Griffin Museum of Photography

Locals’ Views of the Griffin Museum of Photography: Inside and Out

Posted on

The Griffin Museum of Photography did a call out through the Winchester Residents Facebook page on an effort for local photographers who photograph the “Griffin” inside or out to submit photographs for a juried exhibition. We only received a limit number of responses so we decided to highlight all of the photographs submitted. We also asked Marybeth Dixon to be included in an exhibition in our Founders Gallery in the museum. Marybeth’s images are on view on our walls through February 19th, 2021.

Those that submitted and that are exhibited in our online gallery are: Marybeth Dixon, David Long, Donna Mayo, Kim Munch,  Connor Murphy (age 12), Liz Murphy and Ruthie Swilling.

Thank you to all who considered our request to submit.

Concealed

Posted on

Statement
Webster defines concealed as “to place out of sight, to conceal evidence, carrying a concealed weapon, to prevent disclosure or recognition or conceal the truth”.

At one time or another, everyone has something to conceal, emotionally or materially. When we place an object in our pockets and purses, we conceal it from public view. Just as easliy, we may decide to put a smile on our face even when we disagree with one another.

Joe’s photographs of vintage purses and toy guns act as a metaphor for the secrets we keep from each other and the fear in America right now.

Bio
Starting out as a painter, Joe was encouraged by his public school teachers to spend class time studying painting at an artist’s studio in Harvard Square, Cambridge. Since the studio specialized in copying classic contemporary works of arts, Joe had to learn how to paint just like the masters; including using a stick to drip paint Pollock style. He says, “Painting the same paintings over and over again helped me understand how light, color and textures work together.”

When he couldn’t get his ideas onto canvas fast enough, Joe picked up a camera. By the time he reached high school, he had a darkroom, two clients and was studying with artist and cinematographer, Ken Brown. Joe also learned the art of the psychedelic light show, by helping out at the Boston Tea Party concert hall. “I had a front row seat ( from the light show booth ) for Cream, Led Zepplin and the J Geils Band,”said Greene.

College was an exercise that broadened Joe’s horizons, it was at Mass College of Art where he became an honor student as a dual major in graphic design and photography, studying with the teaching team of Gus Kayafas and the late Paul Muller.
“I can spend years studying a subject, genre or lifestyle. My recent book, “Bike Week”, covers 5 years of shooting portraits at Laconia Bike Week. Other book titles include “Track”; the last few live race days at Suffolk Downs, Wolf; photographs of legendary rocker Peter Wolf and a new collection of found objects entitiled “Shiny Things,” Greene said.

Joe Greene’s exhibitions include:

“Concealed” photographs of toy guns and purses, Solo Show at the Griffin Museum of Photography, December 8, 2020 thru Feb 14th 2021

18th Annual “Nudes in November” show at the Chris Sorensen Studio in Fresno, CA, Nov 2020

Davis Orton Gallery 10th Annual Self Published Group Photobook Show, 2020
Joe’s fine art work from his ” purse ” series was shown at the Griffin Museum of Photography Juried Exhibition Ed Friedman Legacy show, September 2017.
Joe’s Scrap series debuted at the 2017 Chelsea Art Walk ” Art in the Park “gallery, using repurposed shipping containers, June 2017
Joe’s photography was selected for the Providence Center of Photographic Arts, in a show juried by Griffin Museums’ Paula Tognarelli.
New still life photography by Joe, was part of the ” Winter Solstice” members show, at the Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester, Ma. January 2017
Joe’s latest still life photography was selected to be a part of the Griffin Museums’ “NEPR 2016 Exhibition” at Digital Silver Imaging in Belmont, Ma. December, 2017
Joe was invited to show at the UFORGE Gallery show “Abstracted”, from November 2015.
Joe’s photography was selected for the Zullo Gallery’s 21st Annual Juried Exhibition, September, 2015
Joes’ photography was shown at the “Juried Show ” at UFORGE Gallery 767 Centre St Jamaica Plain, MA August, 2015
Joe’s film photography selected for the “Recycle Art ” ( Eco Art) Exhibition at Boston City Hall. The show was part of Greenfest August, 2015
New photography by Joe Greene was shown at the City Of Bostons Art Festival “Emerge” event, on display in the Scollay Square Gallery Sept 2015.
Joe’s photography was selected by the Davis Art Gallery in Worcester juried show,2D and 3D Landscapes September, 2015
Joe’s photography was shown at the think small I The Exhibition/ Panopticon Gallery in Boston September 2015

The “Geometry” show selected Joe’s film based landscape photography at the Hera Gallery, 10 High St Wakefield, RI 02879 September 2015

Mimi and Her Purses

Posted on

Statement
“Things that are hard to bear are sweet to remember”  Seneca, Roman philosopher

Mourning is a very individual activity. Everyone has their own unique way of remembering the deceased. For many, it is through photographs or videos. Others find visiting a cemetery comforting. For Mimi, it is through purses.

Ironically, I met Mimi at funeral. She was carrying a purse of woven gold metal in the shape of a box–almost like a woven lunch box. I commented on its uniqueness and discovered the beginnings of this series “Mimi and Her Purses.”

Mimi and her husband, Phil, come from large families with lots of aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters and cousins. Along with many family celebrations, there are also somber moments when someone passes away. To help retain each person’s memory,  Mimi chooses to use their purses for special occasions. This keeps their spirit alive and creates a living memorial for all who see Mimi wearing these handbags– reminders of the past when every outfit had it’s own matching purse.

I was invited to Mimi’s closet to see the numerous handbags and hear the wonderful stories about an Aunt or Grandmother or even a Great Grandmother who owned these remnants of times past. Inside purse is a holy card with a picture of a Saint, the person’s name, date of birth and death and whatever the previous owner left behind—handkerchief, lipstick and other inconsequential items such as band aids, packets of Splenda, price tags, toothpicks and even a sewing kit.

Each purse is a tribute to the past, creating a celebratory experience from an everyday object. By allowing the handbag and the items found inside to live a new life, Mimi captures the essence of memorable people in her life. -EC

Bio
Ellen Cantor is a Southern California artist who uses the camera to reimagine the family photo album and objects that hold personal histories in order to explore the distillation and persistence of memory.

She received a BS from The University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and continued her education in Interior and Architectural Design at UCLA. She has studied photography at Santa Fe Workshops, Maine Media Workshop and The Los Angeles Center of Photography.

Her work has been featured in 21 solo exhibitions including dnj Gallery, Santa Monica, CA, The Griffin Museum of Photography, The Center for Fine Art Photography, and The Spartanburg Museum of Art. She was a Critical Mass finalist in 2015 and 2016 and winner of the Julia Margaret Cameron Award for Women Photographers as well as first place in the Fine Art category. She has participated in over 100 national and international group exhibitions including the Italian Cultural Exchange in Naples, Italy.

Ellen is listed under Modern Photographers on the website www.all-about-photo.com. Her photographs have been published in Harper’s Magazine, Muzée Magazine, SHUTR Magazine, Professional Photographer. Southwest Review and online in Lenscratch, f-stopmagazine, fraction magazine, rfotofolio, Voyage LA Magazine, My Daily Photograph, Lightleaked, a photo editor, Float Online Magazine, thisiscolossal and Silvershotz.

View Ellen Cantor’s Website.

Ellen Cantor Title Sheet

It Was There All Along

Posted on

mountain

About the Book
“It was there all along” is a handmade artist’s book containing 22 tintype images printed on double-sided matte Red River Paper. The photographs address topics concerning water, including recreation, food, droughts, flooding and coastal erosion. The cover art is relief printed on handmade cotton rag paper and the edition numbers are letterpress printed on cotton rag end sheets.

The first hardcover edition is limited to 55 copies.

Book measures approximately 8.875  x9 x .375″

* Color of handmade paper varies from one book to the next.

Published by Old Fan Press

Materials
Canapetta bookcloth, PVA, double sided matte Red River Paper, Irish linen thread, handmade paper, cotton rag paper, davey book binders board, book board, inkjet prints, oil based ink, Bookcloth, PVA glue, rag paper

Artist Bio
Oxford American Magazine and NPR have written about Frank Hamrick’s art. His work is collected by the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, The Art Institute of Chicago and The Ogden Museum of Southern Art. Frank is the MFA graduate program coordinator and Professor at Louisiana Tech University’s School of Design in Ruston.

CV
Education

2005  Master of Fine Arts, Photography, New Mexico State University

2000 Bachelor of Fine Arts, Photography, The University of Georgia

Teaching Experience

2019-Present Professor, School of Design, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston

2016-Present MFA Graduate Program Coordinator, School of Design, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston

Fall 2016 Mentor, Academy of Art University, Online MFA Mentor Program, San Francisco, California

2012-2019 Associate Professor, School of Design, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston

Fall 2013 Visiting Professor, University of Georgia Studies Abroad Program, Cortona, Italy

Spring 2009 Mentor, The Art Institute of Boston, Low Residency MFA Mentor Program

2007-2013 Photography Area Coordinator, School of Art, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston

Spring 2008 Assistant Professor, French Quarter Studies Abroad, Louisiana Tech University, Paris, France

2006-2012 Assistant Professor, School of Art, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston

Summer 2006 Maine Media Workshops, Rockport College, Rockport, Maine

Spring 2006 Visiting Professor, Santa Reparata International School of Art, Florence, Italy

Fall 2005 Visiting Professor, University of Georgia Studies Abroad Program, Cortona, Italy 

Workshops

07/15-16/2020 Alternative photo processes workshops, Tennessee Arts Academy, Online Conference

01/29/2020 One day letterpress workshop for advanced typography students, Two Classes, School of Design

09/25/2019 One day graduate bookmaking workshop, School of Literature & Languages, Louisiana Tech University

09/07/2019 One day bookmaking workshop, Durango Arts Center, Durango, Colorado

08/24/2019 One day bookmaking workshop, Morris Museum of Art, Augusta, Georgia

08/03/2019 One day bookmaking workshop, University of Louisiana at Monroe

10/20-21/2018 Two-day photography bookmaking workshop, University of Arkansas at Little Rock

10/03/2018 One day graduate bookmaking workshop, School of Literature & Languages, Louisiana Tech University

09/15/2018 One day PSA poster design workshop for high school students, Ruston Artisans, Ruston, Louisiana

07/08-20/2018 Two week bookmaking workshop, Penland School of Crafts, Penland, North Carolina

05/14/2018 One day bookmaking workshop, Girl Scout Troop, Ruston, Louisiana

04/20/2017 One day photo bookmaking workshop, University of Arkansas at Fort Smith

10/12/2016 One day graduate bookmaking workshop, School of Literature & Languages, Louisiana Tech University

09/16/2016 One day bookmaking workshop, School of Visual Arts & Design, University of North Texas, Denton

07/12-14/2016 Bookmaking & alternative process workshops, Summer Design Camp, Louisiana Tech University

06/04/2016 One day tintype workshop, Paper Workers Local, Birmingham, Alabama

03/05/2016 One day bookmaking workshop, Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, Louisiana

03/03/2016 One day tintype workshop, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas

10/30/2015 One day letterpress workshop, University of Louisiana at Monroe

10/19/2015 One day bookmaking workshop, Girl Scout Troop, Ruston, Louisiana

02/20/2015 One day tintype workshop, Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, Alabama

02/07/2015 One day bookmaking workshop, Makers Union, Ruston, Louisiana

10/03/2014 One day bookmaking workshop, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, Tennessee

07/12/2014 One day bookmaking workshop, New Orleans Photo Alliance, New Orleans, Louisiana

03/09/2014 One day bookmaking workshop, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore

04/20-21/2013 Two day bookmaking workshop, Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, Louisiana

03/29-30/2013 Two day tintype workshop, Department of Art, University of South Carolina, Columbia

02/27-28/2013 Two day tintype workshop, Department of Art & Art History, University of Texas at San Antonio

12/06/2012 One day bookmaking workshop, Three Classes, Caddo Parish Magnet High School, Shreveport, LA

10/10/2012 One day graduate bookmaking workshop, School of Literature & Languages, Louisiana Tech University

08/04/2012 One day bookmaking workshop, New Orleans Photo Alliance

Summer 2012 Two week papermaking and book arts workshop, Penland School of Crafts, Penland, North Carolina

Spring 2012 Six-session bookmaking workshop, Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, Louisiana

03/16/2012 One day bookmaking workshop, Department of Art, Nicholls State University, Thibodeaux, Louisiana 

Lectures

09/21/2020 It was there all along, Baylor University, Waco, Texas, Online Lecture

09/21/2020 It was there all along, University of Kansas, Online Lecture

09/03/2020 It was there all along, Louisiana State University, Online Lecture

07/14/2020 It was there all along, Tennessee Arts Academy, Online Conference Lecture

07/09/2020 It was there all along, Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation, Online Lecture

04/23/2020 It was there all along, Southeastern Louisiana University, Online Lecture

