Sonia Katchian’s Ali photos on exhibit in upstate New York

In March of 2006, The Sweet Science covered the career of photographer Sonia Katchian and her work with Muhammad Ali. Katchian, who had also photographed Princess Di and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, said that Ali has a stronger charisma and a bigger aura than anyone she had ever met. Her photographs of Ali, which vividly capture his humanness, emphasize that.

This month an exhibit of 44 of her photographs will be on display at the State University of New York at Fredonia, in an exhibition titled, “Muhammad Ali – The Photographs of Sonia Katchian.�

“This is a photo collector’s and an Ali fan’s dream come true,â€? said Katchian. “It is the essence of Muhammad Ali.â€?

The exhibit will run at the Fredonia campus’ Reed Library from February 1 to February 28, 2007. The exhibit will be open to the public during the Reed Library’s regular hours of Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 1 a.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Katchian is currently working on exhibiting her photographs in other venues as well. The showpiece of her work, The Ali Folio™, consists of fourteen 24� x 30� prints, most of which were taken in 1974 in Zaire. The Ali Folio™ is available at AliFolio.com.