A lens into the past

By Stella Katsipoutis-Varkanis

Over the summer, art professor Karina Aguilera Skvirsky (left) and EXCEL Scholar Jasmin Lara ’28 (right) partnered together to select, edit, size, print, and prepare photos for Aguilera’s most recent exhibition: Viajes de los Ochentas. | Photo by JaQuan Alston

In her most recent photo exhibit, artist Karina Aguilera Skvirsky uses her camera lens as a time machine to the ’80s. Organized with the help of EXCEL Scholar Jasmin Lara ’28 over the summer—and installed this fall in Museo Antropológico y de Arte Contemporáneo (MAAC) in Guayaquil, Ecuador—Viajes de los Ochentas takes its audience on a journey to a pointed, politically charged moment in time, in the two cities Skvirsky calls home: Washington, D.C., and Guayaquil.

“My whole life, I’ve been traversing these different cultures and contexts—between two countries, two languages, multiple races, and two class structures. And all the while, I’ve been taking photos,” says Skvirsky, professor of art at Lafayette, who first started taking photos at age 7. “Now, for the first time, I’ve combined photographs I took growing up—some of which were taken within months of each other—in a way that creates a time capsule of what was happening on these two continents, at a time when the U.S. was involved in war interventions in Central America.”

The exhibit’s 25 mostly black-and-white photos capture the stark contrast between middle-class life in the United States and working-class life in Ecuador, with the common thread tying them together being the subjects: Skvirsky’s friends and family.

“The project gives a strong sense of time, place, and class with each photo,” says Lara, an art and policy studies double major, who spent her summer assisting Skvirsky with scanning, selecting, editing, sizing, printing, and preparing the photos for display. “You can clearly see how different it was to live in these two places at that time just by looking at the haircuts, the outfits, the cars in the background. But no matter what country Prof. Skvirsky was in, her center was her family—and that’s beautiful.”

Through mostly black-and-white photos Skvirsky snapped of family and friends during her childhood travels, Aguilera’s exhibit captures the stark contrast between life in the U.S. and Ecuador in the ’80s. | Photo by JaQuan Alston

With close to 1,000 negatives to choose from for the exhibit, Skvirsky says Lara’s keen eye for photography and thorough work was vital to ensuring the project was wrapped in time for installation. “Jasmin was involved in every step of the process, and she was such a great sounding board for what photos and presentation communicated the message I wanted to communicate,” Skvirsky says. Lara also joined Skvirsky in printing black-and-white images alongside master printer David Haas, black and white photography professor at Lafayette, in Haas’ personal darkroom. “It was an incredible experience watching her absorb all the information from both of us,” Skvirsky says. “As a professor, it was a gift to work with a student who’s so passionate about photography, has excellent photography skills already, and wants to grow and develop as an artist.”

Lara—who first met Skvirsky when taking the Digital Photography I course as a first-year student, and who does freelance photography for Lafayette Athletics—hopes to pursue a career in photography or photography curation. Working as an EXCEL Scholar on the project, she says, was an opportunity to not only help a professor she admires bring her vision to life, but also gain critical hands-on experience creating a body of work she was proud of.

Lara says her hands-on experience working with Skvirsky as an EXCEL Scholar helped solidify her desire to pursue a career in photography or photography curation. | Photo by JaQuan Alston

“Prof. Skvirsky valued the perspective I brought and fully embraced it,” Lara says. “That security to express my opinions, thoughts, and preferences made me appreciate the art world a lot more.” It also helped her learn firsthand how to collaborate creatively and effectively. “The experience helped me realize this is something I can see myself doing as a full-time job, and gave me the tools I need to do that.”

Being supported by the EXCEL Scholar Program, Skvirsky and Lara add, is something they’re both particularly grateful for.

“I’ve had an EXCEL student almost all 19 years I’ve been teaching at Lafayette. It’s an incredible program,” Skvirsky says. “It helps you share your research, gives you a chance to teach in a different way, and provides faculty with actual assistance in their research. I appreciate that Lafayette values that kind of experiential teaching and learning, which is so valuable.”

“It is so special as a Lafayette student to have a program like EXCEL to fund not only STEM research, but the equivalent to that in the arts as well,” Lara adds. “I feel very proud of myself for the confidence I was able to build over the summer because of this opportunity. I trust myself more to make decisions, and this growth is invaluable to me. Plus, all of our work led up to what I think is a beautiful exhibition.”