.jpg)
From left to right, Board Member Tom Lamb, Artist Baldemar Fierro, Art Collection Specialist Pat Sparkuhl and Exhibits Director Ron Morrissette
Recently, the Festival of Arts added an extraordinary photograph by Baldemar Fierro to its Permanent Art Collection. The piece is entitled Favela Morro do Cantagalo which Fierro captured earlier this year in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
“It is with great pleasure that the Festival purchased from the 2014 summer fine art exhibit, Baldemar Fierro’s color photograph,” said Festival of Arts Board Member Tom Lamb.
“This work, rich in color and texture, is an image of the slums above Ipanema Beach, Rio de Janeiro. Baldemar exemplifies a new breed of photographers, whose documentary work in third world countries often create underlying stories such as the tension between the desperate conditions of the slums often adjacent to neighborhoods of the rich and famous with incongruous lifestyles.”
The Festival’s collection, made up of over 1,150 pieces, is composed of an eclectic mix of two-dimensional and three-dimensional work that date back to the early 1900s.
The Festival of Arts Permanent Collection, expanded annually through purchases and donations, includes painting, sculpture, ceramics, printmaking, glass, photography, mixed media, furniture and jewelry that reflect the uniqueness and diversity that is synonymous with the Festival of Arts and the region surrounding it.
About Baldemar Fierro
Baldemar Fierro, a 4-year exhibitor at the Festival of Arts, is a freelance photographer based in Laguna Beach, California. Fierro has been photographing for more than 15 years. He attended photography school at Orange Coast College (OCC) where he learned analog photography.
Large/medium format cameras, film development and darkroom techniques are still relevant to him in today’s digital workflow. Fierro enjoys traveling to natural environments and cities close to home and around the world.
About the Laguna Beach Festival of Arts
The Laguna Beach Festival of Arts is a 501c3 with a mission to promote, produce, and sponsor events and activities that encourage the appreciation, study and performance of the arts. Throughout each year the Festival of Arts sponsors art education and provides art scholarships and grants. Every summer the organization hosts California’s premier open-air fine art show and produces the Pageant of the Masters. For general information, call 949-494-1145 or visit LagunaFestivalofArts.org.