10/19/2019 For The Love Of Photo Books, Panel Discussion, SPESE Chapter Conference, Richmond, Virginia

10/11/2019 Every Picture Tells A Story, Panel Discussion, SPESC Chapter Conference, Lubbock, Texas

09/06/2019 It was there all along, Durango Art Center, Durango Colorado

08/22/2019 It was there all along, Morris Museum of Art, Augusta, Georgia

10/19/2018 My face tastes like salt, University of Arkansas at Little Rock

8/01-08/2018 Visiting Papermaking Artist & Lecturer, Texas Woman’s University, Denton, Texas

07/12/2018 My face tastes like salt, Penland School of Crafts, Penland, North Carolina

05/03/2018 Artist Statements, Bossier Parish Community College, Bossier, Louisiana

03/13/2018 Graduate School, School of Performing & Visual Arts, University of Louisiana at Monroe

10/14/2017 Artist Book Panel Discussion, SPE South Central Conference, Baylor University, Waco, Texas Other panelists: Sha Towers, Shana & Robert Parkeharrison

08/21/2017 Harder than writing a good haiku, Watkins College of Art, Design & Film, Nashville, Tennessee

05/12/2017 Harder than writing a good haiku, Houston Center for Photography

02/27/2017 Harder than writing a good haiku, Memphis College of Art

12/01/2016 Creating Photographic Work at the College Level, New Orleans Center for Creative Art High School

11/21/2016 Harder than writing a good haiku, Department of Art, Georgia College & State University, Milledgeville

09/15/2016 Harder than writing a good haiku, School of Visual Arts & Design, University of North Texas, Denton

03/01/2016 Sometimes Rivers Flow Backwards, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas

09/01/2015 Sometimes Rivers Flow Backwards, Lamar Dodd School of Art, University of Georgia, Athens

08/26/2015 Sometimes Rivers Flow Backwards, Watkins College of Art, Design & Film, Nashville, Tennessee

02/26/2015 Careers In The Arts, Boy Scout Troop, Ruston, Louisiana

02/19/2015 I Want To Believe, Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, Alabama

04/24/2014 I Want To Believe, Liberal Arts Symposium, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston 03/10/2014 Tintypes & Handmade Books, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, Maryland

11/20/2013 I Want To Believe, School of Performing & Visual Arts, University of Louisiana at Monroe

09/17/2013 I Want To Believe, John D. Kehoe Center, University of Georgia Studies Abroad Program, Cortona, Italy

03/28/2013 A Rabbit Runs In A Circle, Department of Art, University of South Carolina, Columbia

02/28/2013 Keep Moving, Department of Art & Art History, University of Texas at San Antonio

02/21/2013 Keep Moving, Online Lecture, Art Department, West Virginia Wesleyan College

11/30/2012 Keep Moving, New Orleans Center for Creative Arts

10/04/2012 A Rabbit Runs In A Circle, Livaudais Studio, Monroe, Louisiana

07/01/2012 Tintypes & Handmade Books, Penland School of Crafts, Penland, North Carolina

03/16/2012 Handmade Photography Books, Department of Art, Nicholls State University, Thibodaux, Louisiana

10/26/2011 Keep Moving, Enterprise Center, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, Louisiana 

Galleries/Book Dealer Representation

2018-Present Penland Gallery, Penland School of Crafts, North Carolina

2018-Present The Print Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 2015-Present Photo-Eye Books & Prints, Santa Fe, New Mexico

2010-Present Vamp & Tramp, Booksellers, LLC, Birmingham, Alabama 

Professional Experience

2020 Student Portfolio Reviewer, Society for Photographic Education Annual Conference, Houston

2020 Student Portfolio Reviewer, College Book Arts Association, New Orleans, Louisiana

2019 Student Portfolio Reviewer, SPE South Central Chapter Conference, Lubbock, Texas

2019 Student Portfolio Reviewer, Bossier High School Art Break

2018 Mentor, High School Public Service Announcement Poster Workshop, Ruston Artisans, Louisiana

2018 Juror, Bossier Parish Community College, Bossier, Louisiana 2

018 Juror, Hinds Community College Annual Student Show, Raymond, Mississippi

2017 Consultant, Creative Presence: A Guide, by Cyndi Coon, Cognella, Inc. Academic Publishing

2016 Juror, High School Art Contest, North Central Louisiana Arts Council, Ruston

2015 Technical Editor, Photography – 11th Edition, by London, Stone & Upton, Pearson/Prentice Hall Publishing

2015 Juror, High School Art Contest, Bossier Arts Council, Bossier City, Louisiana 2014 Technical Editor, Introduction to Photography, by Mark Galer, Focal Press

2013-Present Collections Committee, Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, Louisiana

2012 Consultant, Holga Handbook, book proposal by Michelle Bates, Focal Press 2012 Consultant, No Plastic Sleeves, by Danielle Currier, Focal Press

2012 Technical Editor, Photography – 10th Edition, by London, Stone & Upton, Pearson/Prentice Hall Publishing

2007-Present Student Portfolio Reviewer, Society for Photographic Education (SPE) Annual Spring/Fall Conferences 

Professional Organizations

2017-Present College Book Art Association (CBAA), Rochester, New York

2017-Present North American Hand Papermakers / Friends of Dard Hunter, New York, New York

2015-Present Aperture Foundation, New York, New York

2010-Present New Orleans Photo Alliance (NOPA)

2009-Present Houston Center for Photography (HCP)

2008-Present Texas Photographic Society (TPS), San Antonio, Texas

2007-Present Twin City Art Foundation, Monroe, Louisiana

2002-Present Society for Photographic Education (SPE), Cleveland, Ohio 

Permanent Collections

2020

Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, Special Collections, Tulane, New Orleans, Louisiana Savannah College of Art & Design, ACA Library, Artists’ Book Collection, Atlanta, Georgia Vanderbilt University, Jean & Alexander Heard Library, Nashville, Tennessee University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Art Library University of Connecticut, Dodd Research Center, Special Collections, Mansfield University of Georgia, Hargrett Library, Special Collections, Athens Savannah College of Art & Design, Jen Library, Special Collections and Savannah, Georgia

2019

Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Research Library, Fort Worth, Texas University of Arizona, Special Collections Library, Tucson University of California Santa Cruz, McHenry Library, Special Collections Morris Museum of Art, Augusta, Georgia Aperture Foundation Library, New York, New York Watkins Library and Trinity College, Connecticut, Hartford

2018

Candela Books & Gallery, Richmond, Virginia Watkins Library, Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut Otis College of Art & Design, Los Angeles and California Morris Museum of Art, Augusta, Georgia

2017

Candela Books & Gallery, Richmond, Virginia Aperture Foundation Library, New York, New York Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Research Library, Fort Worth, Texas, Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, Massachusetts Baylor University, Central Libraries Special Collections, Waco, Texas Savannah College of Art & Design, ACA Library, Artists’ Book Collection and Atlanta, Georgia

2016

Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Research Library, Fort Worth, Texas Roy Flukinger, Private Collection, Senior Research Curator, Harry Ransom Center, Austin, Texas Vanderbilt University, Jean & Alexander Heard Library, Nashville, Tennessee Savannah College of Art & Design, ACA Library, Artists’ Book Collection, Atlanta, Georgia and Aperture Foundation Library, New York, New York

2015

Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Photography Collection, Fort Worth, Texas Gillian Welch & Dave Rawlings, Private Collection, Nashville, Tennessee Art Institute of Chicago, Flaxman Library, Artists’ Book Collection, Chicago, Illinois Aperture Foundation Library, New York, New York Baylor University, Central Libraries Special Collections, Waco, Texas Pratt Institute, Franklin Furnace, Brooklyn, New York Museum of Contemporary Art, London Candela Books & Gallery, Richmond, Virginia Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, Louisiana Georgia Perimeter College, Clarkston, Georgia Vanderbilt University, Jean & Alexander Heard Library, Nashville, Tennessee Savannah College of Art & Design, and ACA Library, Artists’ Book Collection, Atlanta, Georgia

2014

University of California at Santa Barbara, Special Collections Library University of Utah, Special Collections Library Museum of Contemporary Art, London Jean & Alexander Heard Library, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee and Gillian Welch & Dave Rawlings, Private Collection, Nashville, Tennessee

2013

Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans, Louisiana and Vanderbilt University, Jean & Alexander Heard Library, Nashville, Tennessee

2012

Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans, Louisiana Joshua Mann Pailet, Private Collection, Owner, A Gallery For Fine Photography, New Orleans, Louisiana Baylor University, Central Libraries Special Collections, Waco, Texas Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia University of Kentucky, Lucille Caudill Little Fine Arts Library, Lexington Texas Woman’s University and Blagg-Huey Library, Woman’s Collection, Denton

2011

Houston Center for Photography Red River Paper, Dallas, Texas Texas Woman’s University, Department of Visual Arts, Denton George Slade, Private Collection, Curator & Photography Critic, Minneapolis, Minnesota University of Texas at Arlington, Fine Arts Library Handmade Book Collection, Arlington Savannah College of Art & Design, ACA Library, Artists’ Book Collection, Atlanta, Georgia and The Weeks Gallery, State University of New York, Jamestown 

Select Exhibitions/Events 

2020

35th Annual Penland School Of Crafts Annual Benefit Auction, Penland, North Carolina Unbound 9, Candela Books & Gallery, Richmond, Virginia, Curator: Gordon Stettinius Capital City Contemporary 5: Water, Louisiana Art & Science Museum, Baton Rouge, Curator: Lexi Adams Off The Wall, Annual Silent Auction, Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, Louisiana Art On 45 Annual Silent Auction, Fine Line Supply Company, Ruston, Louisiana American Advertising Federation Shreveport-Bossier Gala, Artspace, Shreveport, Louisiana College Book Arts Association Benefit Auction & Members’ Showcase, Ace Hotel, New Orleans, Louisiana Press and Fold: Contemporary Book Arts, Firehouse Art Center, Longmont, Colorado, Curator: Brandy Coons Overwhelming (Im)Possibilities: SPESC Caucus Exhibition, Houston Community College, Juror: Haley Berkman #50 @ $50 A Small Works Exhibition, North Central Louisiana Arts Council, Gallery 210, Ruston, Louisiana North Central Louisiana Arts Council Silent Auction, Ruston Civic Center, Ruston, Louisiana 6x6x2020 and Rochester Contemporary Art Center, Rochester, New York

2019

It was there all along, Morris Museum of Art, Augusta, Georgia – Solo Exhibition It was there all along, Durango Arts Center, Art Library Gallery, Durango, Colorado – Solo Exhibition 34th Annual Penland School Of Crafts Annual Benefit Auction, Penland, North Carolina Art Through The Lens, Yeiser Art Center, Paducah, Kentucky, Juror: Cheryl Zibisky SPESC Members’ Exhibition, School of Art Satellite Gallery CASP, Texas Tech University, Lubbock SPESE Portfolio Walkthrough, Candela Gallery, Richmond, Virginia PhotoNOLA PhotoWALK, Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans, Louisiana #50 @ $50 A Small Works Exhibition, North Central Louisiana Arts Council, Ruston Artisans, Ruston, Louisiana North Central Louisiana Arts Council Silent Auction, Ruston Civic Center, Ruston, Louisiana Off The Wall, Annual Silent Auction, Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, Louisiana Serving Our Designers, Tornado Relief Fundraiser, Ruston Farmers’ Market, Ruston, Louisiana This Is Life, Ruston Artisans, Ruston, Louisiana, Curator: Todd Maggio Artoberfest Auction, North Central Louisiana Arts Council, Ruston, Louisiana Holiday Arts Tour, Norton Building, Ruston, Louisiana 2018 My Face Tastes Like Salt, Focus Gallery, University of Arkansas at Little Rock – Solo Exhibition SPE South Central Members’ Exhibition, Firehouse Gallery, Baton Rouge, Juror: Russell Lord The Past Is Present, Atlanta Photography Group Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia, Curator: Beth Lilly 24th Juried Exhibition, Griffin Museum of Photography, Winchester, Massachusetts, Juror: Richard McCabe 2018 Black & White Exhibition, Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO, Juror: Catherine Couturier SPE Orlando Discoveries, Tammy Cromer Gallery, Dallas, Texas and 33rd Annual Penland School Of Crafts Annual Benefit Auction, Penland, North Carolina

