Search This Blog

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

InVision College Photography Contest

Photo: Nick Nichols

The little town of Bethlehem—Pennsylvania that is—will host an all-new photography festival the weekend of November 5 through 7, and if you're a photo student your work could be a part of it. Called InVision, the festival will take place at the Banana Factory, the town's main arts venue. (The building actually was once a banana distribution warehouse, complete with the tarantulas that like to go along for the ride.) It will feature slide talks by top shooters such as National Geographic's Nick Nichols and renowned fine-art photographer Larry Fink, a printing workshop by former U.N. chief photographer John Isaac, and portfolio reviews by Magnum photographer Alex Webb, plus a special evening event called "Magnum and Microbrews" in which participants will drink regionally-made beers while hobnobbing with photographers from that venerable photo agency. There will be several exhibitions during the event.

One of these will show prints by the winners of the new InVision College Photography Competition. The work of approximately 30 student photographers will be chosen for the show, and first, second, and third cash prizes of $1,500, $1,000, and $500 will be awarded, plus two honorable mentions. You can submit up to five images on a CD for a flat entry fee of $25; the CD should be mailed (with check) to curator Rachel Akers at the Banana Factory, 25 W. Third Street, Bethlehem, PA 18015. Hurry, because the deadline is September 29th, and be sure to include complete contact information on he entry form, which can be downloaded at http://www.artsquest.org/invision. (Click the Exhibitions/Contest links.) Your work can be offered for sale, if you like, with the Banana Factory taking 35 percent; the proceeds go towards running the organization's programs for at-risk youth. To find out more about the festival itself, read all about it in the November/December issue of American Photo magazine.

The exhibition will be juried by Larry Fink and Ricardo Viera, executive director of nearby Lehigh University's art galleries. Winners will be notified by e-mail on or before October 11th. If you win, you'll have to make sure your actual printed, framed and/or ready-to-hang work arrives at the Banana Factory between October 22nd and 24th, whether mailed or dropped off. The size limit, frame included, is four feet square. The show will open to the public on October 30, with an opening reception on Friday, November 5, the same evening as Larry Fink's talk. It will be up for viewing through November 21—and the work of the winners and honorable mentions will be published in an upcoming issue of American Photo On Campus magazine.

The Architectural Unconscious

All mediums accepted.

Title: "The Architectural Unconscious"
Deadline: April 29 Submissions Due by 5pm EST
Entry Fee: You may submit up to three pieces for a non-refundable entry fee of $20.
Description:
Possibly the most exquisite combination of "form meets function" exists around
us all. For civilizations the architecture that emerged has served a wealth of uses,
from the most utilitarian purposes to the most intricate historical records. However,
the vast impressiveness and monumental achievement of the architecture we
experience, typically distracts us from the efforts that lead to such an enormous
structure. "The Architectural Unconscious" is an exhibition that celebrates everything
architecture produces, yet overshadows in appreciation. In other words,
architecture yields sculptures, drawings, photographs, paintings, plans, detailed
models, and many other forms of art that demand our attention. Insightful
appreciations for these humble beginnings will undoubtedly provide a more clear
perspective for the significance of civilization's structures.

The Bigger Picture | Scholarships
























Adobe InDesign Basics for Artists and Creative Professionals

Saturday, April 9 and Sunday, April 10, 1 - 4 p.m.

Designing Your Artist "Brand" Identity

Saturday, May 14 and Sunday, May 15, 1 - 4 p.m.

Business 101 for Photographers and Artists with Richard Kelly

Thursday, April 14, 6:30 - 9:30 p.m.

Your Personalized Artist Business Plan with Richard Kelly

Saturday, May 21, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Silver Eye Photo Safari: Nature Photograpy in Frick Park

with Christopher T. Rolinson

Saturday, May 28, 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Call For Entry | Redux

For Immediate Release

Desotorow Gallery announces a call to artists for “Redux,” an exhibition to be held April 22 - April 28, 2011. In celebration of Earth Day, Desotorow Gallery presents “Redux”, an exhibit that celebrates environmental consciousness by bringing together works that create awareness about the environment with works created

The juried exhibition “Redux” is open to national and international artists of all levels. To be considered, an entry form, entry fee, artist statement and digital images of the artwork should be submitted to Desotorow Gallery by 5pm, April 12, 2011. A $20 submission fee allows for the submission of up to 3 pieces of work. Artists will receive notification of the list of selected pieces through email on April 13.

