The Opportunity of Time – Part Two [Cyd Peroni]

In this “interesting” time of Pause and Pandemic, the rhythm of our daily lives has been altered.  For some, this is annoying and frustrating, but for others, it presents an opportunity . . . to take a deep breath and pursue what you never had time to do before.  This Pause is fueling creativity and learning.  Sure, socializing with friends and colleagues is severely restricted, and many of us are getting tired of ZOOM, but we are learning to look on the bright side.

Members of AZPA are right in the groove on this.

I talked to four of our members about their response to the current state-of-affairs, and it was fascinating.  Each is coping in his or her own way, but there are similarities in that lots of creativity is being unleashed.  Perhaps this sort of pause allows us the luxury to re-imagine, explore and poke around in new directions.

Jody Forster, Cyd Peroni, Larry Golsh and Emily Matyas generously spent some time talking about what they’re up to and their response to the pandemic’s restrictions.  None of them expressed extreme frustration – in fact the general observation was that while things are different, they’re not all that different.  Many photographer/artists work individually rather than in groups, so the Pause has been a time to work unhindered by meetings, extraneous driving around and obligations.  This is a time of opportunity.

We visit with Cyd in this second installment and spend some time with Emily in Part One, Jody in Part Three and Larry in Part Four. It was an inspiration to talk with these four photographers. I’m sure that every Alliance member has a story to tell. Hopefully this blog will help us get to know one another better. This is a chance to look toward the rest of our lives and take stock. 

Cyd Peroni

Cyd Peroni lives far out of town, so she’s used to it just being her and her husband Frank.  Some days, Cyd is really on it, while other days, the Pause and Pandemic is starting to wear. She feels that not being able to socialize and having to be hyper-vigilant when she goes out can take a toll on creativity. 

Nonetheless, Cyd has not been idle. She’s part of Eye Lounge and taking part in Interval, a virtual collection of works created by Eye Lounge members during the pandemic. This work describes a variety of responses by ten different artists in an effort to stay creative, document experiences and emotions, and experiment with available mediums that opened online on May 14. She’s been getting ready for that and has found that cleaning is quite a satisfying exercise.  Cyd recently ventured into her studio and office and found treasure!  She was going to rip up a lot of old proof sheets, contact sheets and photo rejects, but then, “I thought about all the time, paper and chemicals that went into them and decided to give them a new life.”  So now, she’s making collages of the studio scraps and liking the result.

Cyd has capitalized on her sheltering by taking on another project – an examination of aging in women. Her mother, who lived to be 100, said that aging is like growing invisible. This notion of women becoming invisible with age keeps popping up.  “Since my mother inspired me to think about the invisibility of women as they age, I’m starting to find more and more references to it.  From an interesting 2016 interview with poet Mary Ruefle to a soliloquy from the character Sam on the TV show ‘Better Things,’ there are positive and negative aspects that I want to explore.” 

Cyd is considering framing this approach through a group of portraits, high key images printed on organza fabric.

Main Image Above: “What Day Is It?” – Collage (cyanotype, vellum paper) 2020 © Cyd Peroni