2018

Benefit Auction, Light Factory, Charlotte, North Carolina Month of Photography Los Angeles Photo Book Exhibition, Venice Arts, Venice, California 12th Annual Louisiana Fine Arts Show, Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond, Louisiana 31st Annual McNeese National Works on Paper Exhibition, McNeese State University, Lake Charles, Louisiana Peach Festival Art Exhibit, Ruston Civic Center, Ruston, Louisiana – 1st Place, 3D Category North Central Louisiana Arts Council Silent Auction, Ruston Civic Center, Ruston, Louisiana #50 @ $50 A Small Works Exhibition, North Central Louisiana Arts Council, Ruston, Louisiana Session 4 Scholarship Fundraiser Auction, Penland School of Crafts, Penland, North Carolina Holiday Art Exhibit, Bank of Ruston, Ruston, Louisiana Holiday Arts Tour, Fine Line Supply Company, Ruston, Louisiana Spring Romance, Ruston Artisans, Ruston, Louisiana Off The Wall Auction, Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, Louisiana Holiday Art Crawl Group Exhibition, Ruston Artisans, Ruston, Louisiana Small Works for the Young Collector, Levee Gallery, Monroe, Louisiana 6x6x2018, Rochester Contemporary Art Center, Rochester, New York Portraits and Ruston Artisans, Ruston, Louisiana

2017

Harder than writing a good haiku, Fellowship Exhibition, Houston Center for Photography, Juror: Andy Adams 2017 Photobook Independent, Photo Independent & The Los Angeles Festival of Photography – 1st Place 2nd Juried Photobook Exhibition, Vermont Center for Photography, Brattleboro – Juror’s Choice Award 54th Annual Juried Exhibition, Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, Louisiana, Juror: Gia Hamilton – Award of Merit Art Through The Lens, Yeiser Art Center, Paducah, Kentucky, Juror: Eliot Dudik – Third Place Sometimes Rivers Flow Backwards, University of Arkansas at Fort Smith – Solo Exhibition Currents 2017, PhotoNOLA, Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans, Louisiana, Juror: Richard McCabe Portfolio Showcase 10 Exhibition, Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, Juror: Hannah Frieser Unbound 6, Candela Books & Gallery, Richmond, Virginia, Curator: Gordon Stettinius SPE South Central Members’ Exhibition, Cultivate 7twelve, Waco, Texas, Juror: Deborah Lillie Trace: Contemporary Photographers – Antiquarian Photography, Central Michigan University Baber Room Gallery, Curator: Rebecca Zeiss 59th Annual Delta Exhibition, Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, Juror: Betsy Bradley Griffin Museum of Photography 23rd Juried Exhibition, Winchester, Massachusetts, Juror: Hamidah Glasgow The Summer Show, South x Southeast Photo Gallery, Molena, Georgia, Curator: Julie Grahame Roco 6×6, Rochester Contemporary Art Center, Rochester, New York Photography and the Artist Book: First Edition, Fall Line Press, Atlanta, Georgia, Curator: Bill Boling Woodstock Summer of Love, The Center for Photography at Woodstock, Curator: Hannah Frieser 50 @ $50, Parish Press, North Central Louisiana Arts Council, Ruston, Louisiana Off The Wall Silent Auction, Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, Louisiana School of Design Faculty Exhibition and SOD Galleries, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston

2016

American Photographs, 1845 to Now, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Curator: Joy Jeehye Kim Recalling, Three-Person Exhibition, University of North Texas Art Gallery, Curator: Trace Robertson Americana Music Triangle, 2016 Jazz & Heritage Festival, New Orleans, Juror: Sacha Lecca, Rolling Stone Deputy Photo Editor 53rd Annual Juried Exhibition, Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, Louisiana, Juror: Holly Hughes – Second Place A Sense of Place: Contemporary Images of Lincoln Parish, Bank of Ruston, Louisiana – Purchase Award Water, Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, Colorado, Juror: Richard McCabe – Honorable Mention Ink, Press, Repeat: National Juried Printmaking & Book Art Exhibition, William Paterson University, Juror: Phil Sanders Direct Positive / Polaroids, lightleaked.com, online exhibition, Jurors: Ashley Kauschinger and Jen Ervin Art Melt, Capitol Park Museum, Baton Rouge, LA, Jurors: Bradley Sumrall, Amy Moorefield, Elizabeth Weinstein North Central Louisiana Arts Council Silent Auction, Ruston Civic Center, Ruston, Louisiana School of Design Faculty Art Exhibition, Co:lab, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston Off The Wall Silent Auction, Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, Louisiana

2015

Record, Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, Alabama – Solo Exhibition Makers Marks, Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, Louisiana, Curator: Ben Hickey – Three Person Exhibition SPESC Members’ Exhibition, MAINSITE Contemporary Art, Norman, Oklahoma, Juror: Katherine Ware Art Melt, Capitol Park Museum, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Jurors: Kitty Pheney, Keene Kipper, Patty Ortiz Award Winners from Beneath The Covers, Gallery III, Foundry Art Center, St. Charles, Missouri 9th Photographic Image Biennial Exhibition, Wellington B. Gray Gallery, East Carolina University, Juror: Burk Uzzle Unbound 4, Candela Books & Gallery, Richmond, Virginia, Curator: Gordon Stettinius Book Signing, Photo-Eye Books, Society for Photographic Education National Conference, New Orleans Penland School Of Crafts Annual Benefit Auction, Penland, North Carolina 2015 Project Postcard, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces Contemporary Perspectives In Photography, Studio 301, Ruston, Louisiana, Curator: Hannah Cooper McCauley Members’ Pinup Show, Society for Photographic Education National Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana Biennial Italy Auction, University of Texas at Arlington Off The Wall Auction, Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, Louisiana North Central Louisiana Arts Council Silent Auction, Ruston Civic Center Biennial Faculty Exhibition, School of Art, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston Downtown Art Crawl, The Big Room, Monroe, Louisiana, 2015 Peach Art Exhibit, and Ruston Civic Center, Ruston, Louisiana – First Place North Central Louisiana Arts Council – Arts Tour, Ruston, Louisiana – First Place Juror’s Choice Award

2014

Home, Atlanta Celebrates Photography Festival, Georgia Perimeter College – Solo Exhibition Currents 2014, PhotoNOLA, Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans, Louisiana, Juror: Roy Flukinger Engaging Possibilities, SPESC Members’ Exhibit, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro Breaking Ground: Contemporary Photography, College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, Curator: Eliot Dudik Pathways: Photography Invitational, McMaster Gallery, University of South Carolina, Columbia Cortona Studies Abroad Exhibition, Lamar Dodd School of Art, University of Georgia, Athens Diversions, Press Street Reading Room, New Orleans, Louisiana, Jurors: Friedrich Kerksieck & Luba Zygareqicz 51st Annual Juried Exhibition, Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, Louisiana, Juror: Kelly Schindler How We See Her, Foundry Arts Center, St. Charles, Missouri, Juror: Janice Nesser-Chu North Central Louisiana Arts Council Arts Tour, Makers Union, Ruston GO CARE Auction, Garden Inn, Monroe, Louisiana North Central Louisiana Arts Council Silent Auction, Ruston Civic Center, Ruston, Louisiana, Love 146 Silent Auction, Ruston, Louisiana, Off The Wall Auction, Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, Louisiana and 2014 Louisiana Peach Festival Arts & Crafts Show, Ruston Civic Center

2013

I Want To Believe, University of Louisiana at Monroe – Solo Exhibition Mostra – Cortona Studies Abroad Exhibition, Palazzo Vagnotti, Cortona, Italy Art of Photography Show, The San Diego Art Institute, San Diego, California, Juror: Julia Dolan Tangibles: Beauty and Purpose in the Art of the Book, North Arizona University Art Museum, Flagstaff Jurors: Susan kae Grant and David Williams Beneath The Covers, Foundry Art Center, St. Charles, Missouri, Juror: M.J. Goerke – Group Award Winner Artists’ Books, Jean and Alexander Heard Library, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, Curator: Kathy Smith Fear and Loathing, Online Exhibition, artphotoindex.com, Juror: Kate Ware Art Melt, Capital Park Museum, Baton Rouge, Jurors: Jordana Pomeroy, Susan Edwards, Jo-Anne Birnie Danzker 55th Annual Delta Exhibition, Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, Juror: Monica Bowman Tintypes, Visual Resource Center, Department of Art & Art History, University of Texas at San Antonio North Central Louisiana Arts Council – Arts Tour, Fine Line Supply Company, Ruston Biennial Faculty Exhibition, School of Art, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston Panchromatic, Gallery Fine Art Center, Bossier Arts Council, Bossier, Louisiana ARTini, Bossier Arts Council, Bossier, Louisiana 2013 Louisiana Peach Festival Arts & Crafts Show, Ruston Civic Center 50th Annual Juried Exhibition, Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, Louisiana, Juror: George T.M. Shackelford Domestic Abuse Resistance Team Auction, American Society of Interior Designers, Ruston, Louisiana Off The Wall Auction, Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, Louisiana and North Central Louisiana Arts Council Silent Auction, Ruston Civic Center, Ruston, Louisiana 

2012

A Rabbit Runs In A Circle, Livaudais Studio, Monroe, Louisiana, October – Solo Exhibition Keep Moving, PhotoNOLA, New Orleans Center for Creative Arts – Two-Person Exhibit Works on Paper, LeQuire Gallery, Nashville, Tennessee, Curator: Elizabeth Cave New Southern Photography, Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans, Louisiana, Curator: Richard McCabe Photographing The Landscape, Fine Arts Center, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Curator: Brad Cushman Elements of Photography Invitational, John Jellico Gallery, Art Institute of Colorado, Denver, Curator: A.F. Belt Currents 2012, PhotoNOLA, Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans, Curator: Richard McCabe Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained, SPESC Members Exhibit, Mississippi State University, Starkville Penland Annual Benefit Auction, Penland School of Crafts, Penland, North Carolina 11th Annual Joyce Elaine Grant Exhibition, Texas Woman’s University, Denton, Juror: Anne Lyden 2012 Louisiana Peach Festival Arts & Crafts Show, Ruston Civic Center Penland Summer Instructor Exhibit, Penland School of Crafts, Penland, North Carolina 49th Annual Juried Exhibition, Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, Louisiana, Juror: Liza Simone 2012 North Central Louisiana Arts Council Silent Auction, Ruston Civic Center and Off The Wall Auction, Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, Louisiana 

2011

Keep Moving, Enterprise Center, Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, Louisiana – Solo Exhibition Visual Evolution, SPENW Conference, SFCC Photography Gallery, Spokane, WA – Two-Person Exhibition 2011 Chowan University National Juried Exhibition, Murfreesboro, NC, Juror: Maxine Payne – Best in Show A River Runs Through It, SPESC Members’ Exhibition, University of Texas at San Antonio, Curator: Libby Rowe Seeing Myself, Seeing Others: The Art of the Portrait, PhotoPlace Gallery, Middlebury, VT, Juror: Andy Bloxham Meltdown: 2011 Members’ Exhibition, McKinney Avenue Contemporary, Dallas, Texas 2011 Juried Exhibition, Newspace Center for Photography, Portland, Oregon, Juror: Raymond Meeks 2nd Annual Zine and Self-Published Book Fair, The Camera Club of New York 7th Photographic Image Biennial Exhibition, Wellington B. Gray Gallery, East Carolina University, Greenville, Juror: Keith Carter 10th Annual Joyce Elaine Grant Exhibition, Texas Woman’s University, Denton, Juror: Natasha Egan 48th Annual Juried Exhibition, Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, Louisiana, Juror: Alison de Lima Greene 24th Annual McNeese Works on Paper, McNeese State University, Lake Charles, Louisiana, Juror: Dan Cameron 2011 North Central Louisiana Arts Council Silent Auction, Ruston Civic Center and Off The Wall Silent Auction, Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, Louisiana 

Select Grants and Awards

2020 Best of Show, 2020 American Advertising Federation (AAF) Awards Shreveport-Bossier Gold Addy, Sales & Marketing Publication Design/Book Design, AAF Shreveport-Bossier

2018 Student Technology Fee Grant, Louisiana Tech University, Print Lab Upgrades First Place, 3D Category, Peach Festival Art Exhibit, Ruston, Louisiana

2017 HCP Fellowship, Houston Center for Photography, Houston, Texas, Juror: Andy Adams 1st Place – Artists’ Books, Photobook Independent, Photo Independent & The Los Angeles Festival of Photography Juror’s Choice Award, 2nd Photobook Exhibition, Vermont Center for Photography, Juror: Henry Horenstein Award of Merit, 54th Annual Juried Exhibition, Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, Louisiana Third Place, Art Through The Lens, Yeiser Art Center, Paducah, Kentucky, Juror: Eliot Dudik

2016 Best Photography Books of 2016, Elizabeth Avedon Book Design, New York Second Place, 53rd Annual Masur Museum of Art Juried Exhibition, Monroe, Louisiana Purchase Award, A Sense of Place Exhibition, North Central Louisiana Arts Council, Ruston Honorable Mention, 2016 Art Melt Exhibition, Baton Rouge, Louisiana Honorable Mention, Water Exhibition, Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, Colorado

2015 Student Technology Fee Grant, Louisiana Tech University, Digital Photography & Video Lab Upgrades Juror’s Choice Award, Holiday Arts Tour, North Central Louisiana Arts Council, Ruston First Place Award, Louisiana Peach Festival, Ruston

