©Torrance York, Untitled, 0604, 2020 from the Semaphore project

In the Lenscratch call Art + Science Award: The Heart of the Matter, we asked photographers to consider a shifting perspective of our current world, placing emphasis on the most pertinent themes that reside throughout the boundaries of art and science. Due to the superlative quality of the submissions, it was challenging to narrow down from 137 portfolios to seven final selections.

This week in Lenscratch, we look at the seven winning artists who use photography to investigate themes emphasizing the impact of emotional, physiological and environmental forces upon individuals and societies. Some projects shed light on dualities like beauty and fear or human rights and authority, while others resonate with a singular vision

In a broad sense, each of the winning artists submitted a series of photographs that makes the invisible visible. From the questioned intentions surrounding surveillance to the exposure of transitioning fungi, these works share interwoven threads with the current frenetic stillness of our world.

Linda Alterwitz and Patrick C. Duffy

©Torrance York, Untitled, 1618, 2020 from the Semaphore project

Torrance York is an artist and educator based in New Canaan, CT. Through her series Semaphore, she visually explores her life experiences after her diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. This photographic narrative interweaves medical diagnostic data, the human image and elements of nature; juxtaposing feelings of both vulnerability and comfort. York takes the viewer on a visual journey that raises flags to the fragility of life while taking refuge within the interconnectivity of her surrounding world.

©Torrance York, Untitled, 1618, 2020 from the Semaphore project

Semaphore examines the shift in my perspective after having been diagnosed six years ago with Parkinson’s Disease. Through images, I consider what it means to integrate this life altering information into my sense of self. What does acceptance look like? Post diagnosis, everyday items and experiences take on new meaning. New tasks top my “to do” list each day. Simple tools now represent challenge. Uncertainty pervades the periphery surfacing my vulnerability. As I look around me, the branches of trees become networks of neurons, or resemble tendons in my wrist imaged by MRI. Acknowledging these signals facilitates the process of adaptation. Optimism holds the key for me right now. Light, always an inspiration, illuminates a path for me to follow. And I go. With this project I aim to connect with others whose journeys also require growth, patience and perseverance to move forward.

©Torrance York, Untitled, 6341, 2020 from the Semaphore project

©Torrance York, Untitled, 7943, 2020 from the Semaphore project

Torrance York is an artist and educator. She earned a BA from Yale, 1988 and an MFA in Photography from RISD, 1994. York has been selected as a Critical Mass 2021 Finalist, received an Honorable Mention award from The Photo Review Competition 2020 and won the Olcott Family award as a semi-finalist in The Print Center 95th ANNUAL competition. York has had solos shows at Silvermine Galleries, New Canaan, CT; New Canaan Museum & Historical Society; and Southport Gallery, Southport, CT; among others. Her work has been exhibited at venues including Littlejohn Contemporary, New York, NY; Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, CT; Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, MA; Schelfhaudt Gallery, University of Bridgeport, CT; Nelson Hancock Gallery, Brooklyn, NY; Center for Photography at Woodstock, NY. Her work is included in private collections nationally. She has been an artist in residence at Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village, CO, and received a Connecticut Artist Fellowship grant from the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism. She is an Artist Member of Silvermine Arts Center and her landscape work is represented by Littlejohn Contemporary. Since 2001 she has served on the Board of the Educational Video Center in NYC where she formerly taught documentary video.

©Torrance York, Untitled, 9390, 2020 from the Semaphore project

©Torrance York, Untitled, 0523, 2020 from the Semaphore project

©Torrance York, Untitled, 5139, 2020 from the Semaphore project

©Torrance York, Untitled, 9951, 2020 from the Semaphore project

©Torrance York, Untitled, 3857, 2020 from the Semaphore project

©Torrance York, Untitled, 1567, 2020 from the Semaphore project

©Torrance York, Untitled, 6293, 2020 from the Semaphore project

©Torrance York, Untitled, 6335, 2020 from the Semaphore project

©Torrance York, Untitled, 3186, 2020 from the Semaphore project

©Torrance York, Untitled, 7336, 2020 from the Semaphore project

Linda Alterwitz a visual artist whose artwork engages photography, collage and interactive installations. Her projects focus on the unseen rhythms of the human body and our relationship to the natural world. Alterwitz’s creative practice has been informed by a fourteen-year exploration of scientific technologies that provide visualizations of our physical and cognitive states.

In 2015, Alterwitz was the recipient of the Nevada Arts Council Visual Artist Fellowship. Her work has been published in Smithsonian Magazine, Orion Magazine, The New Statesman, Musee Magazine among others. She has exhibited her work in both traditional exhibition and site-specific installations in the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, China, Spain, Israel, Germany, Greece and Poland. Alterwitz lives and works in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Patrick C. Duffy melds a love for art, giving and entrepreneurship in a state he calls home: Nevada. With his position as President/CEO of Nevada School of the Arts, Duffy spends much of his non-working hours promoting Arts & Culture in the Las Vegas & Reno communities and several out-of-state philanthropic efforts. Having built a long-standing and respected professional sales and marketing career in fine jewelry and hospitality, Patrick Duffy motivates and mentors’ artists, colleagues and customers, and can address and engage public audiences on a variety of best-practice topics including: Priceless Customer Service; Have to/Want to; and the Five Pillars of Life.

Duffy’s passion and commitment for the arts, complete with gifts placed in museums from London, New York, Chicago and Washington D.C. to Las Vegas, Reno, Bloomington, Santa Fe, San Francisco and Honolulu, have garnered both national and international recognition for his philanthropic efforts to the arts. His sense of artistic acumen coupled with a keen eye for museum quality art is reflected in the Goodman Duffy Collection. The legacy of the Goodman Duffy Collection is currently part of the Smithsonian Institute, Archives of American Art.

Duffy has served on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts; former Vice Chairman of The NEON Museum; and curator of The Odyssey: A Visual Art Experience for the annual Life Is Beautiful festival in Downtown Las Vegas. As President of the Las Vegas Art Museum (LVAM), Duffy constructed a relationship (MOU) between the museum and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas–Barrick Museum of Arts to preserve the integrity of the LVAM collection. Additionally, as a former member of the Foundation Board of Directors for Opportunity Village, Duffy took a steering role in developing the Opportunity Village Art and Enrichment program and previously served as the appointed Arts Commissioner for the City of Las Vegas.

An accomplished motivational speaker, Duffy has been featured on global stages for his business experience, and locally; at Leadership Las Vegas on Art and Culture, and as an Inspire speaker at ‘Delivering Happiness Inspire!’ sponsored by Zappos.

Patrick Duffy is a dynamic leader who enjoys seeking the very best in every relationship, both professional and personal. Duffy resides in Las Vegas with his husband Luis, where they both continue to collect, and support the arts in both the US, Europe and Mexico.