Yountville Portrait Project Unveiled at Monday, August 11 Block Party

YOUNTVILLE, Calif.--(Business Wire)--
On Monday a 72' long, 10' high wall constructed by the Bardessono,
an environmentally sustainable inn and spa slated for completion this
winter, becomes home to portrait of this community of 2,900. Former
urban planner and committed community builder Phillip Sherburne of
Decatur Island and Seattle, WA., underwrote the project after he was
introduced to San Francisco photographer Christopher Irion and his
work documenting communities all across America.

Sherburne's vision intersected with Irion's and in just a few
weeks after meeting, the two men laid plans to bring the townspeople
together to experience themselves as a community in the same way
others have over five years and 20,000 miles of Irion's travels with a
handmade PhotoBooth packed in his Volkswagen Eurovan.

Long a photographer of celebrities and prominent figures whose
work is seen in books and high-profile publications as well as museums
and gallery shows, Irion determined it was community that most
interested him. He began five years ago with a project in his
neighborhood where he created 500 portraits of the people who
frequented Farley's Cafe. The photographs were taken over several
months with each individual entering the PhotoBooth and Irion
positioned outside, his camera lens poking through the booth wall.

The privacy of the PhotoBooth allows the subject to relax and
creates a direct and intimate quality with the sitter looking at the
viewer. Images are printed in a 16" x 24" format to form a grid of
portraits. Importantly, Irion includes on the Photo Mural all who
chose to participate in the project. It is visually democratic.

That first portrait was installed late one night. The next day
when Irion turned up at Farley's he was greeted with a standing
ovation and neighbors with tears in their eyes. "It was then," Irion
recalls, "that I knew I'd hit one out of the park."

The portrait is a way for the community to visualize its own
interconnectedness by taking individuals beyond one-dimensional
judgments to see the warp and weft that create the fabric of a
community.

Since that first installation, Irion has set up his booth on
college campuses, at county fairs and on city sidewalks. Everywhere he
goes, he and teams of volunteers work hard to persuade a real cross
section of the community to participate.

In Yountville space was allotted for 215 images. Sherburne and the
Bardessono host the community for the unveiling of the portrait from
4:30 p.m.-7 p.m. Monday, August 11. The street in front of his
construction project will be closed for the event.

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The Yountville Portrait Project Unveiling
MONDAY, AUGUST 11, 4:30 p.m.-7 p.m.
Yount and Washington Streets, Yountville
Refreshments will be served.
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Studio 707
Pamela Hunter, 707-258-1699
pamela@studio-707.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008