2014 President’s Artist Of The Year Award, North Central Louisiana Arts Council, Ruston Honorable Mention, Louisiana Peach Festival, Ruston

2013 Nominee, F. Jay Taylor Undergraduate Teaching Award, College of Liberal Arts, Louisiana Tech University Group Show Winner, Beneath The Covers, Foundry Art Center, St. Charles, Missouri

2012 Career Advancement Grant, Louisiana Division of the Arts 

2011 Best in Show, Chowan University National Juried Exhibition Merit Award, Creative Quarterly Magazine, Issue 22 

Select Reviews

Brad Freeman, “Book Reviews”, Journal of Artist’s Books, #47/48, Spring 2020, p. 28

Brandy Coons, “Artist Talk with Frank Hamrick”, Firehouse Art Center, Online Interview, April 17th, 2020

Callie Robbins, “Talking Photography with Frank”, Girl Uninspired, Podcast, Episode 9, March 23rd, 2020

Victoria Arnold, “Featured Artist”, North Central Louisiana Arts Council (NCLAC), Online, November 19th, 2019

Hannah O’Hare Bennett, “Featured Artist”, North American Hand Papermakers, Online, October 21st, 2019

Virginia Green, “Featured CBAA Artist”, College Book Art Association, Online, October 1st, 2019

Aline Smithson, “Frank Hamrick: It was there all along”, Lenscratch.com, September 23rd, 2019

Jeff Rich, “Eyes on the South – Water Feature”, OxfordAmerican.org, September 4th, 2019

Angelita Faller, “UA Little Rock Exhibit Features Artwork of Frank Hamrick”, UALR University News, October 4th, 2018

Esther Griffin, “Q&A: Frank Hamrick”, Atlanta Photography Group, Online Interview, August 21st, 2018

John Guidroz, “Works on Paper”, American Press, March 29th, 2018

“Book Maker”, Focal Plane Magazine, Issue 3, Winter 2018, pp. 8-13, 48-50, 66-70

Hannah Frieser, Looking & Seeing – Portfolio Showcase X, The Center for Fine Art Photography, 2017, pp. 5, 26-37

Photo-Emphasis.com, December 19th, 2017

Fred Hirschman, “Frank Hamrick”, Aint-Bad.com, December 7th, 2017

Pete McCommons, “More Photos”, Flagpole Magazine, October 4th, 2017, p. 3

Jeff Rich, “Eyes on the South – Moving Through”, OxfordAmerican.org, September 20th, 2017

Arthor H. Bleich, “Frank Hamrick – Handcrafted Books”, blog.redriverpaper.com, September 8th, 2017

Sheri Hunter, “Antiquarian-modern photo show at Park”, News-Herald, August 9th, 2017

Mark Feeney, “At the Griffin…”, Boston Globe, July 12th, 2017

Leslie Newell Peacock, “Hard edges”, Arkansas Times, June 22nd, 2017

Andy Adams, “Spotlight – Frank Hamrick”, Spot Magazine, Spring 2017, p. 64

“Frank Hamrick – 2017 HCP Fellowship Recipient”, Monovisions, Online Feature, May 19th, 2017

Aline Smithson, “Frank Hamrick: Harder than writing a good haiku”, lenscratch.com, February 22nd, 2017

Tracee Roberson, “Recalling” Exhibition Catalog, University of North Texas, Denton, pp. 6, 9-10, 22-29, 50, 55

Paula Newton, “HCP Announces 2017 Fellowship Winners” glasstire.com, December 27th, 2016

“Artists use…”, News at UNT, news.unt.edu, Thursday, July 28th, 2016

“Water” Art Reveal Magazine, ArtRevealMagazine.com, June 28th, 2016

“Press Check”, Panorama Magazine, Volume 66, Spring 2016 p. 35

“Press Check”, Panorama Magazine, Volume 65, Fall 2015, p. 35

Jeff Rich, “Eyes On The South – Antique Process”, OxfordAmerican.org, September 21st, 2015

Sarah Greene, “Dave Rawlings Machine are on a journey…” exclaim.ca, September 21st, 2015

“Reading List”, Georgia Magazine, Volume 94, Number 4, September 2015, p. 42

“Frank Hamrick Tintype Workshop”, JSU Art Blog, March 30th, 2015

“An Exhibit of Modern Day Tintypes Comes To JSU”, Anniston Star, February 15th, 2015

Mary Napoli, “The Eternal Imagery of Frank Hamrick”, Bayou Life Magazine, January 2015, pp. 72-75

Ashley Kauschinger, “Frank Hamrick”, Light Leaked Online Journal, October 6th, 2014

Lisa Williams, Handmade & Bound Artist Spotlight, HandmadeBoundNashville.com, September 26th, 2014

Kathy Miller Stewart, “Soul and Skill”, DotPhotoZine.com, April 21st, 2014

Seth Muller, “NAU Art Museum exhibit showcases bound-less creativity”, Arizona Daily Sun, September 15th, 2013

“Paper Art”, The Edwardsville Intelligencer, July 13th, 2013

Leigh Anne Chambers, “Featured Gallery Fine Art Center Artist: Frank Hamrick”, Bossier Creates, June 11th, 2013

Susie Kalil, “New Southern Photography” Spot Magazine – Houston Center for Photography, Spring 2013, p. 22

“New Books”, Georgia Magazine, March 2013

“NELAC honors outstanding contributions to the arts” The News Star, Monroe, Louisiana, March 4th, 2013

“Eight from Louisiana Tech Chosen for National Exhibition”, Shreveport Times, February 27th, 2013

Judith Roberts, “Students bind to create books with art professor” News @ Tech, December 19th, 2012

Joe Nolan, “Paper Pushing”, Nashville Scene, Nashville, Tennessee, December 13th, 2012

Cameron Shaw, “Pick of the week: Frank Hamrick”, Pelican Bomb – Online, December 10th, 2012

D. Clarke Evans, “Members’ News”, Texas Photo Society Newsletter, Fall 2012

“Photographing The Landscape” Arkansas Times, Little Rock, November 2nd, 2012

Brittany Biddy & Emily Grant, “Class Notes”, Georgia Magazine, June 2012

John N. Wall, “Frank Hamrick: Photography Is Like Chicken”, The Southern Photographer Blog, May 9th, 2012

Claire O’Neill, “The Visual South”, npr.org, May 8th, 2012

Jim Sherraden, “100 under 100 – The New Superstars of Southern Art …” OxfordAmerican.org, Issue 76, 2012 

Select Publications

“Tesnatee Creek”, Tintype Image, The Sun Magazine, March 2020, Issue 531, p. 44

“It was there all along”, Art Through The Lens Exhibition Catalog, Yeiser Art Center, 2019

“Sand Creek”, Tintype Image, Shots Magazine, Issue 144, Summer 2019, p. 14

Nashville Obsolete, Front & Back Vinyl Album Covers, Dave Rawlings Machine, Acony Records, 2019

“Gulf of Mexico”, Tintype Image, The Sun Magazine, Issue 516, December 2018, p. 26

Tilt & Shine, Front & Back Album Covers, Kevin Gordon, Crowville Records, 2018

“Attic Discovery” Tintype Image, The Sun Magazine, Issue 505, January 2018, p. 34

“Record Player”, Tintype Image, The Sun Magazine, Issue 502, October 2017, p. 3

“Photo of the day”, Don’t Take Pictures Magazine, Online Exhibition, March 5th, 2017

“Sometimes Rivers Flow Backwards”, Ink, Press, Repeat exhibition catalog, August 2016

“Crooked Dogwood & Hungry Dogs”, Don’t Take Pictures Magazine, Glass & Tin Online Exhibition

“Tin Can Telephone”, The Sun Magazine, Issue 483, March 2016, p. 22

“Peaches”, The Sun Magazine, Issue 482, February 2016, p. 1

“Lauren”, Oxford American Magazine, Issue 91, Winter 2015, p. 122

Nashville Obsolete, Front & Back CD and Tape Covers, Dave Rawlings Machine, Acony Records, 2015

“Fan, Water, Feet”, The Sun Magazine, Issue 475, July 2015, p. 22

“Clothesline”, Bethany Raybourn, Self-Titled EP Record, 2015

“Chasing The Sun”, Downtown Art Crawl, Bayou Life Magazine, April 2015, p. 26

Photo Review, Online Exhibition, photoreview.org

“Sometimes Rivers Flow Backwards”, 9th Photographic Image Biennial Exhibition Catalog, East Carolina University, 2015, p. 14

“Griffith Chair at Hideaway”, “Dave Rawlings Machine”, Makers’ Marks Exhibition Promo Material, Masur Museum, 2015

Artist Portfolio, Breaking Ground: Contemporary Photography Exhibition Catalog, College of William & Mary, 2014, p. 55

“Coke Bottles, Garden, Self Portrait”, Pathways Photography Invitational Leaflet, University of South Carolina, 2014

“Moving House”, 2014 Atlanta Celebrates Photography Festival Guide, p. 48

Artist Portfolio, 500 Handmade Books Volume 2, Linda Kopp, Lark Crafts – Sterling Publishing Co, 2013, p. 151

“Letter Never Sent”, Art of Photography, Exhibition Catalogue, San Diego, California, 2013

Artist Portfolio, 1000 Artists’ Books by Sandra Salamony, Rockport Publishers/Quarry Books, 2012, pp. 204-206

“Onion Field” and “Sunflower House”, The Sun Magazine, Issue 442, October, pp. 42, 49

“Haircut”, Creative Quarterly Magazine, Issue 27, Summer 2012, p. 65

“Wet Clothesline”, The Sun Magazine, Issue 437, May 2012, p. 49

Artist Portfolio, The Elements of Photography: 2nd Edition by Angela Faris Belt, Focal Press, pp. 364-367

“Dial”, Creative Quarterly Magazine, Issue 26, Spring 2012, p. 59

“Carrie Mae Weems”, Society for Photographic Education South Central Regional Newsletter, Fall 2011

“Onion Blooms”, Creative Quarterly Magazine, Issue 24, Fall 2011, p. 58

Six Page Artist Portfolio, River Styx Magazine, Issue 86, Fall 2011, pp. 31-36

“Gas Station Sign”, e-book cover image Super America, Anne Panning, University of Georgia Press, 2011

“Mom’s Scar”, McNeese Works on Paper Exhibition Catalogue, McNeese State University, 2011, p. 17 

View Frank Hamrick’s Website

Crossroads

Posted on

Statement

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

We know this phrase from the Declaration of Independence quite well. For most of us Americans growing up, we learned this phrase and it’s meaning in our early days of school. As a kid, there was little reason to question it’s meaning. It was clear and I liked it. I liked this American Dream and the idea this was a country where everyone could be treated as equals and pursue the life of their choosing. I quickly learned that phrase wasn’t meant for people of color. You see, in order for this to be true, this country would have to see all people as human and hold the same value for everyone. History has proven time and time again this simply isn’t the case. This country has failed all non-white people from the beginning and instead of acknowledging the truth and building a bridge toward healing, the United States government finds more elaborate and insidious ways to continue inflicting damage to marginalized communities and avoids being held accountable for it’s actions and crimes against humanity. The communities most in need never get to heal much less ever have their needs addressed. What can we do if our government will not protect and provide for us?

Crossroads asks us to look toward something new to find the answer to that question. This series comprised of ten portraits of people of color look away from the camera. They are strong and determined in their posture and suggest they are ready to look for life, liberty, and happiness elsewhere. In this context, facing away from the camera is an act of defiance. It is a protest. We do not have to acknowledge this government if it will not acknowledge us. If we are ever to have a life as stated in the Declaration of Independence, we will need to create it for ourselves.

The weight of the finished pieces symbolize the heavy burdens people of color have to carry around from one generation to the next. The depth given to the portraits covered in UV acrylic resin can make the figures look as if they are drowning. The cold and rust of the metal frames surrounding them symbolizes the way our country treats us. With cold indifference and put in boxes.

Crossroads does not offer any solutions. I wish I had them to share. Instead, it is meant to start a conversation of what it would look like if we were to unify and look toward something new.

Bio

Questioning generalized stereotypes and the lack of fair and equal representation of people of color in art spaces has led artist Alanna Airitam to research critical historical omissions and how those contrived narratives represent and influence succeeding generations. Her photographic series The Golden Age, Crossroads, White Privilege, and individual works such as Take a Look Inside and How to Make a Country ask the viewer to question who they are and how they choose to be seen.

Airitam’s portraits and vanitas are photographed in studio with minimal lighting rendering a painterly quality to her photographs. The archival pigment prints from The Golden Age series are hand-varnished while those in the Crossroads, Take a Look Inside and How to Make a Country series are archival prints encased in resin and placed in hand-welded frames. All works are produced by the artist in limited editions.

