About the Artist

As a photographer I strive to understand the story behind the subject matter to which I am drawn, and to convey that story through my art. Black and white photography offers a compelling richness of detail, texture and contrast that is often obscured by the color pallet. My photographs generally do not include people. Feeling that the inclusion of people defines the photograph, I prefer to encourage the viewer to interpret the photograph in the context of his or her own experience.

Much of my work has been of nature, but I have felt driven to tell the story of the industrial city. I was seven years old when I moved to Cleveland with my family in 1950. Much has changed in the ensuing sixty years. The never-say-die spirit of its citizens who have not seen a baseball championship since 1948 or a football championship since 1964 leads Clevelanders to unshakable belief in next year. While I am all too aware of the city’s signs of death, I am driven to tell another story - one that celebrates its rich history, traditions and culture – one of hope – and signs of rebirth.

Largely self-taught, I have been influenced by the work of Alfred Stieglitz, Ansel Adams, Margaret Bourke-White, Lee Friedlander and Julius Shulman.

I am the photographer, author and publisher of Shattered Dreams Revisited, telling the story of the death and rebirth of the Midwest industrial city, and I was honored as co-recipient of the National Trust for Historic Preservation's 2012 HUD Secretary’s Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation for my photographic documentation of the historic renovation of Cleveland's Saint Luke's Hospital and its transformation to Saint Luke's Manor, providing affordable living to neighborhood seniors.

Lauren R. Pacini

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