Current Exhibitions
Dr. Mel Wolk
Featured Artwork Exhibition at the AACA Museum
October 3, 2007
through May 9, 2008
Hershey PA 10/3/2007. Dr. Mel Wolk is a retired pediatrician and a self-taught photographer. During his years of medicine, he was usually found with a camera in his hands in his free time. A course of study with the New York Institute of Photography fine-tuned his skills in technique and exposure. A course with the Palm Beach school of Photography and a week “in the field” with photographers John & Barbara Gerlach added to his training. Antique cars and rusted auto wrecks have always been a favorite subject and his digital interpretations of hood ornaments, fenders and other parts are the basis for this current show at the Antique Auto Museum at Hershey.
Love of the outdoors and a keen awareness of his surroundings are evident in his photographic pieces. His large presentation pieces, displayed in antique and interesting frames have been dubbed “junkyard photography” and adorned the walls of medical offices for years. Since retirement from medicine, Dr. Wolk has been a frequent contributor to Pennsylvania Magazine, Nature Photography Magazine, Brown Trout Calendar Publications, Country Living Magazine, Popular Photography Magazine and Gourmet Magazine.
Dr. Wolk has also won numerous awards in juried art shows and his work has been displayed at both Everhart Museum and Marywood University in Scranton, PA. He was featured artist at Tudor Gallery in Clarks Summit, and both Eldorado Gallery and Foxglove Gallery in Stroudsburg. In 2003, he had an exhibit at the Electric City Trolley Museum, Scranton, PA entitled “Ashes to Art” which featured artistic works of culm deposits in the area. Another recent exhibit took place at the Artists For Art Gallery (AFA) in Scranton and showcased a new bent in his photography – neon signs reinterpreted into digital abstracts. A digital interpretation of a garden artifact entitled Triple Header won a spot in the juried show at Susquehanna Art Museum’s Fine Art Photography show.
Dr. Wolk offers the following artist Statement on Automobilia:
“The year was 1950. I was 16 and about to light an acetylene torch and cut my first car
in my Dad’s auto junkyard. This was a far cry from the vocation of my dreams to be a
physician. However, it did inspire me to appreciate the form, structure and color of
deteriorating cars in the field. There is a certain beauty in my eyes to rusty metal which
allows me the opportunity to not only photograph it, but to manipulate the various layers
of color which lay hidden underneath. Rusty deteriorating cars are not the only subjects
of my photography. Hood ornaments, grilles, engines, doors, windows all capture my
imagination. There is a special beauty to each component of the classic automobile and I
have tried to present their uniqueness in my own way.”
Many of the pieces on display as part of this exhibit will be available for sale. This exhibit will offer visitors to the Museum a glimpse of this unique artwork and yet another dimension to the experiences offered here at The Antique Auto Museum at Hershey.