Further information about submitting work for the exhibition “Redux,” including a complete list of dates, submission guidelines and forms, can be found at
http://desotorow.org/?p=533

Any questions about Desotorow Gallery and this exhibition can be addressed by calling 912.355.8204 or emailing info@desotorow.org.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Student Portfolio | Marie Mashyna






















Marie Mashyna, Black. 2011 (Color Photography I)






















Marie Mashyna, Blue. 2011 (Color Photography I)

























Marie Mashyna, Cream. 2011 (Color Photography I)
























Marie Mashyna, Green. 2011 (Color Photography I)
























Marie Mashyna, Red. 2011 (Color Photography I)
























Marie Mashyna, Gray. 2011 (Color Photography I)
















Marie Mashyna, Yellow. 2011 (Color Photography I)

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Call for Papers

In support of young scholars conducting innovative research in contemporary art, Art&Education is pleased to announce a Call for Papers for its inaugural Papers Prize, which includes a research sum of 2000 USD and the opportunity to present a paper at a conference, organized by Artforum & e-flux co-sponsored by Society of Contemporary Art Historians, on the subject of the deregulation in art practice and history.
What is the relationship between art and deregulation? Over the past four decades, the deregulation of global markets has been accompanied by the rise of flexible labor, the proliferation of highly sophisticated financial instruments, and increasing social complexity. Art&Education wishes to examine the possible links between such economic shifts, the putative rise of post-industrial society, and contemporary artistic practices, taking into account the renewed global interest in performativity, social and technological networks, and collaboration. By considering such topics in dialogue or counterpoint with historical precedents, we hope to arrive at a more sophisticated understanding of artistic production and reception today–a field in which rules aren't bent but are simply fluid.
Proposals may include subjects such as:
  • Pre-histories and legacies of institutional critique
  • Models of artistic autonomy within historical conditions of economic deregulation
  • The legislation of public-private partnership between the state, funders, and art institutions
  • The recent "pedagogical turn" in which art and education entwined, and the concurrent decline of higher education and student activism
  • The changing forms of artistic resistance and critique, to include strategies of appropriation, mimicry and performativity
  • The rise of alternative spaces, and their changing relation to traditional spaces of the museum, gallery and studio
  • Post-studio art practices and the dematerialized artwork as it relates to social and economic mechanisms of Post-Fordism.
  • Reconfiguration of Think Tanks as a discursive and social model in contemporary art
Final Entries will be reviewed by the Selection Jury:
Daniel Birnbaum, Director, Moderna Museet
Claire Bishop, Associate Professor of Art History, The Graduate Center, CUNY
Tim Griffin, Artforum International
Suzanne Hudson, Co-founder and President of the Society of Contemporary Art Historians
Molly Nesbit, Professor Art History, Vassar College
Brian Kuan Wood, Editor, e-flux journal
One submission will be chosen as a recipient of the Art&Education Papers Prize. The winner and two-runners up will be given the opportunity to present a 20-minute portion of their research at a conference, featuring both invited and submitted papers and presentations. Details will be announced at a later date.
Texts should be research-based articles pertaining to art history or contemporary art, and may be drawn from conference papers, seminar papers, dissertation chapters, etc. All submitted texts will be considered for publication on Art&Education
We ask that you submit pieces anywhere from 2,000 to 6,000 words with a 100 word abstract and full contact information by midnight of May 30th 2011.
No late submissions will be considered.
Please submit articles, abstract and bios by email to papers@artandeducation.net.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Silver Eye | Future Forward

.

OPENING RECEPTION
March 25, 2011, 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Admission is free and open to the public.

