FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Press Contact: Kenn Gray 617.905.4729
617.442.9225

January 17th- February 3rd, 2002

A Benefit for Breast Cancer- Beneficiary: Casting For Recovery, a Boston Based organization. www.castingforrecovery.org

With performances Choreographed by Rebecca Rice of the Boston Ballet

Gala Event: Thursday, January 17th, 6- 11 PM

"My photographic series, The Altis: Portraits of the Immortals, is a project celebrating freedom of expression, civil liberties, and sexual equality; often taken for granted in our contemporary context till now that our nation faces a foe who suppresses these rights. By setting The Altis in the ancient times of the Olympic games, my statement is one that opposes religious and sexual discrimination. The Olympic Games were a holy religious rite where women were banned and punished by death if their participation was discovered. Casting the project with only women would have been blasphemy in the eyes of the ancients, but for me it's a tactical use of history for the premise of artistic invention. The freedom to create this body of work without persecution exists as evidence of cultural evolution in our living times.

This series was on view at Nikolai Fine Art, New York City, traveled to the Columbia Museum of Art, South Carolina, and then to Les Bureau des Esprits, Milan, Italy where it began its international tour. My work has been widely collected by the Polaroid Collection, The Henry Buhl Collection (the Buhl Foundation), the Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection (patroness, most notably The Whitney Museum of Art) and the Columbia Museum of Art.

In conjunction with all my shows, funds are raised for breast cancer. The beneficiary, 'Casting for Recovery', is headquartered in Boston. This unique organization teaches breast cancer survivors the art of fly-fishing as a part of their physical and mental therapy. I applaud this organization for its innovative spirit in the field of breast cancer recovery."

- Martin Cooper