‘Looking is not seeing’

With 32 goals and second-team all-Patriot honors to her name in 2014, Carli Sukonik ’15 has clearly established herself as one of the best lacrosse players in the region.

More recently, she’s been working to build a similar reputation in another field entirely—photography.

As part of her honors thesis project, Sukonik last semester explored Philadelphia through her artistic, perceptive black-and-white photography. Her work, inspired by the quote “Looking is not seeing,” was on display in the University Center’s Girdler Gallery in December—and earned raves from her faculty advisers.

“Carli’s work is beautiful,” said Anna Chupa, an associate professor of design at Lehigh. “Her eye, her ability to see line and the quality of light and detail in these pieces is just beautiful.”

Sukonik says the idea for the exhibit originated with a digital photography class and a single image—the bustling city in motion—that she took while walking around Philadelphia. That one image transformed the way she looked at the medium, she says.

“When I took that initial photo and converted it to black and white, it was one of those jaw-dropping moments,” said Sukonik, who in 2014 finished with 10 multi-goal games and five hat tricks. “You can’t tell that cars are zooming left and right or a train is going over the tracks above. It’s as if the whole world froze in time for that millisecond when the shutter button was pressed.”

For her thesis, she took hundreds of images and chose 10 for display. According to Berrisford W. Boothe, associate professor of art, Sukonik impressed the faculty with not only her willingness to listen to advice, but also her commitment to her vision.

“She knew what she was looking for and took our observations, criticism and encouragement within the form of her own opinions, rather than trying to have us change them or backing off because we’re the professors,” Boothe said. “There was a really great plasticity of ideas, which I thoroughly enjoyed.”

Sukonik’s honors thesis in many ways culminated her four years at Lehigh, and the project helped diversify her skills. With a cumulative GPA of 3.74, she is set up for success, no matter the career path she chooses.

“Carli has such diverse talent,” said Chupa. “She’s a graphic designer and she’s a photographer. You don’t always find those combinations together ... Carli is graduating with a major in graphic design, but she could also go into fine art photography if she wants. She has doors open for her if she wants to go in either direction.”