Fleeting images: Terminally ill photographer rallies to mount an exhibition

Anne Constable | The New Mexican

9/7/2008 - 9/8/08

Thomas Vorce might have only months to live. But in a final burst of artistic energy he has mounted an exhibition of his photographs with the help of a team of hospice caregivers and volunteers.

About 30 black-and-white photographs, many made by Vorce in recent months, are on display in a second-floor gallery at Webster Enterprises through Sept. 20.

The photographs, titled "Shadow Works," depict patterns of light cast by handrails in Taos, the steps to the Cross of the Martyrs in Santa Fe, water flowing off a canal and the sun shining through a latilla-shaded portal.

Vorce, 66, has emphysema and often uses oxygen to help with his breathing, but he continues to work at the computer on his prints. And he rallied for the show's opening on Aug. 29. Sitting in a chair in the gallery, he cheerily greeted many friends and posed for photos.

"His work is really moving for me," said Laura Cooley.

As a photographer, Vorce likes surprises. About two and a half months ago, in early evening, he drove out to the end of a dirt road in Tesuque and, "There was this wonderful photograph" of flowers reflected on the corner of an adobe wall (Recent Spring). He took one picture and went home.

On another occasion he was driving — slowly as usual — south of Santa Fe when he noticed a rainbow right over his car. He stopped in the middle of the road, put on his warning lights and got out and photographed the sky as a would-be thunderstorm passed overhead.

"I'm just glad to be able to see things. You don't see things when you are going fast," he said.

"Like all great art, it really brings you into the now. His work is very contemplative that way," said Grant Taylor, a volunteer with Ambercare hospice and a film producer (SunCloud Productions). "It's very poetic."

Taylor signed up to be a hospice volunteer and Vorce was assigned to him because of their mutual interest in photography. Taylor arranged for the framing of the photographs and with Darren Avila, a hospice worker, hung the show. Avila also helped Vorce set up a Web site (www.shadowworksofthomasvorce.com) where his work is for sale. And Chris Webster of Webster Enterprises picked up the framing costs and offered the gallery space.

"I have a chronic illness," Vorce said, "and he has been kind enough to assist me. I wouldn't have been able to meet a deadline like this."

Ambercare is a New Mexico-based, family-owned hospice, home health and medical supply company. Currently in the middle of an employee buyout, it has almost 200 clients in Albuquerque and a growing clientele in Santa Fe. Vorce's nurse, social worker and volunteers are providing the emotional, spiritual and medical support to allow him to continue to work.

Camille Adair, a hospice nurse and case manager who took over the Santa Fe office of Ambercare six months ago, said hospice care is about helping people to maximize their living. "One of our goals is being able to (help people) realize their dreams and goals as much as possible before they leave," she said.

Vorce, she said, "Is more alive than most people. He's living so fully right now."

The goal of his exhibit, Vorce said, is, "to please as many people as possible." And maybe, he added, to persuade them to "drive a little slower" to be able to see more clearly.

Another show of Vorce's work is scheduled for late September at Ambercare's new facility at 550 St. Michael's Drive near the hospital.

Vorce was born in Hollywood, Calif., in 1942. He has a bachelor's degree from Western Michigan University and has had numerous shows in Florida and New Mexico, among them a one-man show of black-and-white photography at RB Ravens Gallery in Taos in 2007.

Contact Anne Constable at 986-3022 or aconstable@sfnewmexican.com.

IF YOU GO

What: Shadow Works, photography exhibition

When: 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. through Sept. 20

Where: Webster Enterprises, 54 1/2 Lincoln Ave.

Who: Thomas Vorce