ARTIST STATEMENT: Brooklyn native Ed Barnas has been photographing since the 1960’s. His series of burlesque images - Portraits in Performance, Performance in Motion - began in 2003 and grew out of documenting public costume/masking events such as the Coney Island Mermaid Parade, adult Halloween parades, and SantaCon. While these events offer people a chance to break away from their everyday roles, they are limited to only brief periods of time. While many performers have the opportunity to step out of their skins on a regular basis, most do so in the service of a character created by another. The burlesque performer, however, is more often the creator of the character she (or he) presents. This makes these performances much more personal and evocative events (and often ephemeral). Ed aspires to capture the essence of the performance (i.e., seeking the incisive moment rather than the decisive one). He prefers to use available light wherever possible, to preserve the look and feel of the performance and the space. Ed has photographed in many NYC burlesque venues as well as many major festivals [the Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekend, Tease-o-Rama, the New York Burlesque Festival, the Boston Burlesque Expo, and the Toronto Burlesque Festival]. He has also taught classes in performance photography in Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, and Toronto. In addition to his burlesque series, Ed is also exploring the interaction of trees with the urban environment (City Trees, Urban Roots) and street art (Faces on the City).