Photo Art Mural to Adorn Bayshore Drive

compliments of Michelle Tricca and a supportive Naples community

LISTEN: WGCU Interview with Michelle Tricca

I’ve known Michelle Tricca for over a year now, and she’s proven to be an amazing photographer, in a professional and personable way.  What Michelle sees through her camera lens evokes such emotion and curiosity.  She captures a mood of an individual in such a way that an amazing story seems to unfold in the imagination of those who view her work. What was the individual thinking and feeling when the image was shot?  How did Michelle get them to feel seemingly comfortable, yet secluded from the world during the photo shoot?  Michelle is an artist to the core, and to be around her is almost surreal.  A private and peaceful person, Michelle quietly manages a professional and personal life within Naples, Florida, while peppering field trips of exotic locales across the globe.  Michelle seems to make friends wherever she goes, with her mild and meek demeanor. Always bringing home some shots worth keeping, and perhaps sharing some day with others how can relate to what she sees. Her Art she finds in everyday life, in simple for all around up, no mater race, religion, or personal opinion.

In preparation for her first public installation of the photo art mural, Michelle is conducting a pre-shoot Saturday March 12th afternoon from 1:00 to 4:00 pm. Come, bring your mug, and be a part of art history on Bayshore.  She also took the time to visit a group of war veterans, many wheelchair bound, and photographed their worn faces of character to later be used in the photo art mural exhibit.

Read on for details.

LISTEN: WGCU Interview with Michelle Tricca

Well travelled local portrait & lifestyle photographer, Michelle Tricca, has taken on a new challenge in her hometown. Bayshore Drive is a location in Naples that is under renovation to become the “Avenue of the Arts,” yet is currently void of artistic presence. On March 19 +20, 2011,  Naples resident and artist, Michelle Tricca, will be doing the first public art installation on the “Avenue of the Arts”. Her project, entitled, A FACE IN THE CROWD, will be a 1,000 sq. ft. photo mural depicting the faces of Naples.

Approved by the Bayshore Redevelopment Agency Advisory Board, the entire project will be created in public view so that viewers can watch the process from beginning to end and be part of the final art piece. The subjects of this art piece will be the residents who come that day to show their support of Michelle, Naples art, and Naples itself – any and all are invited to come and participate by being photographed. The images will be photographed by Michelle, printed and mounted on site, using recycled paper and non-toxic environmentally friendly adhesive.

Anyone who comes can be photographed and made a part of the wall (at no charge). Michelle calls this a “photographic tribute to human diversity” and wants to showcase the people of Naples, of all ages and from all walks of life, who want to support Naples art and make the new “Avenue of the Arts” grow with the promise of change from a deteriorating neighborhood to one shining with promise of artistic fulfillment.

Michelle is a world traveler, photographing a range of continents from the slums of African townships and remote South Pacific islands to the wealth of Mediterranean villages and conveys the beauty, rawness and diversity of the residents everywhere she travels.

For her recent Naples project “A FACE IN THE CROWD,” Michelle states:

“My subject matter is this community in which there’s a strong juxtaposition of economic classes, consisting of the world’s wealthy, part timing in their seasonal homes, along with groups of immigrants sharing a tiny apt, struggling daily to get by.

Although I fall in the middle of these two categories, in my travels I have felt what it is like to be both. As an artist I have had economic struggles, but have visited many Third World countries, where I realize the benefits of opportunity, freedom, and material possessions that I take for granted in the United States. That has made me feel wealthy compared to the human condition of the country that I am visiting.

This piece will be created by me in conjunction with the people that come to be a part of this project, so all who participate will, in essence, be part of this first unique art piece in this new art district. The process of development, implementation, and exhibition of the piece will be done on site so everyone will be able to see and be a part of the process. The compelling repetition of the black & white portraits of the diversity of residents coming together to participate in this project will show the blend of uniqueness that is Naples.

Although the faces, features and expressions may vary, the bottom line is that we’re all just human and although we may be A FACE IN THE CROWD, we all are individuals and have profound life stories that get us from one experience to the next.  You really don’t know someone at face value which proves the old adage, “you can’t judge a book by it’s cover.”  This large scale photographic exhibition is a tribute to human diversity, urging the viewer to look up close rather than gloss over an anonymous person.”
Details:

• what: A FACE IN THE CROWD – a 1,000 sq ft street art photo mural
• who: by Naples photographer Michelle Tricca
• when: March 19 + 20, 2011. 9am ~ 5pm  // Stop by any time. It’ll take minutes to be photographed. You can leave or stay to watch the install.
• where: 3945 Bayshore Drive, Naples FL 34114
• why: A Photographic Tribute to Human Diversity, a 1st of it’s kind in SW Florida! YOU are invited to be part of it. The knowledge that this installation is forever something you made exist!
• how: portraits shot on location of the diverse members of our community, meaning YOU! printed out and installed on the spot!

For the latest on A FACE IN THE CROWD, go to Facebook: Michelle Tricca Photography and see her promo video here: http://vimeo.com/michelletricca/afaceinthecrowd