Jurors

JUROR AMBER TERRANOVA {RED}

Posted by THE CENTER on Apr 28, 2010 in Jurors, Red | 0 comments

(Photo credit: Curtain, Palais Garnier, Paris, France, 2009 by David Leventi)

I was drawn to photos that instead of just casual inclusion of something red, hinted at the theme by alluding to a memory, a political happening or a cultural practice. Others exposed grandeur in architecture, displayed honest portraiture, or explored abstract expression.

The Center was honored to have Amber Terranova as the juror for the Red exhibition, which is on display in the Center’s Main Gallery from April 23 to May 22, 2010.

Juror’s Statement:

I keep seeing red now. I’ve spotted rosy cheeks in the cold, splashes of red in the landscape and a hair bow turned to just the right angle in the sun. It was a treat to judge entries around a theme that emphasizes color in photography. The simplest rules can sometimes make the best competitions.

Red is a psychologically powerful color, often used as a symbol of intense emotion or action. This made for an eclectic mix of entries. I approached my selection as if I were editing any body of work around a specific theme, by asking questions: Does the image have a point of view? Is it inventive? Does it have some personal resonance? Does it tell me something about the person or people in it? Is it dynamic? Does it raise questions or pique my curiosity? Does it make me feel uncomfortable and stop me in my tracks? Does it have interesting composition and hold my interest as my eye moved through it.

In many of the thousand entries, I was struck by the variety of well-composed, graphically striking images that led to something deeper. I was drawn to photos that instead of just casual inclusion of something red, hinted at the theme by alluding to a memory, a political happening or a cultural practice. Others exposed grandeur in architecture, displayed honest portraiture, or explored abstract expression.

Traditional and alternative processes worked well in the color-theme competition. Wendy Small‘s photograms, David Rivas’ infrared and cross-processed C-prints and Sergio Dennis’ “Lava monster,” shot on Kodachrome all stood out. In Kathy Beal’s, “Red Rose,” the idea of the rose is transformed into a layered, flattened object, almost like a sculpture on paper.

But more straightforward acknowledgements of red worked well, too. Ken Lee’s, ”Morning Devotions” depicts Tibetan Buddhist nuns praying in their red robes under a bright umbrella of red hues illuminated by natural light. The vibrancy of red in the Soviet flags in Evi Lemberger‘s image calls attention to the gathering.

What all of the 50 chosen images share is an ability to stand on their own as an expression of a unique voice. Together, they changed the way I see, which is, after all, what we ask of photography.

Amber Terranova is the Photo Editor for Photo District News (PDN). Her career has focused mostly on editorial work, with positions at New York magazine and Outside magazine, all the while working on international commercial advertising shoots, industry programming, and photo consulting.

GALLERY TALK // JURORS KATHERINE WARE AND AMBER TERRANOVA

Posted by THE CENTER on Apr 13, 2010 in Jurors | 2 comments

The Center is pleased to announce that Katherine Ware, juror for the Center’s Portfolio ShowCase Volume 4, and Amber Terranova, juror for the Center’s Red exhibtion, will be visiting the Center on May 7th and 8th.

(Photo Credit: Lynn with Red Towel by Susan Worsham)

In addition to attending the First Friday artists’ reception on the evening of May 7th from 6 PM to 9 PM, both jurors will also lead a gallery talk on Saturday, May 8th from 4 PM to 5 PM. The talk will take place in the Center’s Main Gallery. Both events are open to the public and there is no charge to attend.

The May 7th artists’ reception will be for the Red exhibition in the Main Gallery and a solo exhibition featuring the series “Light, Sweet, Crude” by Brook Reynolds in the South Gallery.

