July 14 - September 30, 2007

The Reading Public Museum features the soulful side of some of Hollywood’s “in-demand” actors, musicians, models, and directors as it presents this compendium of Orth’s work from 1991 through the present.

An opening reception with special guest, singer/songwriter Quincy Coleman, will be held on Saturday, July 14, at 5:30 p.m. Meet and greet Andrew and Quincy, one of the subjects of his exhibition, plus see and hear her perform several songs! Born into a family of performers (dad actor Dabney Coleman, mom actress/model Jean Hale Coleman and brother Randy who has toured with Def Leppard and opened for The Who), Quincy is unique and the world is taking notice. She has quickly found herself moving from the indie spotlight to commercial success. She can be heard throughout 5,000 Starbucks locations across North America and has several songs on XM Satellite radio's Hear Music Channel. Her music has been featured in films including Crash, How To Go Out On A Date In Queens, Feast and the recently releases hit, Waitress. This event will be open to the public for regular admission fees (members are admitted free).

In a related event on Wednesday, July 18, 2007, Orth will be giving a talk entitled “Finding the Actor in the Artist” at 6:30 p.m. in the Museum’s Atrium, followed by a closer look at his images on display in the Cove Gallery. This presentation will be free to the public, as a part of the Museum’s “Third Wednesday” evening (including free admission to the Museum from 5-8 p.m., and other family-focused activities throughout the 25-acre Arboretum).

Orth commented, “The idea that we can all be famous in Hollywood intrigues me. The truth is, most real movie stars and great artists of all types don’t acknowledge that they are… even if their success exceeds our greatest expectations for ourselves and our jealousy and anger prevails, we still attend that curious circus of the stars to see just what they’re doing!”

Andrew Orth is the photographer to whom the “in-the-know” turn when they require hip, cutting-edge visuals that capture the heart and soul of their subjects. He first developed his craft studying theater at The Perkiomen School in Pennsylvania. After graduating, Andrew soon attended Temple University studying radio-television-film. Within a year of graduation, he moved to New York City and pursued his passion… photography. With time and determination by his side, he began location scouting, which eventually evolved into shooting models and actors, and later working as a production photographer with major motion picture and television production companies.

Andrew’s unique style and his charismatic approach to his subjects inevitably resulted in pictures of startling honesty and beauty, and were immediately recognized by the elite film, fashion, and music industries. His outstanding work for such major clients as Hugo Boss, L’Oreal, Elite Models, Columbia Pictures, and Warner Brothers Music brought him to the attention of one of the hottest new advertising agencies of the late eighties, Chiat/Day. It was a perfect fit, and Orth established and ran the agency’s first in-house video post-production facility. After producing award-winning work for Chiat/Day clients including Apple Computer, Nike, Sara Lee, Yamaha and many more, Andrew pursued new challenges overseas, and spent two years shooting in Milan, the capital of the European Fashion world.

His reputation as a top fashion photographer in Europe brought him back to Los Angeles, the entertainment capital of the world. CAA, ICM, CU, Baker Wynokur Ryder, Bumble Ward, and other major talent agencies relied on Andrew to deliver the innovative publicity and editorial photographs their high-profile clients demand. His syndication agent Retna Ltd. had his work publicized world wide in such credited periodicals as Vanity Fair, Beat, Interview, Premiere, GQ, Soap Opera Weekly, People, Venice, Daily Variety, TV Guide, Flix (Japan), Latina, Picture, Lei, Harpers Bazaar, Milano, Grazia Neri (Italy), Stadt (Germany), All over P (Denmark), Scottish Daily (Scotland), Empire, Moxie, Daily Mail, Just Seventeen (England), among others.

Orth stated, “The world of publicity is a major export of LA, and I was thrilled to be on the other side of the lens. At first, I found the artists I was shooting to be more guarded than my less famous subjects. They would politely step into the traditional ‘portrait-style’ sitting, but would reveal little. Their image was their stock in trade, and getting them to open up to yet another stranger with a camera was a challenge. Finally, after yet another session of asking for expressions, emotions, and feelings, I made the request of an actor to ‘just show me’ with his hands. This opened a door, and suddenly the person was pointing, gesturing, reaching out to connect.”

Currently, Orth frequently travels to New York and to other major cities throughout the United States, as well as European cities, to photograph his clients. His vision and creative approach extend across a wide spectrum of genres and allow him to develop photographs of exceptional power, from conceptualization through execution, while still doing what he has always done best as a photographer — capturing the essence of his subject through the lens. Andrew’s commitment to his artistry reflects the characteristics that give him his most notable attributes as a photographer … “Passion and Perfection.”

Of the celebrities Orth has photographed, he commented, “Many of these artists are invisible to most societies except their own Hollywood, and I’d like to think they are all as famous as the day they were photographed. However under the radar they may fall, they are all unique individuals with great experience and polished talent. Overall, this project is a retrospective depicting the changes I see in myself.”

This exhibition is sponsored by Hair On The Avenue and underwritten in part by grants from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Additional support by Raylon Corporation, DCC Photo and Thirstade Fresh Cafe.

Watch the "Comcast Newsmakers" segment on this exhibition! (YouTube)

Watch the "Comcast Tonight" semgment on this exhibition! (YouTube)

Shown (top to bottom): Lena Heady, Andrew Orth, Henry Rollins, Sandra Oh, Cheech Marin - all photographed by Andrew Orth