feel very comfortable during the shoot. "I
love to be in front of the camera," she said, "especially around
friends." She
loved Erickson's photos of her, and is sending copies to her family. Unlike
Hearty, Glazer would welcome a career as a model. Rosella
Caloiero, 35, proprietress of the Frenchtown Cafe, said posing for Erickson was
fun, although she was nervous at first. A
glass of wine helped, she said. "I'm
not that photogenic," Caloiero protested. (The
photos tell a different tale.) "Everybody
has some flaw that they don't like, and when you see it in a picture it screams
out at you." Frenchtown
writer and architectural historian Ellen Russell, 54, said the experience of
posing for Erickson was wonderful. "Linda
brought out a spark of glamour in me I didn't know I had," she said. "It's
not a vanity thing – not frivolous or shallow." Just
knowing it's in there can add a little bit of sparkle to a day when you feel
gray,” said Russell, adding, "It may not be the meat and potatoes of
life, but it's certainly a jelly bean." The
Women of Frenchtown opening runs from 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Oct. 19, at Cafe
des Beaux-Arts, 14 Lott St. at Front Street.
For more information, call 996-7400. The
show will run for one month. Erickson
is inviting everyone to come to the opening "dressed to the nines -- show
your stuff!" for an evening of glamour and style. |