Due to possible inclement weather on Saturday, August 12th, the Fairfield Museum has announced that its exciting collaboration with one of America’s most iconic photographers, Stephen Wilkes of Westport, to create one of his extraordinary “Day to Night” photographs of Fairfield’s waterfront will now take place Friday, August 11th and, if weather cooperates, Saturday, August 12th.
Starting the morning of Friday, August 11, 2017, Wilkes will capture Fairfield’s beachfront over a 24-hour period perched atop staging on Jennings Beach. Residents are invited to visit Jennings Beach and Penfield Beach on Friday, August 11th and/or Saturday, August 12th to be a part of Wilkes’ photographic project which will capture swimmers, sun-bathers, sandcastle-builders, kayakers, and anyone else enjoying Fairfield’s beloved beachfront. (Beach Stickers or Daily are Required). The completed photograph will go on display in April, 2018 during the annual IMAGES exhibition and become part of the Fairfield Museum’s permanent collection.
Stephen Wilkes is one of America’s most revered photographers, widely recognized for his fine art, editorial and commercial work. His photographs are included in the collections of the George Eastman Museum, Houston Museum of Fine Arts, the Jewish Museum of NY, Library of Congress, Museum of the City of New York, 9/11 Memorial Museum and numerous private collections. His work has also appeared in, and on the covers of, leading publications such as the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Time, Fortune, National Geographic, Sports Illustrated, and many others. Wilkes is perhaps best known for his Day to Night photographs in which he captures breathtaking landscapes, portrayed from a fixed camera angle for up to 30 hours to capture fleeting moments of humanity as light passes in front of his lens over the course of the full day. His Day to Night photographs have been featured on CBS Sunday Morning as well as dozens of other prominent media outlets. Day to Night destinations have included the Grand Canyon, Times Square, Stonehenge, Venice, Vatican City, and the Serengeti.
Wilkes’ Day to Night photograph of Fairfield has been generously commissioned as a gift to Fairfield and the Fairfield Museum by the Saft family in memory of Marcia Saft. A former Fairfield Museum Board Member and devoted community leader and philanthropist, Marcia Saft (1945-2016) was an enthusiastic supporter of Fairfield’s history and artistic legacy.
Stephen Wilkes’ TED talk on his extraordinary Day to Night photographs can be seen at:
https://www.ted.com/talks/stephen_wilkes_the_passing_of_time_caught_in_a_single_photo.
For more information, please contact Deb Owens, Marketing & Communications Manager, Fairfield Museum and History Center, 203-259-1598 x103 or dowens@fairfieldhs.org.
Photo: Times Square, Day to Night, 2010 by Stephen Wilkes