Student Feature: Gabriel Ponte-Fleary
We invited Gabriel Ponte-Fleary to share his RIT Photo experiences. Gabe is Deaf and is mainstreamed into the College of Art and Design. NTID enrolls more than 1200 students, many of whom frequently mainstream into all 9 of RIT’s colleges. We are thrilled to share Gabe’s successes as a student feature.
Bio
Gabriel is a passionate visual artist. Born and raised in Venezuela, he moved to USA in 2012 looking for better opportunities and escaping from the decadent situation of his country. He will receive his BFA from Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in the School of Photographic Arts and Sciences in December 2018. He has been on the RIT Dean’s List as number of times. As a Visual Media student, he specializes in Photography, Graphic Design and Video. Gabriel’s love for travel and adventure has taken him to four countries, where he has captured his journeys through his lens. In 2016, he created a documentary about the Native Americans in an Arctic Village through an internship in Alaska. He is always ready for challenges, is detail oriented, collaborative, and perseverent. Gabriel’s work has been exhibited in 68° North: A Visual Journey Through the Alaskan Wilderness, Visual Communication Studies Honor Show, 2017 RIT Honors Show, and Arte del Corazón exhibition.
Why Did You Choose RIT
I came to RIT because it has a good reputation as both a Technological and Artistic place. But also because it has a great Deaf community. I am Deaf. I love that I can interact with both worlds and get the best of them. I almost chose Gallaudet (a full Deaf University), but I am so glad that I did not.
Can you share a bit about why the RITphoto program appealed to you?
For sure it was RIT’s great reputation, even in my country. When I graduated from my Community College in NYC, I started looking for my next steps towards my goals. Some good Deaf friends recommended me to look at RIT. One of my friends had experience with the photography program. After I researched the Photo program. I fell in love with the quality of teaching and the great opportunities it offers to its students and alums.
What has been your most challenging assignment as a photography student?
My final project for Elements of Fine Art was kind of a big challenge for me. It was based in Deaf culture/struggles, and I was trying to communicate that photography was somehow complicated and some concepts were hard to describe with photographs. In the end, I was pleased at how great the book turned out after so many struggles. You can see my book by following this link. https://issuu.com/gabepf/docs/the_sound_of_silence_isuu
A favorite teacher
One of my favorite Professors was Laurie O’Brien. I loved Laurie because she has pushed me to pursue my goals and go the extra mile. I found her to have been a critical life coach during my stay here. Most importantly she supported me all the time when I needed encouragement and a gentle push to try something new.
What have been your experiences as a student at RIT
It has been really amazing. Although I have been an RIT student for only 2 years, my journey here has been just phenomenal. I have grown as professional and as a person. Professionally, I have got many new skills– especially in Graphic Design and Filming/Editing – and have received important mentoring from talented people here at RITphoto. Personally, being involved in the community helped me to develop better leadership and intrapersonal skills. I have also made new friendships that I expect will be life.
How is this community helping to shape your goals
With all the knowledge I have gotten from classes, the opportunities to have applied my new experiences on my COOP, and use it in campus the organizations I’m part of, has been cool.
What are you plans after School?
I’m hoping to stay in Rochester for a while. I love the Deaf community here and I will be applying to jobs related to my major, and with a Christian organization I have been affiliated with, too. I hope this will help me to shape more my leadership skills and serve God and students as well.
Have you won any awards?
I was in the RIT Honor Show, 2017 and received a Photo Purchase Prize Award of my book, The Sound of Silence. (I referenced the book above)
My work has also been included in some Exhibitions.
68° North: A Visual Journey Through the Alaskan Wilderness,
Visual Communication Studies Honor Show,
2017 RIT Honors Show,
Arte del Corazón exhibition,
50 artists/50 years which celebrated NTID’s 50th anniversary.
Anything else you would like to share
My favorite bible verse: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 . Because it helps me go through difficult times. Also, something I have learned in life is to be consistent until you reach your goals and your limit is only in your mind.
Artist Statement
I love photography and it has been a way to capture my perspective of life. As a Deaf person, I rely on my sight, giving me excellent observational skills and lateral vision which helps me to create notable compositions. The integration of type, illustration and layout has taken me into the world of Graphic Design, allowing me to discover new skills and challenge my creativity. I think of myself as a chiaroscurist photographer because my photographs tend to have high contrast. Also, I have a fascination with Macro photography, because I love to capture the little details in things we take for granted. I consider my work as bold, clean and with emphasis on emotional impact.
My website is pontefleary.com
Another website rithof.com I made as a part of my capstone for my Deaf Christian organization.