Alanna is a 2020 San Diego Art Prize winner, 2020 Top 50 Critical Mass Finalist, and recipient of the 2020 Michael Reichmann Project Grant Award. Her photographs have been exhibited at Catherine Edelman Gallery in Chicago, Quint Gallery in San Diego, San Diego Art Institute, Art Miami with Catherine Edelman, Athenaeum Art Center in San Diego, and Candela Gallery in Richmond, Virginia. Born and raised in Queens, New York, Airitam now resides in Tucson, Arizona.

CV
Exhibitions & Shows

San Diego Art Prize 2020, Bread & Salt Gallery, San Diego, CA, September 5 — October 24, 2020

Photography &____, Catherine Edelman Gallery, Chicago, IL, July 10 — September 4, 2020

How to Make a Country, Athenaeum Art Center, San Diego, CA, March 17 — May 9, 2020

The Golden Age, Candela Books & Gallery, Richmond, VA, January 2 — February 22, 2020

Crossroads, Quint Gallery, July 20 — Sept. 14, 2019

Xquisite Corpse, Bread & Salt, January 12 — March 30, 2019

The Art of Belonging, You Belong Here, November 29, 2018 — January 26, 2019

Art Miami, Catherine Edelman Gallery, December 4-9, 2018

How Do You See Me?, Catherine Edelman Gallery, Chicago, IL, Sept. 7 — Oct. 27, 2018

About-Face, San Diego Art Institute, San Diego, CA, April 21, 2018 — June 3, 2018

Once Upon a Body, Art Produce, San Diego, CA, November, 2017

Speaking/Lectures

SF Camerawork, Portraiture as Activism, October 14, 2020

Medium Photo REMIX, August 22, 2020

Museum of African Diaspora (MoAD). In the Artist’s Studio. July 1, 2020

San Diego State University, February 14, 2019

Art Institute of California, San Diego, February 11, 2019

Open Show, San Diego #7, February 8, 2018

Documentary

Salt and Sugar Productions From Haarlem to Harlem (short film about The Golden Age)

Media

Don’t Take Pictures, Issue 15: The Fiction Issue: Alanna Airitam Remakes the Golden Age, Essay by Gordon Stettinius

Commonwealth Times: BHM profile | ‘The Golden Age’: Photos present an empowering narrative for African Americans

VICE!: These Photographers Make Surprisingly Fresh Photos of Flowers

BBC News: Chicago: Three artists challenging African-American stereotypes

Chicago Tribune: Exhibition stares down portrayals of blackness in art history, corporate environments

Catherine Edelman Gallery Artist Talk: Artist Talk: How do you see me? 2018

Catherine Edelman Gallery Cyclops: Alanna Airitam answers James Lipton’s 10 questions

The Huck: Rewriting the History of Black Women in Photography

Feature Shoot: Celebrating Harlem’s Legacy with Portraits of “The Golden Age”

Range Finder: A Portrait Photography Show Confronting Racial Stereotypes in Various Industries

More in Common Podcast: Alanna Airitam. There is Fear or There is Love. Episode 26

Diffusion Annual: Poignant Portfolios no. 7: Alanna Airitam

Lenscratch, June 29, 2018: Alanna Airitam: The Golden Age

Passion Plan Podcast: Episode 21 Interview with Fine Art Photographer, Alanna Airitam

Don’t Take Pictures: July 12th, 2018

San Diego Union Tribune: Inspired by people and a need to see herself represented

Keep The Channel Open: Podcast Episode 65

Humble Arts Foundation: Alanna Airitam Reframes The Golden Age

San Diego CityBeat: Alanna Airitam Shines in The Golden Age

#Photography: 5th Anniversary Women’s Edition

Upworthy: One photographer gave women who feel silenced the chance to be heard

Afropunk:  Artist Alanna Airitam’s Black Bodies in The Golden Age

View Alanna Airitam’s website.

Hidden Realms

Posted on

Statement
This series is inspired by my poem ”Hidden Realms”. The setting for many of the images is a fairytale landscape whose inhabitants are clouded in ambiguity. The ghostlike figures are reflections of the later years when beauty and youth begin to fade. They embody the feeling that one is becoming invisible and yet still present and powerful. The work speaks to family, memory, and the ethereal passage of time. The images are created using wet plate collodion. I scan and enlarge them to enhance the organic qualities of the medium.

Hidden Realms

Escaping into the solitude of nature

where time stands still,

One breathe to the next,

a respite for the body and the mind.

The creatures, each on their own journeys

wander nearby.

The melodies of the crickets and the frogs

resonate in their natural cadence

Oblivious to our chaos.

Can one linger here in invisibility…

disappearing into the hidden realms?

Perhaps not forever, but for a moment. – MAM

Bio
Mary Anne Mitchell is a fine art photographer working primarily with analog processes. Her most recent series Hidden Realms is shot using wet plate collodion. The images depict situations, often mysterious, which evoke her southern roots. She recently was a finalist in the 8th Edition of the Julia Margaret Cameron Awards and has been invited to exhibit some of this series in the 4th Biennial of Photography to be held in Berlin. Her work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions across the country and can be found in private and corporate collections across the US, Dubai, Taiwan, and Canada. She lives in Atlanta, GA.

Video

CV
AWARDS

Finalist in the 8th Julia Margaret Cameron Awards invited to exhibit in the Berlin Biennial. 2016

EXHIBITIONS
2019

Exhibition of photographs, “Gathered:, MOCA GA, Atlanta, GA  April-June 2019

Exhibition of photographs, “The Big Picture”, Denver, CO, Mar-May 2019

Upcoming
Installation exhibit, Solo exhibition, Thomas Deans Fine Art, Atlanta, GA  Oct. 2019

2018

“Meet Me in My Dreams”, 2 person Exhibit with Jeff Rich, Switzer Center for Visual Arts, Pensacola State College, FL Aug.-Oct. 2018

Exhibition of photographs, Colorado Center for Photography, Juried by Paula Tognarelli, May-July, 2018

“Meet Me in My Dreams”, Solo Exhibition, Mary G. Hardin Center for the Arts, Gadsden, AL   June-Aug. 2018

“Meet Me in My Dreams”, Solo Exhibition, Haas Gallery, Bloomsberg University, Bloomsberg, PA  Mar-May 2018

2017

Exhibition of photographs, “Gathered”, MOCA GA, Atlanta, GA, May-July 2017

Exhibition of photographs, “The Big Picture”, Denver, CO, Mar.-May 2017

2016

“Meet Me in My Dreams”, Solo exhibit of photographs, Southeast Center for Photography, Greenville, SC Nov.1-Dec.31, 2016

Exhibition of photographs, 4th Biennial of Fine Art and Documentary Photography, Palazzo Italia, Berlin, Germany,  Oct 6-30, 2016

“Meet Me in My Dreams”, Solo exhibit of photographs, Chastain Art Center, Atlanta, GA  August-Oct. 2016

“Meet Me in My Dreams”, Solo exhibit of photographs, Holzhauer Gallery, Mattie Kelly Arts Center, Niceville, FL.   May 23-July 23, 2016

2015

“Your Daily Photograph”, Featured photographer “Paris” section, Duncan Miller Gallery, Santa Monica, CA. Oct 12, 2015

“2nd Open Call Photography Exhibition”, Juried by Paula Tognarelli, Peter Miller Fine Art, Providence, RI, Oct-Nov. 2015

“Meet Me in My Dreams”, Solo exhibit of photographs, Allenton Gallery at the Durham Art Council, Durham, NC  Sept-Oct. 2015

“Director’s Cut”, Juried by Beth Lily, Atlanta Photography Group Gallery, Atlanta, GA  Sept. 2015

2014

“Altered Views”, Juried by S.Gayle Stevens, Lightbox Photographic, Astoria Oregon.   Oct. 2014

“Alice Curiouser and Curiouser”, Curated by Michelle Pizer, Cherrylion Gallery, Atlanta, GA  Sept, 2014

2013

“Magdalena”, curated by Joshua Mann Pailet, International House, New Orleans, LA  Dec. 2013-Jan 2014

“The Light Exhibition”, curated by Elizabeth Avedon and Jerry Atnip, Gallery One, Nashville, TN  June 2013

“Poetic Translation”, Solo Exhibition, Serenbe Photography Center, Palmetto GA, June -July 2013

“Postcard Collective”, Winter 2013 Exchange, Tucson, AZ.

New Directions 2013, curated by Ann Jastrab. Wall Space Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA and Seattle, WA.  Jan.-May 2013

6th Annual International Juried Plastic Camera Show, Rayko Photo Center, San Francisco, CA.

Mar. 6-April 22, 2013

PAST EXHIBITIONS

Slow Exposure,  Juried by Julian Cox and Brett Ellis, Zebulon ,GA  Oct.2012

Summer’s Past, Exhibition of photographs, Red Filter Gallery, Lambertville, NJ  June-Nov. 2012

Poetic Translation, Solo Exhibition, Emory University Law Library Gallery, Atlanta, GA   June-Aug. 2012

Exhibition of photographs, Call and Response,  Juried by Josephine Sacabo and Dalt Wonk, New Orleans Photo Alliance, New Orleans, LA   April-May 2012

“Poetic Translation”, Solo Exhibition of Photographs, Mason Murer Fine Art, Atlanta, GA   Feb.- April 2012

“Metaphoric”, Exhibition of photographs, Wells Gallery, Charleston, SC   Oct. 2011

“Return to Kiawah”, Solo Exhibition of photographs, Wells Gallery, Kiawah Island, SC  Nov. 2010

“Fantastic Plastic”, Exhibition of photographs,  Jennifer Schwartz Gallery, Atlanta, GA.  Oct. 2010

“Women’s Image”, Exhibition of photographs, Hagedorn Gallery, Atlanta, GA  Mar. 2010

Exhibition of Photographs, Hotel Indigo, Nashville, Tenn. Jan. 2010

Exhibition of photographs.  Hagedorn Gallery, Atlanta, Ga.  Dec. 2009

Exhibition of photographs, Juried by Julian Cox, photography curator High Museum of Art, Kai Lin Gallery, Atlanta, Ga. Oct. 2009

Exhibition of Photographs, Juried by Amy Miller, Atlanta Celebrates Photography: Snapdragon Gallery, Atlanta, Ga. Oct 2009

Exhibition of photographs ,Juried by Annette Cone-Skelton, MOCA GA. Zen Center, Atlanta, Ga. Sept. 2009

“Altered States”, Solo Exhibition of photographs,  Mason Murer Fine Art, Atlanta, GA.   Feb.-Mar. 2009

Online exhibition of photographs, Plates to Pixels juried exhibit, Pacific NW Center for Photography,  Portland, Oregon, Dec.2008-Jan.2009

Exhibition of photographs, curated by Paula Katz, Biggins Gallery, University of Auburn, Auburn, AL Oct 2008

Exhibition of photographs, Ordover Gallery, Solana Beach, CA  Sept.-  2008

Exhibition of photographs, Juried by Fay Gold,  Art Station, Atlanta, Ga.  Sept-Oct. 2008

Exhibition of photographs, Juried show, Eyedrum Gallery, Atlanta, Ga.  June 2008

Exhibition of photographs, Composition Gallery, Atlanta, Ga. Mar. 2008

“On Film”,  Varga Gallery, Woodstock, NY.  Oct. 2007

“Women in Focus XIV”, Juried by Susan Todd-Raque, Ferst Center for the Arts, Atlanta, Ga. Oct. 2007

“Reflecting Back”, Solo Exhibition of photographs.  Mason Murer Fine Art, Atlanta, Ga.  April 2007

Exhibition of photographs,  Juried Show, Composition Gallery, Atlanta, Ga. March-April 2007

Exhibition of photographs, Juried by Julian Cox, High Museum of Art, GA:, Southeastern Flower Show.  Atlanta, Ga.  Feb. 2007

“Hand to Hand,” Group installation, Nashville, Tenn.  Nov. 2006

Exhibition of photographs, Wells Gallery, South  Carolina.  May, 2005-present

Exhibition of photographs, Mason Murer, Atlanta, Ga.  May 2004

Permanent Exhibition of photographs, The Sanctuary, Kiawah Island, SC.  Installed Nov. 2003

“Interstice”, Photo installation:  Atlanta Contemporary Art Center.  June 2002

Exhibition of photographs;  Art Farm.  Atlanta, Ga.  Dec. 2000

“Hysteria”, Photo Installation; Eyedrum Gallery, Atlanta, Ga.  Nov. 1999

“Jane Doe Herself”, Photo Installation; GA. Perimeter College Gallery, Atlanta, Ga.  1998

“Paper Dolls”, Exhibition of photographs; Atlanta Public Library, Atlanta, Ga.  1998

Photo Installation, collaborative exhibit with Jane Doe: City Gallery East, Atlanta, Ga.  Oct. 1997

Exhibition of photographs; Atlanta Public Library, Atlanta, Ga.  Mar. 1997

“The Automobile in Art”, collaborative exhibition with sculptor Clark Farmer; Art Gallery At Edison, Ohio.  Feb. 1997

Exhibition of photographs; Atlanta Symphony Hall, Atlanta, GA.  1993

“Travels” Exhibition of photographs, Little Five Points Gallery, Atlanta, Ga.  1992

“Artists in Georgia” Exhibition of photographs; Albany Museum of Art, Albany, GA.  1991

Exhibition of photographs; LaGrange National, LaGrange, Ga. 1988

Exhibition of photographs; Mattress Factory Show.  Atlanta, Ga.  1987

Exhibition of photographs; Alias Gallery, Atlanta, Ga.  1986

WEB

Lenscratch  December 2019

phMagazine  Pages 30-41  Ontario, Canada, May 2014

Tone Lit   UK,  June 2014

Burn Magazine  May 2011

hf gallery   March 2010

Art Relish April 2009

Plates to Pixels 2008

View Mary Anne Mitchell’s Website

The Meat Rack

Posted on

Statement
The Meat Rack series by Sam Zalutsky explores the deep sense of wonder, beauty, and desire found in the Meat Rack, a small forest between two gay communities on Fire Island, where men have sought connection for close to a century. The two beach communities of Cherry Grove and the Fire Island Pines have served as a bucolic summer escape for generations of urban gay New Yorkers. The Meat Rack, nestled between the two towns, is filled with scraggly, otherworldly trees and shrubs and intersected by narrow pathways, some which lead to the next communities and some that dead end inexplicably in a patch of branches. Despite various threats, including periodic sting operations by forest marshals, the pink scares of the 1950s, the AIDS epidemic, and the rise of smart phone apps like Grindr or Scruff, the Meat Rack continues to be a place where sexual freedom and desire are played out in real time and in a public space, where layers of this history can be found in condom wrappers, beer bottles, tissues, and other detritus buried in the sand along the dead end trails and hidden nooks and crannies.