First Annual Members' Exhibition Juried by Darren Ching, Klompching Gallery
Showcasing Recent Projects by Six National Photographers

The Silver Eye Center for Photography is pleased to present Future Forward, our first annual members' exhibition juried by Darren Ching, owner of Klompching Gallery in Brooklyn, New York, and creative director of Photo District News, the award-winning monthly magazine for the professional photographer.

Future Forward attracted more than 100 national and international photographers who submitted over 1,000 individual images for consideration. From this extremely impressive pool of artists, Darren Ching selected six photographers for this inaugural members' exhibition. They are: Susan A. Barnett (New York, NY); Hope Guzzo (Laurel, MD); Nic Lyons (San Francisco, CA); Leigh Merrill (Dallas, TX); Monika Merva (Brooklyn, NY); and Stephen Strom (Sonoita, AZ).

"The six photographers in the exhibition are as diverse in the concern with the subject, and approach to photography, as the wide scope of entrants from which they were selected," said juror Darren Ching. "As different as they are, they do share a common denominator -- top quality of execution in their work, well-formed ideas and a high level of uniqueness."

Click here for more information on the Future Forward exhibition.

Images (left to right):
Susan A. Barnett, Budweiser, 2010; Leigh Merrill, Bushes, 2009; Monika Merva, In the Woods, 2002; Stephen Strom, Sandstone Layers, White Pocket, UT, 2010; Hope Guzzo, Tomato, 2010; Nic Lyons, Files, 2010

silvereye center for photography
1015 East Carson Street / Pittsburgh, PA 15203 / p. 412.431.1810 / www.silvereye.org

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Studio Workshop April 8th @ 9AM to 10:30AM



If you are interested in gaining access to the studio you must attend a Studio Workshop. The workshop will be instructed by Chris, Patrick, and Andy. A representative from Photography Club will also be present. You MUST RSVP if you are attending!!!!

RSVP either from the Facebook page or email me at:
Remington_taylor@me.com

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Students Write | Tyler Jackson


In Death, We Find Peace.
by: Tyler Jackson


Nan Goldin’s The Ballad of Sexual Dependency is a series of photographs that follows the lives of her and her friends and their travels between 1979 and 1986. In this series, Nan utilizes a snapshot aesthetic to produce images that revolved around common themes in their lives. Some of these themes included sex, drugs, abuse, gay subcultures, and the affect of the AIDS epidemic. One of the hardest hitting photographs in this series that hits on just about all of these common themes is a photograph titled Gotscho Kissing Gilles (Deceased).

Gotscho Kissing Gilles (Deceased) is a color photograph that was produced in 1993. Depicted in this image are two gay lovers, Gotscho and Gilles. Gotscho is a stocky, bigger built, white man; we can only see a profile of his face, but from this angle one can take notice of his well defined features. He sports a large, bird-like nose; wide, almost elephant-esque ears; softly lidded eyes and spotlessly bald head; the rest of his body is obscured by a white, long-sleeved shirt that hugs to his burly form. If Gotscho’s form could be compared to that of a fit bodybuilder, then Gilles body could easily be compared to that of a malnourished adolescent from a third-world country. At this point, Gilles life has already faded away and he lies motionless in his hospital bed—but despite that, his skin retains its warmth and tan color; and as though he had actually been basking in the sun, his oily, sweat-covered skin reflects patches of the dim, sterile light of his hospital room. He too has a bird-like nose, ears that appear as long as they are thin, darkly lidded and sunken-in eyes, and thin lips that have been glossed over in a layer of sweat and saliva. His already well-defined features are further emphasized by the almost skeletal appearance of his sunken-in face; a condition no doubt inflicted upon him by the AIDS virus, from which he had been afflicted for years. The rest of his body is hidden beneath a t-shirt that perhaps fit him at one time, but has since become too large for his frail, sickly body. Two fluffy, white pillows prop up Gilles head as Gotscho leans into him to leave a parting kiss on the bridge of his lover’s nose. The two lovers’ heads are framed almost perfectly by the sleek, metal frame of the hospital bed; while the rest of the stark room seems to be nearly barren, with the exception of some wires hanging down behind the bed and a few pieces of what could be assumed to be medical equipment occupying the top right corner of the photo. Upon further reflection, one could reason that the dim fluorescent lighting of the hospital room seeks to flatten the colors in this photograph; which creates a feeling of emptiness and loss that is metaphorical to the actual event of this photo.

