Oct. 24, 2006

A series of portraits featuring some of the world's most noted artists will be shown this fall in Presbyterian College's Elizabeth Stone Harper Gallery.

New York photographer Sebastian Piras' "Artists Exposed" will be on display daily from noon to 5 p.m., Thursday Oct. 26, through Sunday, Dec. 3.

Born in Sardinia, Italy, Piras lived throughout Europe as a young man before settling in New York City in 1985. Although photography has been his main interest as an artist, he also has pursued filmmaking and culinary arts with the same unabated passion.

As a photographer, his main subject has been portraiture and his 1996 book, Artists Exposed, is a partial collection of captivating portraits of known and unknown players in the international arts scene. David Ross, former director of the Whitney Museum in New York wrote that Piras' photos are "probing and extraordinarily beautiful portraits of artists that ultimately produce winners at both ends of the camera." His subjects have included Andy Warhol, Kiki Smith, Jasper Johns, Christo, and Robert Rauschenberg.

His photographs have been published, exhibited and collected worldwide. Piras also has worked in film as a cameraman and steadycam operator and in various aspects of production. He has also directed and filmed his own documentaries, including "Taylor Mead Unleashed," which also featured Quentin Crisp and the late Allen Ginsberg.

Piras is currently working on new photography projects, as well as digital video projects. He has been teaching junior high school children in New York public schools to develop their skills using digital video and photography as a new means to allow them to express their ideas.