The series reveals and contrasts the natural beauty of this place with the heightened sense of sexuality, connection, and possibility that exist here between men; that might emerge down the path, around the corner, through the trees; where the person you “spy” through the thicket could engender just a friendly hello or maybe a passionate sexual encounter. I use infrared color film, a format developed originally by the US military for camouflage detection, to foreground the act of searching in a possibly hostile environment for sexual and emotional connection. The pink and red colors also reveal the heightened sexual energy and excitement as well as an otherworldly sense of place and purpose. The film defamiliarizes the everyday imagery of the forest, heightens the act of looking, and reflects on the hidden codes of gay male culture and public cruising, where subtle signs are still used to both reveal and hide ones’ identity, signal to like-minded individuals, and survive in potentially hostile environments.

Bio
As a photographer, Sam Zalutsky won honorable mention with two Meat Rack series photos, #3 and #8, in this year’s SoHo Photo National Competition, curated by Kris Graves. He also presented the series in MANA Contemporary’s Digital Open House. Earlier this year, two images from his Ghost Self Portrait series appeared in shows: “Katherine I,” was selected for the Photographic Center Northwest’s Distinction show, also curated by Kris Graves, and “Nutty with Ghost Self,” was part of “the imperfect lens,” at the A Smith gallery (Johnson City, TX) curated by Michael Kirchoff. Last year, Sam participated in Review Santa Fe and his photo, “Meat Rack 8,” was in the Center for Fine Art Photography’s 2018 Center Forward show (Kris Graves & Hamidah Glasgow, curators).

As a filmmaker, Sam’s new feature, SEASIDE, a revenge thriller with a queer twist, starring Ariana DeBose (Anita, Steven Spielberg’s West SideStory; Alyssa, Ryan Murphy’s The Prom;original Hamiltoncast) won Best Feature Award at the Klamath Film Festival and was a 2019 Gravitas Ventures release. His first feature, YOU BELONG TO ME (Wolfe Releasing), a gay horror story, was shortlisted for the Independent Spirit Award’s Someone to Watch Award and screened at Frameline, Outfest, Palm Springs, San Diego FilmOut (Audience Award, Best First Feature), and NewFest (Honorable Mention). Sam directed on A Crime to Rememberand I, Witness. His short, HOW TO MAKE IT TO THE PROMISED LAND, about a Holocaust role-play game at summer camp, was funded by the Jerome Foundation and premiered on ShortoftheWeek.com. He has created dozens of videos on breast cancer survivors, New York non-profits including Prep for Prep, Reach Prep, and Civic Builders, and campaign videos for New York progressive politicians Biaggi, Jackson, Richardson, and Cabán, with the Creative Resistance. Residencies: MacDowell; VCCA; Fundación Valparaiso. Sam teaches screenwriting in the Spalding University Low Residency MFA in Writing (Louisville), and has taught at NYU, Bennington, and Tec de Monterey (Queretaro). MFA, film, NYU Tisch; BA, Yale.

View Sam Zalutsky‘s website.

Sylvester Manor

Posted on

Statement
I am always drawn to subjects I find to be incongruous, and have often been told that I see things that other people don’t pay attention to.  As I’m taking pictures I think a lot about the passage of time and how things evolve over the decades.  What happened to the people who lived in these places and what were they experiencing?   The images I capture speak to me in a variety of ways, fulfilling an insatiable curiosity about the world and everything in it.

​Through the viewfinder the world is in color, but I imagine what I see in monotone.  I work with color as well, but feel that black and white gives my work a gravitas that can’t be achieved with color.  Black and white is solid, timeless.  I have studied the work of the great Parisian photographer Eugene Atget (1857-1927) and especially like his use of color (or non-color) that came from his printing process. It took me a long time to develop a similar palette, and I use it with my own ideas.

​As I photograph, I make adjustments with the composition and perspective.  I also make changes based on how I forsee the printed image.  I’ve used a lot of cameras over the years but have come to prefer digital because I like the quality and the immediate results.  Perhaps this is because when I started getting serious about photography digital cameras didn’t exist.  I used computers early on but they were primitive by today’s standards.

​I like to come back to themes.  I’ve been working on the “Passages” and “Sylvester Manor” series for several years.  For me, it’s exciting to see how places and things change over time and sometimes disappear altogether.  I prefer quiet places where I can spend time thinking about each subject without interruption, but sometimes that’s not possible.  Some places I know about and some places I find by accident. I think I’m most successful with what I find by chance.

Bio
Gary Beeber is an award-winning American photographer/filmmaker who has exhibited in galleries and museums throughout the United States and Europe.  His documentary films have screened at over 85 film festivals.  Solo (photography) exhibitions include two at Generous Miracles Gallery (NYC), two at the Griffin Museum of Photography, and upcoming exhibitions at PRAXIS Photo Arts Center, and the Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts.  Beeber’s work has also been included in juried exhibitions throughout the world. Among Fortune 500 companies who collect his work are Pfizer Pharmaceutical, Goldman Sachs and Chase Bank.

View Gary Beeber’s Website

Purchase Gary Beeber’s  book.

Tours of Duty

Posted on

Preparation for Tours of Duty has been ongoing for almost 2 years. It  includes the photographs of William Betcher (from the  Boston area) with War Games, Todd Bradley (from San Diego) with War Stories I Never Heard, Binh Danh (from San Jose, CA) with Military Foliage and One Week’s Dead, D. Clarke Evans (from the San Antonio area in Texas) with Before They Are Gone: Portraits and Stories of World War II Veterans, Suzanne Opton (New York State) with Many Wars, David Pace (from the San Francisco Bay area) and Stephen Wirtz in collaboration  with WIREPHOTO and Allison Stewart (from LA) with Bug Out Bag: The Commodification of American Fear.

The exhibition was developed under an overarching idea; in this case Tours of Duty. A “Tour of Duty” usually refers to service in the military. It commonly refers to time spent in combat or in hazardous conditions. I chose work with a broader brush however, focusing also on those who serve in a crisis that are not necessarily military personnel.

Under the Tour of Duty title, we have thematically linked 8 solo exhibitions and 8 photographers under one roof. Each exhibition stands on its own with individual titles but there are common threads that hold the exhibitions together.

This exhibition is not rooted in politics. It is more about what we can see, learn, feel and understand about war through the photographs and videos themselves without a narrative to guide us. How did the legionaries of the Roman Empire differ from the soldiers in World War II or other modern day wars? What is it like for a family at home with a soldier off at war? What are the many ways these photographers have approached the topic of war? What is it like to return home from conflict? There will be different questions and answers for different folks. Empathy however may be the impetus to finding pathways to peace making.

Researchers believe the first wars took place long before history was recorded. There is evidence of a prehistoric war along the Nile River. Archaeologists found a large group of bodies with arrowheads lodged in bones. The remains have been dated to 13000 BC. The first war to be recorded by historians is said to have been fought in 2700 BC.  It’s the 21st century. The threat of war surfaces still in pockets of the planet. We hope for the day when “all swords are fashioned into ploughshares and there will be war no more.” – PFT

Read the review from What Will You Remember.

Read the review from Mark Feeney at the Boston Globe.

Tours of Duty includes the following photographers with further details.

Todd Bradley War Stories I Never Heard is in the Main Gallery

Bio
Todd Bradley (b1970, Detroit, USA) has lived in San Diego for over 30 years; 20 of those with Walter, Todd’s husband, and their 2 Rat Terriers; Gus and Hank. Self-taught with occasional classes and workshops; he draws inspiration from photographers Lori Nix and David Levinthal. As an artist, Todd uses different mediums and styles to express his views. Todd’s work focuses on decay, whether it is organic, structures, or our society.

Todd believes the current state of photography is mirroring the early 1900’s when Kodak introduced the Brownie camera to the masses. Today, we have the cell phone. In both times, Cameras became common and artists took notice. As the Modernists once did, Todd wants to push the medium in new ways. Using a tradition photography foundation, he digitally altering his photographs or use micro dioramas to discuss social issues facing us.

Todd was named 2017 “New Talent of the Year” by the London Creative Awards and has exhibited in numerous group shows in museum and galleries worldwide. His work has been published internationally. Todd is also a founding member of Snowcreek Collaborative, a collective of fine art photographers in San Diego.

Statement
War Stories I Never Heard explores the impact of discovering a loved one’s World War II military stories after his death, and the longing for a deeper personal connection with him after he is gone.

My grandfather Raymond Bradley was just 21 years old when he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1943 to fight Hitler’s Nazi regime that was taking over the world. Hitler had been trying to create a superior race by killing the “unfit,” including Jews, the physically/mentally handicapped, and homosexuals. I am gay and I recently discovered a small percentage of my ancestry is Ashkenazi Jewish. Had I been living in 1944, my life would have been in danger; my grandfather was fighting for me 75 years ago without his knowing it.

After he passed in 2008, I was given a small box of photographs and mementos of my Grandpa Ray. I knew he had fought in Normandy, but it never registered as anything important. But all of a sudden, holding his stripes and medals in my hands, I needed to know about his time in battle. Due to the limited number of photos from D-Day and bits of information written on the backs of photos he saved, I created dioramas to fill in the gaps and recreate scenes from photographs my grandpa had kept. I tell about his time serving in the Army during WWII through still-life arrangements of memorabilia, photo collages, and our genetic DNA codes (specifically, my Y-chromosome code which is the same as my dad and grandfather’s codes), which symbolizes our family lineage and my personal connection to my grandfather.

View Todd Bradley’s Website.

Binh Danh, Military Foliage and One Week’s Dead is in the Main Gallery.

Bio
Binh Danh (MFA Stanford; BFA San Jose State University) emerged as an artist of national importance with work that investigates his Vietnamese heritage and our collective memory of war. His technique incorporates his invention of the chlorophyll printing process, in which photographic images appear embedded in leaves through the action of photosynthesis. His newer body of work focuses on nineteenth-century photographic processes, applying them in an investigation of battlefield landscapes and contemporary memorials. A recent series of daguerreotypes celebrated the United States National Park system during its anniversary year.

His work is in the permanent collections of the National Gallery of Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, The DeYoung Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Center for Creative Photography, the George Eastman Museum and many others. He received the 2010 Eureka Fellowship from the Fleishhacker Foundation, and in 2012 he was featured artist at the 18thBiennale of Sydney in Australia. He is represented by Haines Gallery, San Francisco, CA and Lisa Sette Gallery in Phoenix, AZ. He lives and works in San Jose, CA and teaches photography at San Jose State University.

Statement
Military Foliage statement is excerpted from an essay by Lori Chinn, Curator Mills College Art Gallery

“Military Foliage is an installation of framed chlorophyll prints. The series illustrates camouflage patterns that the military uses for their uniforms. Camouflage attire is meant to render the invaders less visible in hostile territory. Danh also prints the patterns onto living tropical leaves through the process of photosynthesis, embedding them with artificial designs, so that, ironically, nature is now masked. According to Danh, the remnants of war still exist in the landscape and the plants act as witnesses to the violence that has taken place on one country’s soil, “The landscape of Vietnam contains the residue of the war, blood, sweat, tears, and human remains. The dead have been incorporated into the soil of Vietnam through the cycles of birth, life, and death, the transformation of elements, and the creation of new life forms….

