Opening Reception: February 16th | 5pm-8pm

SFArtsED and the Harvey Milk Photo Center are pleased to announce a book release and two-part exhibition of work by Cincinnati-based photographer Thomas R. Schiff. The Poetics of Distortion: Panoramic Photographs of the San Francisco Bay Area presents familiar icons in San Francisco's built and natural environment from a comprehensive perspective. Mr. Schiff's latest work will be on view at SFArtsED and at the Harvey Milk Photo Center. The simultaneous exhibitions will present separate collections, encouraging viewers to visit both locations to experience the artist's expansive vision.

The other part of the exhibition runs Feb. 15-March 13 at the Harvey Milk Photo Center, 50 Scott St., San Francisco.

In The Poetics of Distortion, Mr. Schiff marshals his technical mastery to convey a lifelong fascination with the San Francisco Bay Area's unique visual aesthetic. Stately structures including Coit Tower and Oakland's Paramount Theater appear to ripple across Schiff's viewfinder, suggesting movement where there is none. Schiff's mastery of panoramic techniques produces thrilling and unexpected views that refresh our perspective of sites known worldwide for their dramatic beauty. Panoramic photography is a specialized technique in which a camera rotates in a broad sweep, capturing a continuous image of the world around it. Expanding the human field of vision, it allows us to see what is in front of us, to either side and behind us, all at once.

Mr. Schiff will offer a free talk and demonstration of his panoramic camera at 4:30pm, Saturday, Feb. 16 just prior to the opening reception from 5-8pm in the SFArtsED Gallery at Minnesota Street Project.

Mr. Schiff's new monograph The Poetics of Distortion: Panoramic Photographs of the San Francisco Bay Area is designed by MendeDesign and comprises 117 panoramic photos, essays on photography, perspective and architecture by Susan Ehrens, Wendy Lesser and Tim Culvahouse, plus an author interview by Dave Christensen.

Support from this exhibition comes from San Francisco Recreation & Parks, Harvey Milk Photo Center, SFArtsED and SFMTA.

Transit Info The nearest Muni lines to Minnesota Street Project are the KT-Ingleside/Third Street (closest stop is at Third Street & 23rd Street) and the 48 Quintara/24th Street (closest stop is at 22nd Street & Minnesota Street).