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Masquerading Her Talent: Phyllis Galembo By Alan B. Richer
As a little girl growing up in Long Island, New York, Phyllis Galembo loved dressing up. “For [the Jewish holiday of] Purim I remember Queen Esther costumes my grandmother Ethel made from shiny fabric trims,” she recalled, “For Halloween, I often trick-or-treated as a beatnik wearing my father’s oversized shirt.” Galembo eventually wrote a book on Halloween costumes: Dressed for Thrills, 100 Years of Halloween/ Masquerade Costumes in America (2002). In high school, Galembo took her first photography class. She then attended Boston University for a year, and from there, transferred to the University of Wisconsin at Madison. It was at Madison that she continued to take courses in photography. Galembo earned a bachelor’s degree in Education
and then stayed on to pursue a Master in Fine Arts in both Photography and Printmaking. Galembo began her teaching career at SUNY Oswego in 1977 at a time when there were few female professors. After a year at SUNY Oswego, she was hired by the University at Albany’s Fine Arts Department. She stayed at the University at Albany for forty years. For the first twenty years, she was the sole professor of photography which included working in a dark room. As photography rose in popularity, Danny Goodwin was hired to help expand the photography department and together they added digital components. Before retiring Galembo modernized a large portion of the traditional darkroom.
During her teaching career, Galembo mentored many students and is still proud of their accomplishments. One, Marisa Scheinfeld, authored a photography book: The Borscht Belt: Revisiting the Remains of America's Jewish Vacationland (2016). Loni Efron, an archivist and gallery director, opened Ilon Art Gallery in Harlem, New York City. Fabienne Powell became Assistant Director & Chief Curator of the New York State Office of General Services Curatorial & Visitor Services. Teaching provided Galembo with a base salary, affording her the artistic freedom to pursue her photography with less pressure. Initially, she focused on portraits of people, some in black and white. Galembo did some photographs of people