PHILLY PHOTO EXHIBIT: Silhouettes and Scenes of Mr. Mayor

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PHILLY PHOTO EXHIBIT: Silhouettes and Scenes of Mr. Mayor

POSTED: Wednesday, January 19, 2011, 8:00 PM

Filed Under: Arts Arts Events

Mitchell Leff's lens has seen a lot of Mayor Nutter over the last sixth months. But he's yet to capture the city's number one man in the most compromising of positions: "I've still never seen him yawn," says Mitchell. That said, the photo intern and student at the Art Institute of Philadelphia has snapped an impressive number of shots. From closed-door meetings to Roy Halladay's perfect winning game, Mitchell's upcoming exhibition "The Shutter of Mayor Nutter" (rolls off the tongue nicely, huh?) will invite anyone to tag along for a day in the life of Mr. Mayor. The photo exhibit will kick off on Jan. 24 at the Art Institute's Street Gallery on 1610 Chestnut St.; Mayor Nutter will be in attendance to survey Mitchell's work and admire, well, himself.

Rather than the usual political angle, Mitchell has tried to capture the subtler contours of Nutter, including a particularly hands-on series that looks at every handshake to come the Mayor's way. Modeled after a similar program created by Obama, Mitchell's internship has given him the kind of access that most photojournalists or Nutter-enthusiasts would drool over — he's had a chance to shoot the breeze with Nutter; popular topics of discussion include Philly sports and "The Wire," apparently one of Nutter's favorite TV shows. "I remember the first week on the job when the Mayor and his staff all got into an elevator. I hesitated because it looked pretty crowded, until the Mayor Nutter told me to just get in," said Mitchell. "At that point, he essentially told me, 'wherever I go you go.' " That invitation not only landed Mitchell on a cramped elevator ride, but with an exclusive backstage photo pass at the Liberty Medal Ceremony with Obama, Tony Blair, Clinton and Rendell. Because he's in it for the long haul, Mitchell will snap anywhere from 400 to 500 photos at an event. In other words, after the press has left the building and the mayoral pomp has lost some of its luster, he's still there, snapping shots. Stop by on Monday for a new look at the man who runs this town.

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Featuring everything from event roundups to concert reviews and sex talk, City Paper's Critical Mass is a space for off-the-wall coverage of Philly's A&E scene.

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