(Photo Credit: Wall No. 1 by Brook Reynolds)

About the Jurors:

Katherine Ware

Katherine Ware is Curator of Photography at the New Mexico Museum of Art in Santa Fe. She previously served as Curator of Photographs at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where she served as curator and author of Elemental Landscapes: Photographs by Harry Callahan. Ms. Ware served as Assistant Curator in the Department of Photographs at the J. Paul Getty Museum during the 1990s and organized the traveling exhibitions including, A Practical Dreamer: The Photographs of Man Ray. She has also worked with the photography collection at the Oakland Museum of California and began her career at the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service in Washington, D.C. She is a frequent juror and reviewer of contemporary photography and has written essays on the art of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

Amber Terranova

Amber Terranova is the Photo Editor for Photo District News (PDN). Her career has focused mostly on editorial work, with positions at New York magazine and Outside magazine, all the while working on international commercial advertising shoots, industry programming, and photo consulting.

To RSVP for the gallery talk on May 8th, please email: contact@c4fap.org

MOTION // JUROR RICH CLARKSON

Posted by THE CENTER on Mar 18, 2010 in Jurors | 0 comments

(Photo Credit: Rocks Racing Stars by Floris Van Breugel)

“… it seemed only right to include pictures from across the board–from fast to slow, from obvious to subtle, from spontaneous to created.”

The Center was honored to have photographer Rich Clarkson as the juror for the “Motion” exhibition, which is on display in the Center’s Main Gallery from March 19 to April 17, 2010.

Juror’s Statement:

An exhibition built around the Notion of Motion opens the photographer’s palate as wide as possible. For motion is in the beholder’s eye. And the eyes that produced these 50 pictures are as varied as the beholder’s definition of just what motion may be. Literal as with a speeding leaping man or as sublime as a summer breeze playing with the trees of a forest. So to jury such an intriguing topic, it seemed only right to include pictures from across the board–from fast to slow, from obvious to subtle, from spontaneous to created.

Creativity is many forms certainly came to the fore in the some 1800 submissions and the only thing lacking in the final selection are some other fine photographs. The final show has one element throughout, that being quality. There was high quality in these images, but some of them were stunningly beautiful. Some were fun. All were unique.

Years ago, I was the co-producer with Jane Livingston of an exhibition of great sports photographs, that for the Olympic Games in Atlanta. They came from the entire history of photography, going back to the works of Edward Muybridge, Lewis Hine and even Alfred Steiglitz and William Henry Jackson. And then on to Gregory Heisler, Annie Leibovitz, Walter Iooss, Neil Leifer and Brian Lanker. (Anonymous had some wonderful pictures too.) And what that exhibition proved is that the development of photography and its advancement has always been tied to capturing motion. And that shows in these images as well.

This was a fun project. The only thing that would have been more fun is that reserved for a curator to enjoy. Pairing off and playing off these various images as they are hung in exhibition or organized on a page will bring even more fun, for someone else.

Rich Clarkson’s professional career has span over 50 years and has included the positions of director of photography and senior assistant editor of The National Geographic Society, contract photographer for Sports Illustrated, NCAA, Time and Life, and has covered eight world Olympics. Clarkson was named by American Photo magazine as one of the 50 most influential individuals in American photography. He is recipient of an Honorary Master of Science Degree in Professional Photography from the Brooks Institute of Photography. Clarkson serves as a consultant to media, advertising and photographic trade organizations. For the past two decades, Clarkson has offered guidance and inspiration in his representation of photographers, in book packaging projects and in his series of unique workshops.

JUROR JOHN PAUL CAPONIGRO

Posted by THE CENTER on Feb 22, 2010 in Jurors | 0 comments

(Photo credit: Ron, The Shower Series by Manjari S. Sharma)

With such a rich and complex theme it’s not surprising that the entries for this exhibit were so diverse. The images spanned the gamut of human responses to a single theme—documentary, graphic, impressionistic, clinical, avante-garde, romantic, personal … The results are a kaleidoscopic survey of possibilities.

The Center was honored to have photographer John Paul Caponigro as the juror for the “Elements of Water” exhibition, which is on display in the Center’s Main Gallery from February 19th to March 13th, 2010.

