TEA Talk: Seeing is Deceiving: A Search for Visual Perspective
Event Details
At the Westport Arts Advisory Committee's 10th annual TEA (Thinkers, Educators, Artists) Talk, panel members will share their methods for conveying reality through their work and explore ways in which the photographers' perceptions merge with their skills to cast the artists' "truth" through images.
Using images combined from the photographers’ portfolios, this program is guaranteed to inform and delight!
Why You Should Come
Westport artist and illustrator Bernie Burroughs (1912-1993) used to tell his son Miggs, "Art is a lie that leads us to the truth."
Art is an exploration of different perspectives. These perspectives inform an artist's vision and bring it to life through their work. Photography is a unique art form in its capture of a tangible subject that takes on new life in the eye of the photographer — offering a glimpse into the artist's perception of reality. By considering each other's perspectives, we find truth in the beauty of self expression.
About the Westport Arts Advisory Committee
The Westport Arts Advisory Committee (WAAC) works to increase the visibility of the arts in our community. In addition to its annual TEA Talk, WAAC provides oversight of the Westport's Public Art Collection (WestPAC), installs sculptures, maintains monuments in town parks, and has established the poet laureate program.
About the Speakers
Arthur Nager , TEA Talk moderator , photographer, photo educator, and curator, has focused for more than 50 years on social landscape — the people, structures, and places that reflect the character of where and how we live. Museum collections of Art’s work include: The International Museum of Photography at The George Eastman House, The South Street Seaport Museum, Museum of Art Santa Cruz, Kennebunk Museum, The Westport Public Art Collection, and the Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury. His recent exhibit at the Mattatuck focused on towns of the Naugatuck Valley. He also curated Every Picture Tells a Story: Photographs from the Westport Public Art Collections, currently on display in The Westport Library's Sheffer Gallery.
Miggs Burroughs , TEA Talk keynote speaker , lifelong Westporter, and Carnegie Mellon theater graduate, traded the stage for the studio after a failed audition for The Graduate. Since then, his art and photography have reached national acclaim — from four TIME magazine covers and a US commemorative stamp, to posters for the American Red Cross and Save the Children. His Easter egg for the Reagan White House now resides in the Smithsonian. In 2023, Miggs became the first Connecticut artist to exhibit at the United Nations, showcasing Signs of Compassion, a striking series of lenticular images celebrating our shared humanity.
Rachel Hall is a detective with the Westport Police Department, where she serves as a drone pilot, motorcycle officer, scuba team member, and boat captain. With over a decade in law enforcement, she thrives in challenging roles that demand focus, adaptability, and persistence. About five years ago, Rachel picked up photography as a creative outlet, gravitating toward subjects that test her patience: wildlife, birds, and fleeting moments in nature. Her work is shaped by the same discipline she brings to policing, but with a more relaxed, curious eye, capturing images that balance technical precision with genuine appreciation for the unexpected.
Spencer Platt has been a Brooklyn-based photojournalist for over 20 years, specializing in breaking news stories worldwide. His work focuses on the moments that reveal modern life's visual complexity and energy. Spencer received the Pulitzer Prize in 2022 and the World Press Picture of the Year in 2006 for coverage of the war in Lebanon. His images have been presented globally in galleries, publications, and books. He has a love of street photography, the ocean, and the world of motorcycles. Beauty and a sense of hope are always with him on the ride.
Butch Quick, an award-winning photographer from Norwalk captures more than faces — he reveals souls. His portraits strip away distractions to uncover raw human truth, each image a story of resilience and lived experience. With a background in design and illustration, Butch brings cinematic clarity to his photography, drawing inspiration from masters like Gordon Parks and Peter Lindbergh. Though rooted in street photography, his work goes beyond the candid — each shot born from connection and trust. Exhibited widely across New York and Connecticut, including his acclaimed CUBA series, Butch Quick’s photography turns ordinary moments into timeless reflections of the human spirit.