Brian Fitzgibbons: Water and Sky

Brian Fitzgibbons has historically used photography to capture his point of view surrounding identity, masculinity, sexuality, and the intimate relationship they form with regard to gay men. After taking a hiatus from fine art photography, Brian begins a discovery of a very different nature. Having dealt with the loss of several loved ones over the course of a short time, his thoughts have turned more inward to his relationship to mortality and spirituality. In these beginning images, the relationship between water and sky serve as a focal point for this exploration.

Untitled © 2013 Brian Fitzgibbons

Throughout mythology and theology, mankind has returned time and again to these symbols to represent the spiritual planes, from the Grecian ideas of the river Styx and Hades, to the Judeo-Christian imagery of heaven in the clouds. While at most times very visually separated by horizon, these planes become blurred and enmeshed as atmosphere, fog, and light find their way in-between. This blurring of the lines currently serves as the primary visual language that Brian is working within to represent his current thoughts on his relationship to mortality. Still very much weighted by these losses, Brian finds himself in that proverbial fog, caught between the water and sky. The final trajectory of this work is still to be discovered and, as with loss itself, can only be made clear as time allows this fog to pass.

Untitled © 2013 Brian Fitzgibbons

Untitled © 2013 Brian Fitzgibbons

Eric Dietrich: U.S. Naval War College

Eric Dietrich served in the United States Marine Corps from 2001 - 2005 before taking up photography. In 2008, he attended the New England School of Photography studying photojournalism and started working for himself in 2009. In October of 2010 he began working for the U.S. Navy as a mass communication specialist and then became the staff photographer for the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.

Eric writes, "I worked at the U.S. Naval War College as a staff photographer for much of 2012 and during that time I photographed a number of guest speakers. As I sorted through them later, it occurred to me that I could put together a small collection. Some of the photos are of the style that, if they were of a politician or celebrity, might have graced the pages of a newspaper. In others I tried to capture moments that one might overlook. Altogether, I tried to display a facet of military life that people might never know existed."

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NEWPORT, R.I. (Oct. 23, 2012) Adm. James Stavridis, commander of U.S. European Command and supreme allied commander, Europe, addresses students from the U.S. Naval War College (NWC) and Senior Enlisted Academy during a visit to the NWC. Above him is a photo of Stavridis with Army Gen. Nikolai Makarov, chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Eric Dietrich/Released)

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NEWPORT, R.I. (May 8, 2012) U.S. Naval War College (NWC) Professor Emeritus Porter Halyburton holds up a photo of his wife and daughter during a lecture at the NWC about his time as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam during the Vietnam War. Halyburton was held captive for seven years in a number of prisons, including the infamous “Heartbreak Hotel” and “Hanoi Hilton.” (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Eric Dietrich/Released)

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NEWPORT, R.I. (May 10, 2012) Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Manpower and Reserve Affairs) Juan Garcia III addresses sailors and Marines during an all-hands meeting at the U.S. Naval War College. Garcia spoke about the 21st Century Sailor and Marine program and the future of the Navy. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Eric Dietrich/Released)
 

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NEWPORT, R.I. (May 23, 2012) Audience members listen to Swanee Hunt, the Eleanor Roosevelt lecturer in public policy at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, deliver her lecture “Inclusive Security: Vital or Vacuous?” at the U.S. Naval War College. Hunt spoke about the importance of including women in security and peace processes. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Eric Dietrich/Released)

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NEWPORT, R.I. (August 29, 2012) Adm. Katsutoshi Kawano, Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force chief of staff and 1997 U.S. Naval War College (NWC) alum, speaks to international students at the NWC. Kawano visited the NWC as part of a weeklong tour of the United States as a guest of the U.S. Navy chief of naval operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Eric Dietrich/Released)

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NEWPORT, R.I. (Sept. 18, 2012) Retired Air Force Master Sgt. John Almeida, 91, is recognized as the oldest service member present during the Air Force’s 65th birthday celebration at the U.S. Naval War College. Almeida is a veteran of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Eric Dietrich/Released)