In addition, jungle foliage often served to conceal the North Vietnamese, both military and passive civilians, triggering the devastating defoliation campaigns with Agent Orange.” – Lori Chinn

Statement
One Week’s Dead statement is excerpted from an essay by Laura A. Guth, Associate Director at Light Work from 2007.

“Regardless of generation, cultural background, or level of direct involvement with war, we cannot escape being touched by the faces in Binh Danh’s series, titled One Week’s Dead. Danh collects photographs and other remnants of the Vietnam War and reprocesses them in a way that brings new light to a history marked by painful memories. A main source of the images is the 1969 Life magazine article, Faces of the American Dead: One Week’s Dead.1Portraits of two hundred forty-two young American men, casualties in one week of the war, were presented in a yearbook style layout, triggering a powerful public response: “the entire nation mourned those soldiers…you saw those faces, that’s what brought it home to everyone.”2

Danh returns these faces to the public’s attention nearly four decades later. Using photosynthesis, he incorporates the portraits into the cells of leaves and grasses, symbolic of the jungle itself bearing witness to scars of war that remain in the landscape. Danh’s method is based on a principle as simple as leaving a water hose on the lawn too long. The cells in leaves react to light by turning dark green, or the absence of light by turning pale. Danh is able to create images onto leaves, not by printing onto them, but by capturing the image within the leaves. By imprinting faces of war casualties and anonymous soldiers from the battlefield, Danh encapsulates remnants of history in the biological memory of plant cells. Through this process, he recycles collected news images and snapshots from an isolated past and memorializes them in the present. The final product, leaves embedded in resin, transform the source images into precious, yet permanent artifacts…..”  – Laura A. Guth

View Binh Dahn’s Website.

Suzanne Opton Many Wars is in the Main Gallery.

Bio
Suzanne Opton is the recipient of a 2009 Guggenheim Fellowship. Her soldier portraits, icons of the aftermath of the current wars, have been presented as billboards in eight American cities, and have sparked a passionate debate about issues of art and soldiering. The conversation continues on the blog at SoldiersFace.net

Suzanne’s work lives on the edge between documentary and conceptual. She often asks a simple performance from her subjects as a means of illustrating their circumstances.

Her photographs are included in the permanent collections of the Brooklyn Museum, Cleveland Museum, Dancing Bear collection, the International Center of Photography, Fotomuseum Winterthur, Library of Congress, Musee de l’Eysee, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Nelson-Atkins Museum, and Portland Art Museum. She has received grants from the NEA, NYFA, and Vermont Council on the Arts. Suzanne lives in New York and teaches at the International Center of Photography.

Statement

The warrior held a place of honor in society since the time of Sophocles. In making these portraits I wanted to suggest that although weapons may change and the proximity to killing may change, relatively changes little in the realm of how warriors are affected by combat and the struggle to overcome their training. I gave each veteran a piece of fabric. He could be a boy with a cape, a warrior, a king, a homeless person or even a martyr. Here are veterans from five wars. The portraits were primarily made on the day we met in a group therapy room at a VA clinic in Vermont. It was an open-ended collaboration. I am grateful for their trust in me and in the process.

View Suzanne Opton’s Website.

David Pace/Stephen Wirtz, “WIREPHOTO” is in the Main Gallery

Bio
David Pace is a Bay Area photographer, filmmaker and curator. He received his MFA from San Jose State University in 1991. Pace has taught photography at San Jose State University, San Francisco State University and Santa Clara University, where he served as Resident Director of SCU’s study abroad program in West Africa from 2009 – 2013. He photographed in the small sub-Saharan country of Burkina Faso in West Africa from 2007-2016 documenting daily life in Bereba, a remote village without electricity or running water. His African photographs of the Karaba Brick Quarry were exhibited in the 2019 Venice Biennale in a group show entitled “Personal Structures.” *

Pace’s images of rural West Africa have been exhibited internationally and have been featured in The New Yorker, The Financial Times of London, National Geographic, NPR’s The Picture Show, Slate Magazine, The Huffington Post, Wired, Verve, Feature Shoot, PDN and Lensculture among others. A monograph of his project Sur La Route was published by Blue Sky Books in the fall of 2014, and an exhibition catalog was published in 2016 by the Center for Photographic Art in Carmel, CA.  His collaboration with Stephen Wirtz, Images In Transition, was published in 2019 by Schilt Publishing of Amsterdam. His work is in the collections of the San Jose Museum of Art; the Portland Museum in Portland, OR; the Crocker Museum in Sacramento, CA; the Triton Museum in Santa Clara, CA; the de Saisset Museum at Santa Clara University; the Microsoft Collection and Museum Villa Haiss in Zell, Germany. Pace received the 2011 Work-In-Process Prize from the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University and was a finalist for the 2015 Gardner Fellowship in Photography at Harvard University. He is represented by the Schilt Gallery of Amsterdam.

Pace has been a member of the Board of Directors of the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art for 24 years. He is currently the chair of the Curatorial Committee. He is a member of the Acquisition Committee of the San Jose Museum of Art, and the Photography Advisory Board of Foothill College. He previously served as President of the Board of Directors of San Francisco Camerawork.

Stephen Wirtz is a collector of photographs and a former art gallerist. With Connie Wirtz he co-founded the Wirtz Gallery in San Francisco, exhibiting national and international painting, sculpture, and photography for forty years.

*Over the past few weeks beloved photographer, David Pace passed away.  He will always be in our hearts and his photographs will be on our minds. For more information see our tribute to Dave Pace on our blog.

Statement
The Wirephoto project is a collaboration between photographer David Pace and gallerist/collector Stephen Wirtz. Wirephoto re-interprets historical images from World War II that were transmitted by radio wave for subsequent publication in newspapers. The photographers are unknown and no known negatives survive. Pace and Wirtz begin with rare original prints, which they examine and radically re-crop to create new compositions. The selected details are then scanned, digitally enhanced and enlarged to make 16”x20” prints. The new scale magnifies the inherent imperfections and artifacts of the original transmission process and reveals the extensive retouching that was done to the prints both before and after transmission. Cracks in the emulsion bear witness to the age of the transmissions and add a layer of history. The alterations to the original images force us to consider the notion of truth in journalism and documentary photography as well as the role of propaganda in war photography.

View David Pace’s Website.

William Betcher War Games is in the Griffin Gallery.

Bio
William Betcher’s photographs have been exhibited in juried shows at Danforth Art, including the New England Photography Biennial, and at the Catamount Arts Center. His work has been featured in shows at the University of New England, the Mass Audubon Habitat Center, the Heart of Biddeford Gallery, Massachusetts General Hospital, and in the Norris Cotton Cancer Center at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Hospital, as well as in Solstice Magazine. His book, Anthem, For a Warm Little Pond, was included in Photobook 2016 at the Griffin Museum. He is the author of four other non-fiction books. He received a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Boston University, an M.D. from Harvard Medical School, and an MFA in fiction writing from the Vermont Center of Fine Arts. Currently, he is the photography editor for Solstice, a Magazine of Diverse Voices, and he is a psychiatrist in private practice in Needham, MA.

Statement

War Games is composed of macro photographs of as found, damaged, vintage toy soldiers from the 1930’s through 1960’s. Why were these broken toys not thrown away? Because they were important to the children who played with them, and because they have stories to tell.

Consider the boys and the men they became as implicitly present in these portraits of British, American, and German soldiers. And I invite you to reflect on war trauma and on how play mirrors and prepares for adult experience. Both long ago, and now.

The portraits take the form of one-of-a-kind, 4”x5” wet collodion tintypes that I place in 19th century brass matte cases, and 36”x24” dye sublimated aluminum prints. I also create action images and dioramas, often “dragging the shutter.”

My purpose is not to glorify but to evoke through metaphor. As the Civil War soldier and jurist, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., said on Memorial Day, 1897, “The army of the dead sweep before us, wearing their wounds like stars.”

View William Betcher’s Website.

Allison Stewart Bug Out Bag: The Commodification of American Fear is in the Founders Gallery.

Bio
Allison Stewart grew up in Houston, Texas and currently lives in Los Angeles, CA. She received her MFA in Photography from California State University Long Beach and her BFA in Painting with a minor in Art History from the University of Houston. Allison travels the United States exploring the construction of American identity through its relics, rituals, and mythologies. Her work has been published and exhibited internationally, including Cortona On The Move, the Aperture Foundation, The Wright Museum, The New Mexico History Museum, The Griffin Museum of Photography, The New Republic, Die Zeit, Wired, Mother Jones, and Vogue Italia. Her work has been honored by the Magenta Foundation, IPA, the Texas Photographic Society, and the Houston Center for Photography. Her work is included in the Rubell Family Collection, The New Mexico History Museum Palace of the Governors Photo Archive, the University of Wisconsin Alumni Association, and private collections. Allison is a founding member of the Association of Hysteric Curators.

Statement

Hurricanes.  Earthquakes.  Superstorms.  War.  Martial Law.  The Rapture.  The Zombie Apocalypse. Bug Out Bags are manifestations of the fears and obsessions of the 21st Century American. The Bug Out Bag is the most basic piece of gear for disaster preparedness. It is usually a backpack or an easy to carry duffel bag containing the essentials needed to sustain life for 72 hours, or to possibly begin a new civilization.  As I traveled the different regions of the United States I met liberals and conservatives, atheists, evangelicals, Catholics, and Mormons.  They are prepared and they are prepared to help others. Each bag becomes a portrait of its owner, showing us their most basic needs and also their fears in the face of environmental and global change.  The contents reflect the survivalist instincts and character of each owner.  Everyone I meet tells me that preparedness is a necessity in Post 9/11 America.  They are eager to discuss their fears, share tips and some even share their resources.  Most are community minded but some are fiercely independent.  Independence is a fundamental principle when describing the American character.  We praise the self-reliant man and credit him for the shining city upon the hill, but America has changed and our fears are running rampant.  The new self-reliant American no longer experiences transcendence in nature as Thoreau once did, but instead, escapes to nature in an effort to hoard and protect property.  Prepping has become a capitalist enterprise, banking on our fears and desires for stability.

View Allison Stewart’s Website.

D. Clarke Evans Before They Are Gone: Portraits and Stories of World War II Veterans is in the Atelier Gallery.

Bio
D. Clarke Evans, a graduate of Brooks Institute of Photography, served in the Marine Corps Reserve from 1964-1970 and was honorably discharged as a Sergeant. He has a Master of Arts degree in Museum Science from Texas Tech University. He is the recent Past President of the Texas Photographic Society (TPS), www.texasphoto.org, a non-profit fine arts photographic organization. Under his leadership, TPS sponsored 54 exhibitions that were shown in 21 Texas cities, New York, Florida & California. Through sister organizations in Europe, TPS exhibited Texas artists in France, Italy, Germany, and Greece. While Clarke was President, membership increased from 100 Austin based members to over 1,250 from 48 States and 11 countries. The Board of Directors honored him with the title of President Emeritus. 

Statement

Dick Cole’s story changed the course of my life. We met at one of the first Monday of the month breakfasts I attend with other Marines, in which we honor World War II veterans. I started attending these breakfasts several years ago when I began photographing and interviewing U.S. Marines. However, I had too little time to fully pursue the project as I was team photographer for the San Antonio Spurs. That Monday, when Lt.Col. Cole, ( in his 90’s like all WWII vets), told me his story, I knew that I needed to take these photos and give testimony to these stories now! After 25 years as the Spurs photographer, I retired to begin the project “Before They’re Gone: Portraits and Stories from World War II Veterans.” Dick Cole was Medal of Honor winner Jimmy Doolittle’s co-pilot during the famous Doolittle Raid on Tokyo in April 1942. It was the U.S.’s response to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Cole is a genuine American hero, one of Tom Brokaw’s “Greatest Generation.” In this project I honor veterans, revealing snapshots of their lives. Each is photographed and interviewed in their home, to offer a fuller picture of their life before, during and after their service. The finished image is 13×18, framed to 18×24, accompanied by an 10×13 biography, featuring interview highlights and a small photo from their active duty days. This project will preserve important stories and memories of World War II veterans. Many WWII veterans became quite accomplished in later careers. Their office walls reflect those accomplishments, displaying awards, plaques and medals. Entering veterans’ homes, determining a suitable shoot location, lighting the subject and environs, and creating an exhibition image is an ambitious undertaking that I love. Each participant is thanked with a 7×11 photo framed to 14×17. The project will result in museum and gallery exhibitions and a book. These rapidly disappearing Americans represent this “greatest generation” of more than 16 million Americans who served. Fewer than 400,000 remain, and approximately 400 die each day. Soon there will be no veterans alive to recount their experiences. This urgency propels me to take their portraits and record their stories now. Photographing ”The Greatest Generation” has been the experience of a lifetime. These veterans are humble, grateful, with most being sharp as a tack. I believe my father said it best when I queried, “Dad, describe World War II to me in 25 words or less.” He glared at me and harshly said, “It was four years of just trying to stay alive.” My one overriding goal is to photograph these veterans with the dignity that they deserve. 