Nan Goldin has made it a mission in her work to document her everyday life and the lives of those closest to her. She has said herself that this need to photograph those closest to her comes from the tragic suicide of her older sister, which occurred when she was just 14-years-old. Goldin has gone on to say that her greatest regret was that because she was not very close to her sister, she had almost nothing to remember her by after she died; and that the realization that she would never have any keepsakes of her was something that deeply disturbed her. From that point on, she sought to use photography as a means to document not only her own life, but the lives of her friends, all from her own perspective. In order to do this successfully, Nan had to be actively involved in the everyday lives of her friends, a boundary that few friends dare to cross; but a boundary that, nonetheless, seems to non-existent and has no strain on their relationships with one another whatsoever. The lives of Nan and her close circle of friends was propelled and driven around the underground world of gay culture, drugs, alcohol, and the AIDS epidemic; so for them, death was not something that was neither unheard of nor uncommon. Gay bashings, overdoses, alcohol poisoning and drunk driving, and AIDS related deaths were all something that hovered over their shoulders on a day to day basis. They all lived in a world where death was one pill or prick away, but in spite of that, they refused to stop living the lives that were fulfilling to them. But, slowly and surely, the years and the habits began to catch up to all of them; and soon enough, several of Nan’s closest friends fell victim to the AIDS virus. Thus, the purpose of Goldin’s work finally begins to find its voice in the documentation of the lives of her friends who have since passed on, leaving little left to their names than the moments that Nan spent with them and managed to capture.

From this information, one can derive an archetypal meaning from this photo: the idea that everyone that you know will, one day, inevitably, die. Because of the sudden death of her sister, it stands to reason that Nan understands this universal fact and seeks to document the lives of those who never get around to documenting it themselves. Through this particular photograph, Goldin seeks to capture a soft and tender moment between two lovers after one has passed away. But more than that, Nan seeks to capture a moment that she herself never got to have with her sister; and as such, seems to be living vicariously, as she seems to with many photos, through the lives of her two friends. It is in this exact moment that she captures precisely the kind of tenderness, closeness, and intimacy that she never had the opportunity to share with her sister, and that she has clearly so desperately longed for since her sister died. I think that Goldin is also trying to use her own life experience and the experiences of her friends as an example for her audience to live by. She is trying to convey that not only is death an inevitability, but that it is something that everyone should learn to find peace with in some way; because regardless of whether we are ready or not, death is coming. And I do not think that she necessarily means this in an cynical way either, but more in an optimistic way that encourages her audience to not only to cherish life and the lives of those around us, but to also share in as many moments with the people we love as we can; because one day, they will be gone, are there will not be anything we can do to change that.

Nan Goldin’s intimate style of photography and desire to not miss a moment with the people she cares for the most reaches down to the core of all of her work, and Gotscho Kissing Gilles (Deceased) is no exception. I personally can think of no other photograph that encompasses the negative subjects of death, loss, and heart break, and turns it them into an image that is both touching and moving to the point of creating peace with the reality of the subject. American freelance journalist, Chuck Palahniuk, once said, “We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is to create something that will” (Palahniuk); and with this photo, Nan succeeds in creating a means for the lives and memories of these two lovers to live on forever and into the afterlife.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Issues in Contemporary Photography, Summer 2011

Photography Club Critique Nights

Want to get feedback on your photography projects, find some inspiration, or just see some beautiful photographs?

Then join us this Friday (March 18) at 6:00pm for an open critique night!
There will be doughnuts provided (while they last!)
Additionally the digital lab and the darkroom will be open for students to work!

Critique Nights is an on going effort to strengthen our on campus photography community to help inspire our work.

The next Critique Night will be held before the next Speaking Light Lecture on March 25th in the JVH lobby at 4:30. The lecture will be at 6:00pm in the JVH Auditorium.

Hope you all can make it! Have a great week!