Juror’s Statement:

I welcomed the opportunity to jury this exhibit. The subject of water is near and dear to my heart. It has been and will remain a core element in all of my work.

Water is a fascinating and important subject with many dimensions to explore. With its ever-changing surface reflecting shimmering light and its crystalline depths that hold light within, water resembles a living thing. Water is the sustainer of life. We can survive only minutes without air, days without water, weeks without food. Though some organisms have adapted to living with extremely little water, without water life as we know it cannot exist. The blood in our bodies are chemically most similar to the waters of the ocean currents. The hydrologic cycle is the circulatory system of Gaia. Water is essential to wilderness and agriculture alike. Water use and access to clean water has become a growing global concern, and it will continue to become increasingly so. In a world where desertification, overpopulation, and health are acute issues, water availability, quality and use have become core issues. Water brings purification, renewal and fruition. It’s used in countless ancient spiritual practices and healing rites and in modern therapeutic treatments both physical and psychological. Water is entertaining. Who doesn’t like to play with and in water?

With such a rich and complex theme it’s not surprising that the entries for this exhibit were so diverse. The images spanned the gamut of human responses to a single theme—documentary, graphic, impressionistic, clinical, avante-garde, romantic, personal. This made it almost impossible to select images based on a single focus or to break them into groups of separate subthemes within the larger theme and at the same time evaluate images based on their strengths as individual images rather than illustrating a point. The results are a kaleidoscopic survey of possibilities.

There were approximately 5000 images submitted. Fully, half were unremarkable. The top 100 were remarkable. The top 50 better still. The top 25 even better. The top 10 truly exceptional. Singling out only 3 and 1 was tremendously challenging.

As much as I’ve tried to be balanced and fair, my personal sensibility is reflected in this selection, especially when selecting between closely matched candidates. I’m delighted there is a Director’s selection as well as a Juror’s selection. I agree with those selections and I’m delighted those images were also highlighted.

Looking at work intensely raises many questions.

Does a good idea make a good picture?
Does the relevance social concerns make up for, compliment, or overtake a good picture?
Does clearly describing a person, place, thing, or event make a good picture?
Does a strong graphic structure make a good picture?
Does a strong emotional appeal make a good picture?
Are decisive moments magic moments?
How much is enough?
How much is too much?
How much is too little?
How much do small flaws reduce core strengths?
What are the core strengths of an image?
How are core strengths combined with and modified by other elements?
When does abstraction become suggestive or storied?
How do those vary from image to image and artist to artist?
Are there consistent strategies that work?
Are the notable exceptions?
Does the challenge presented by outliers reinforce or weaken what’s been found?

These are among a few of the questions I kept in mind while enjoying this work.
I invite you to do the same.

John Paul Caponigro

John Paul Caponigro is an artist, author, educator, and digital pioneer. John Paul is one of Canon’s Explorers of Light and an Epson’s Stylus Pro. He is a contributing editor for Digital Photo Pro and a columnist for PhotoshopUser and Apple.com. John Paul’s work has been published widely. Well respected as an authority on creativity and fine digital printing, John Paul teaches both privately in his studio and internationally at prominent workshops in North America. He also lectures frequently at universities, museums, and conferences. In 2002, Zoom Magazine named John Paul one of the 15 best artists of the past 30 years. In 2006, John Paul was inducted into the Photoshop Hall of Fame.

NICK BRANDT – BIG LIFE AFRICA

BLACK & WHITE SELECTIONS

JUROR AMBER TERRANOVA {RED}

GALLERY TALK // JURORS KATHERINE WARE AND AMBER TERRANOVA

MOTION // JUROR RICH CLARKSON

“… it seemed only right to include pictures from across the board–from fast to slow, from obvious to subtle, from spontaneous to created.”

JUROR JOHN PAUL CAPONIGRO

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