A long gravel driveway shaded by overhanging trees recalls the long, humid summers of Savannah, where the photograph was taken. In an aged-looking, high-contrast photo, dried roses wilt in their vase, as if exhausted. Nearby, a heavily made-up San Francisco woman leaps out at the viewer from a hazy, glossy closeup. The atmosphere that Santa Cruz Weekly contributor Pete Saporito’s 11 photos create in Vinocruz is mellow, yet they somehow liven up the wine store’s white walls. According Saporito, who currently studies graphic design at Cabrillo College and completed a photography major there six years ago, the cut glass and the frames are also part of the art. Such is the case with a dark custom frame that creates a simple, somber mood for a bright red screenprint of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
As a gallery, and because of the glare the track lighting creates, Vinocruz forces viewers to stand directly in front of the images to take them in. Several of the images are framed on either side by the dark, wooden wine cabinets. Was this on purpose? The sides of the cabinets block out any distraction that the small wine store could create and, like the photos themselves, force the observers to absorb them one by one.
PETE SAPORITO’s photographs are on display though Thursday, July 23 at Vinocruz, 725 Front St., Santa Cruz. Admission is free. Vinocruz hours are Monday-Thurs 11am-7pm, Friday and Saturday 11am-8pm, Sunday from 12pm-6pm. 831.426.8466