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Students Write | Maggie O'Hara


Images Within Images
by: Maggie O’Hara


Kenneth Josephson is a photographer who incorporates a style that resembles traditional black and white documentary photography with the ideas of a conceptual process. Josephson earned a BFA from the Rochester Institute of Technology where he studied under well know photographer Minor White. He was then sent to Germany by the U.S. army where he trained in photolithography. From here, Josephson was a professor at The School of The Art Institute of Chicago from 1960 to 1997. Josephson created images in the 1960s and 1970s that placed him at the forefront of Conceptual photography. During this time of his early photographic career, he focused on the act of picture making and poked fun at photographic truth and illusion. Josephson brought the idea that not all photographs are always truthful to the table. His playful, juxtapositions of photographs challenge our perspectives and invite us to consider different concepts of images. Josephson incorporates energetic compositions and creates beautiful objects with his printing. Yet, he is always consciously utilizing humor. His work suggests a span of perspectives beyond the physical boundaries of the photograph. He encourages the viewer to consider that what they are seeing is not just the single existence of the image, itself, but other occurrences or things that may have happened before to influence the production of the image. Josephson’s art includes a series of ideas and images that are beautiful, considerate, and humorous.

The specific photograph that truly grabs my attention comes from a series of pictures within pictures. The image is titled “Polapan, 1973”, and it assures us that we should question the trueness of photography. This image, along with many others from this specific series, definitely challenges me to dedicate serious thought to how an image works in the mind. Sure, I’ve seen images that resemble those of this series, but it’s something special about this specific photograph that leaves me pleasantly mystified in my own mind. The photograph exhibits an expressive subject matter: a short, black, and, what appears to be, corduroy skirt. Just beneath this delicate skirt lies a pair of pale, bare legs. These legs appear so perfect, almost like they could be made of porcelain and broken by a delicate touch. The legs are reclining against a sheet with a playful pattern of lines that invites me, nearly begs me, to look closer. I’m not sure what it is about the pattern, but my eyes are drawn to the very middle of the picture no matter what line of the pattern my eyes are first fixed on. No matter the definite direction of the line, my eyes are drawn to the center of the photograph. The black lines against the white background of the sheet lure my eyes to the blackness of the skirt.

The photograph is shot so frontally that the woman seems almost to be standing upright rather than being in her assumed position of lying. Resting on the skirt is a Polaroid of a woman’s naked thighs and abdomen. Again, I am invited to look closer. There is something so queer about the fact of the Polaroid of naked body parts being placed over where they would be had the subject not been clothed. The Polaroid, revealing the beauty of a woman’s naked abdomen, is, I’m assuming, strategically placed in the center of the image. It’s the darkness of the hair, next to the pale legs, against the dark skirt, above the pale legs that are resting on the patterned sheet that creates a beautiful movement. It’s a sense of repetition I get in looking at this image. I see the repetition of, obviously, an image within an image, but also a repetition of tones within these images. The formal elements of this photograph are undeniably wonderful.

The Polaroid is obviously lying on top of a woman’s skirt, yet the effect of this addition acts like a window. It allows us to think that we are seeing the whole truth, as if we were looking right through a window. The woman is clothed, but nonetheless she is revealed. The message of this image is certainly mixed but not altogether unclear. It seems as though it is the photographer who is in complete control. The photographer is able to capture and make permanent what he wishes. The subject is unable to hide from the lens of the camera; from the eyes of the camera. Josephson is playing mind games with his viewers. Although he has presented the image, the many interpretations of his photographs are left for the viewer to make.

I can’t help but wonder if this photograph would have the same appeal if it was an image of Polaroid of a naked male abdomen lying on a pair of jean shorts above a pair of masculine, hairy legs. I don’t know; I simply don’t know. However, I think it’s important that this is a thought of mine. Am I attracted to this image because I have been taught that the naked female body is “beautiful?” Possibly. Am I attracted to this image because I enjoy looking at a naked female’s abdomen? Possibly. Would I more or less enjoy looking at a naked male’s abdomen? Once again, I simply do not know. I am stupefied, yet in absolute bliss that a photograph has the power to bring these thoughts to my mind. Regardless, this is an image of a Polaroid of a female’s naked abdomen. To me, that says something. Can artists not take straight photographs of a female’s naked abdomen? Must we take pictures of the abdomen clothed then place Polaroid pictures of the naked abdomen on top? And, relating to my last thoughts, why female and not male?