View D. Clarke Evans’ Website.

See What Will You Remember’s Newsletter

The 2020 Arnold Newman Prize For New Directions in Photographic Portraiture Exhibition

Posted on

The Arnold Newman Prize for New Directions in Photographic Portraiture is a $20,000 prize awarded annually by Maine Media Workshops + College to a photographer whose work demonstrates a compelling new vision in photographic portraiture. In addition to the winner, the jury selects three finalists each year who are invited to participate in an exhibit at the Griffin Museum of Photography.

Jon Henry is the recipient of 2020 Arnold Newman Prize, one of the nation’s largest in the world of photographic portraiture. Provoking timely themes of family, socio-political issues, grief, trauma, and healing within the African American community, Henry’s work will be on View at The Griffin Museum from October 1 through 23, 2020

Henry’s award-winning work entitled Stranger Fruit was created in response to the senseless murders of black men across the nation by police violence. According to his artist statement, “Even with smart phones and dash cams recording the actions, more lives get cut short due to unnecessary and excessive violence.” 

About the Winner: Jon Henry is a visual artist who works with photography and text. He is from Queens, NY and currently living in Brooklyn. His work has been published both nationally and internationally and exhibited in numerous galleries including Aperture Foundation, Smack Mellon, and BRIC among others. Known for the cultural activism in his work, his projects include studies of athletes from different sports and their representations. He was recently named one of LensCulture‘s Emerging Artists for 2019, an En Foco Fellow for 2020 and he has also won the Film Photo Prize for Continuing Film Project sponsored by Kodak.

In this series, Henry photographs mothers with their sons in their environment, reenacting what it must feel like to endure this pain. “The mothers in the photographs have not lost their sons, but understand the reality that this could happen to their family,” Henry explains. “The mother is also photographed in isolation, reflecting on the absence. When the trials are over, the protesters have gone home and the news cameras gone, it is the mother left. Left to mourn, to survive.” The title of the project is a reference to the song “Strange Fruit.” Instead of black bodies hanging from the Poplar Tree, “these fruits of our families, our communities, are being killed in the street.”

About the Award: The Prize is funded by the Arnold and Augusta Newman Foundation and administered by Maine Media Workshops + College. The influential and revered photographer and educator, Arnold Newman, enjoyed a decades’ long association with Maine Media, where he taught numerous photographic workshops over the years. The Arnold and Augusta Newman Foundation has continued his legacy at the College, supporting scholarships, media production, a distinguished lecture series, and the prestigious Arnold Newman Prize in Photographic Portraiture, a cash prize of $20,000 accompanied by an exhibition awarded annually to a photographer whose work demonstrates a compelling new vision in photography.”

About the Selection Process: Selected by a jury of world-renowned photographers Makeda Best (Richard L. Menschel Curator of Photography at Harvard University), Aline Smithson (Los Angeles based visual artist, educator, and editor), and Dan Winters (award-winning portrait photographer, illustrator, filmmaker, and writer), each juror brought to the selection process a unique perspective guided by distinguished insight, analysis, and integrity. 
The winner and finalists for the 2020 Arnold Newman Prize in Photographic Portraiture are invited to participate in a museum exhibition. The finalists this year include The Talk by Michael Darough, Solar Portraits by Rubén Salgado Escudero, and Buttons for Eyes by Priya Kambli.

About the Exhibition: The Griffin Museum of Photography will exhibit Henry’s award-winning work, as well as that of the finalists, from October 1 through 23. On October 8, the awards ceremony and reception will take place. Please reserve your reservation to attend the reception via the Griffin Museum’s website.

About the Arnold & Augusta Newman Foundation: Thanks to a generous gift of $1.125M from the Arnold and Augusta Newman Foundation, the largest philanthropic contribution in the history of Maine Media College, the resources from this permanent endowment will be used to cultivate and celebrate the photographic arts. “Arnold Newman had a profound influence on photographers in the latter half of the 20th Century,” noted Maine Media President Michael Mansfield. “That his legacy continues to shape conversations around photography, to support new generations of image makers – portraiture in the 21st century – is truly inspiring.””

About the Photographers:

Awardee – Jon Henry

Artist Statement
Stranger Fruit was created in response to the senseless murders of black men across the nation by police violence. Even with smart phones and dash cams recording the actions, more lives get cut short due to unnecessary and excessive violence.

Who is next? Me? My brother? My friends? How do we protect these men?

Lost in the furor of media coverage, lawsuits and protests is the plight of the mother. Who, regardless of the legal outcome, must carry on without her child.

I set out to photograph mothers with their sons in their environment, reenacting what it must feel like to endure this pain. The mothers in the photographs have not lost their sons, but understand the reality, that this could happen to their family. The mother is also photographed in isolation, reflecting on the absence. When the trials are over, the protesters have gone home and the news cameras gone, it is the mother left. Left to mourn, to survive.

The title of the project is a reference to the song “Strange Fruit.” Instead of black bodies hanging from the Poplar Tree, these fruits of our families, our communities, are being killed in the street. – JH

Bio
Jon Henry is a visual artist working with photography and text, from Queens NY (resides in Brooklyn). His work reflects on family, sociopolitical issues, grief, trauma and healing within the African American community. His work has been published both nationally and internationally and exhibited in numerous galleries including Aperture Foundation, Smack Mellon, and BRIC among others. Known foremost for the cultural activism in his work, his projects include studies of athletes from different sports and their representations.

He was recently named one of LensCulture’s Emerging Artists for 2019, an En Foco Fellow for 2020 and he has also won the Film Photo Prize for Continuing Film Project sponsored by Kodak

See Jon Henry’s website.

Finalist – Michael Darough

Artist Statement
The Talk (2018-Present) was created in response to the Black Lives Matter Movement.  The faceless men represent individuals affected by this systemic issue.  Those void of the figure symbolize the stories that struggle to be told; they ones that do not receive news coverage.  Incarceration rates, racial profiling and fatalities from law enforcement disproportionately affect individuals of color.  Police officers have the difficult task of protecting and serving our communities.  They are people we depend on in common and extreme situations. I have nothing but respect for these women and men who risk their lives daily, but every black family still has to have “the talk” with their children; especially their sons.  Every few months a high-profile story emerges about another individual who is a victim of the criminal justice system.  These situations have become all too common.

Social media and the digital age have given us access to see how excessive force has been used in several situations with individuals of color.  These problems are not new.  As a country we transitioned from slavery and Jim Crow laws to segregation to civil rights.  These issues went from overt to covert.  Although these matters regarding race are better than they have been in decades, we still have problems within our society that have yet to be properly addressed and fixed. -MD

Bio
Michael Darough graduated from the University of Memphis, earning an MFA in photography in 2011. He received his BFA in photography from Arizona State University in 2007. His work explores personal and cultural identity though tableau and portraiture. Darough received a Fulbright seminar grant addressing diversity in German education, which was hosted by the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.  He is a nationally exhibiting artist whose work has recently been shown at the Brooks Museum of Art in Memphis, TN, the Center for Fine Art Photography in Fort Collins, CO and was a Silver Eye Fellowship 20 recipient.  Currently he is an artist and educator working out off St. Louis, MO.

See Michael Darough’s website

Finalist – Rubén Salgado Escudero
Artist Statement
The International Energy Agency estimates that roughly 1.1 billion people in the world still live without access to electricity. For many communities worldwide candles, which are both expensive and dangerous, are the only source of light available once the sun sets. As building the requisite infrastructure to connect remote and rural villages to the grid will still take a long time, solar energy is a viable and much-needed solution that has the potential to improve the lives of millions immediately. Small, inexpensive photovoltaic power (PV) systems can provide households with 12 hours of light during the night, allowing people to do more with their waking hours at no additional cost.

Looking at the larger picture of our planet’s environment, solar energy has the potential to make a substantial positive impact on the earth’s C02 footprint. The Environmental Protection Agency shows that generating electric power causes over a third of all greenhouse gas emissions so reducing the electricity we draw from the grid means reducing carbon emissions.

Solar Portraits depict the lives of people, many of which for the frst time have access to electricity through the power of solar energy. Locations are chosen that have pre-existing access to solar technology, so that the storytelling expresses the direct experience of individuals within the community. Each protagonist was asked how having

electricity has affected their life. The scenes have all been lit only by solar powered light bulbs, most their own, which are contributing to the improvement in these people’s standard of living.

Solar Portraits is not only an artistic project, but has foundation support with registered non-proft (501(c)3) status for its growing social impact initiative. The series has become an educational tool, bringing workshops and creative programming to the youngest members of communities documented which leads to collaboration with reciprocity. Students build a simple solar lamp or solar art project, with a focus on opening the door for bright young minds to learn about themes of solar energy innovation, global citizenship, and personal empowerment.

Bio
Rubén Salgado Escudero was born in Madrid, Spain. He lived in the United States throughout his teenage years, graduating from the Savannah College of Art and Design. In 2014 he decided to change his life completely, leaving behind a ten-year long career in 3D-character animation in Germany. Instead he leaves for Myanmar to pursue his passion for photography and document the opening of a country that had been closed to the world for more than half a century. Today he is based in Mexico.

Rubén’s works have been exhibited in over 20 cities worldwide including New York, London, Tokyo and at the Les Rencontres d’Arles photo festival in France. He is a member of The Photo Society, a community of National Geographic Magazine photographers. As an experienced lecturer, Rubén has given a TedX Talk in Beijing, and continues giving talks worldwide for National Geographic Learning, and other institutions such as Museo Soumaya in México City and the Sony Gallery in New York City.

His projects have been published in most major international publications, and has won various international awards including the Sony World Photography Award two years in a row and the POY Latam (Picture of the Year). More of his work can be seen on his instagram @rubensalgadoescudero.

See Rubén Salgado Escudero’s website.

Finalist – Priya Kampli
Artist Statement
My work has always been informed by the loss of my parents, my experience as a migrant, and an archive of family photographs I brought with me to America. For the past decade, this archive of family photographs has been my primary source material in creating bodies of work which explore the migrant narrative and challenges of cross-cultural understanding.

When I was a child, my inability to ever find anything, even objects right in front of me, lead to my mother’s playful question, “Do you have eyes or buttons for eyes?”. Intended as lighthearted criticism, her question summarized my inability to see, look, observe, find. Buttons for Eyes is my response to her playful yet nuanced question. A question laced with parental fear; if you can’t see, look, observe, find then how will you successfully navigate the world? Now that I am older than my mother was when she said those words, I see the world from my adopted home in the United States, and from within an environment of heightened anti-immigrant rhetoric which has altered the context in which migrant voices like mine are heard. Using the photographic lens, I strive to understand the formation and erasure of identity that is an inevitable part of the migrant experience by providing a much-needed personal perspective on the resulting fragmentation of family, identity and culture.

Despite these weighty issues, there is playfulness embedded in the very title Buttons for Eyes. I am imagining what we might see with our button eyes; suggesting that seeing clearly calls for seeing the world in more unusual ways. Play occurs in this work in my use of both color and natural light. These are materials to manipulate; split into sparks, smear into rainbows, and find shimmering back from the depths of powdered pigments. In this series my concern for the past that is lost to me is apparent, but so is my concern for the future and the losses that will come. And although this work mythologizes the past and present it also plays games with them. It winks, pokes and inverts – suggesting joyousness – mixed with the loss and regret that accompanies us all. – PK

Bio
Priya Kambli received her BFA at the University of Louisiana in Lafayette and an MFA from the University of Houston. She is currently Professor of Art at Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri.

In her work Kambli, has always strived to understand the formation and erasure of identity that is an inevitable part of the migrant experience, exploring the resulting fragmentation of family, identity and culture. This began with her Suitcase Series in 2006, which referenced her journey to the United States, and her act of distilling her entire life up until then to fit within a single suitcase, which weighed about 45 Kg. The same concerns carry through to her current body of work, Buttons for Eyes. In this body of work Kambli explores broader cultural debates around migration and identity, particularly as they have been recast in the dramatically changed context of anti-immigrant rhetoric now amplified at the highest levels of government, and which has altered the context in which migrant voices like hers are heard.

Kambli’s artwork has been well received, having been exhibited, published, collected and reviewed in the national and international photographic community. She was the winner of the inaugural Female in Focus, 2019 award – aimed at addressing the gender imbalance in the industry by highlighting the exceptional quality of work by female photographers around the world. The success of Kambli’s work underlines the fact that she is engaged in an important dialogue, and reinforces her intent to make work driven by a growing awareness of the importance of many voices from diverse perspectives and the political relevance of our private struggles.

See Priya Kambli’s website.

View Review of the exhibition by Suzanne Revy of What Will You Remember

 

 

 

MENU