Women have always been seen as being unequal to men and artists have always sought to portray the concept that the female body is beautiful. In looking at this image, I almost see Josephson making a joke of this. If he wanted to capture a beautiful image of the naked female body, he would have done just that. He wouldn’t have a clothed woman lying on a bed with a Polaroid of a naked crotch shot on her crotch. In this, I see Josephson somewhat poking fun of the now universal idea that the naked female body is thought to be this beautiful thing.

In the photograph “Polapan, 1973” by Kenneth Josephson, we are reminded that a picture of a naked woman’s abdomen, no matter how realistic it looks, is still not itself a naked woman’s abdomen. Furthermore, a photograph of a woman, dressed in a skirt, lying on a sheet, with a Polaroid of a woman’s naked abdomen lying on her, is not itself real. It’s just an image; nothing about it is necessarily real. One would assume this to be an obvious lesson, the Polaroid looking so two-dimensional and foreign when placed against the skirt of a real woman, until one realizes that the entire image is just a photograph. It is just as flat and fake as the image pictured within it. Kenneth Josephson demonstrates in his images that not all photography is truthful. While doing this, Josephson plays with the minds of his viewers, forcing them to take a deeper look into what photography is.

Speaking Light | Heather Pinson | March 25th, 6pm - JVH Auditorium

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Focal Press | March Theme: The Elements

Focal Press Books

for creatives, by creatives


Focal Press Monthly Photography Contest

MARCH THEME: THE ELEMENTS

Focus on Photoshop Elements

Thanks to everyone who entered and voted in February's Focal Press Monthly Photography Contest! Our February guest judge, Robert Hirsch, is selecting the winners for February from among the many wonderful entries. Winners will be notified shortly.

The schedule for the 2011 Photography Contests is now available on the contest site - new themes, judges and prizes so be sure to check it out!

The theme for the March contest is "The Elements" sponsored by Focus on Photoshop Elements by David Asch, who will be our guest judge this month.

Enter your image here: Focal Press Monthly Photography Contest

Focus On Photoshop Elements
For photographers bewildered by the advanced editing options available to them in Photoshop Elements and who want to get the most out of their images without going bleary eyed in front of a computer screen, this handy guide will explain the ins and outs of using Photoshop Elements using a fabulous combination of easy-to-follow advice and step-by step instructions. Part of the new Focus On series!

January Contest Winners

Theme: Black and White
Book: Way Beyond Monochrome, 2e
Judges: Ralph Lambrecht and Chris Woodhouse

FIRST PLACE

Underpass

"Into the Soul"
Gemma Carly Pepper

SECOND PLACE

Autumn Fruit

"Saving the Bird"
Michelle Lorenzen-Hunter
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

THIRD PLACE

My Best Man Framed

"What do you think When you are looking at me? Look at my soul within... Look Closer ... see me!!"
Gurjant singh Sekhon
Maharashtra, India

What Ralph and Chris had to say about the first place photo: This picture is a fantastic example of what a good portrait should be. It is so much more than a mere likeness of the sitter. A tilted head and direct eye contact immediately pull the viewer into the picture and make it hard to let go and explore the rest of the picture. The viewer definitely feels a certain command to look. On the other hand, a soft smile, partially hidden by pulled-up clothing, leaves no doubt about the pleasant personality of the model while adding a bit of mystery. This is an image to be proud of!

What Ralph and Chris had to say about the second place photo: This picture has it all. A great composition gives the picture stability through an interesting viewpoint onto the weathered hands. I like how the thumbs lead into the picture but miss the center of interest just by a hair, forcing my eyes back up again to focus on the bird. At that point, stability turns into security and creates an interesting contrast to the animal in need. The viewing experience finishes with a warm feeling about a happy end. In a way, it's a portrait without a face. Hands say so much about a person. Great shot!