Posts Tagged "John Paul Caponigro"
ELEMENTS OF WATER // MANJARI SHARMA
(Photo Credit: Ron by Manjari Sharma)
Two photographs by Manjari Sharma, entitled Ron and Born, were selected by juror John Paul Caponigro for the Center’s “Elements of Water” exhibition. Manjari is a Brooklyn-based photographer, originally from Mumbai, India, who often photographs people and water—usually incorporating both within the same composition. One of her selected images, Ron, comes from her well-received Shower Series, which has been featured as a PDN Photo of the Day and discussed in an interview at Nymphoto.
Most recently, the Shower Series caught the eye of a German brand that manufactures fine bathroom accessories called Grohe, particularly a woman named Kapila Sethi. Manjari told the Center,
“The art director Syed Usman came upon the Shower Series during a random search on water based images and presented me to the client. I was thus commissioned to photograph 10 Indians in the shower. The tag line for Grohe is appropriately ‘Enjoy Water.’ It makes me so happy to work with a client that is hiring me to create a series entirely based off of my aesthetics.”
(Photo Credit: Born by Manjari Sharma)
She has also recently been added to Richard Levy Gallery’s Project Room, which allows collectors to purchase work by emerging artists of varying mediums.
More of Manjari’s work can be found at:
http://www.manjarisharma.com/
BARBARA MYRIAM VENTURA
(Photo credit: Jokulsarlon, Iceland by Barbara Myriam Ventura)
I believe one must move beyond the dualistic concept of ‘an artist and his work’ in order to create and experience art in its essential timeless expression.
Photographer Barbara Myriam Ventura uses her work to embrace her distinct connection with water. Her image, Jokulsarlon, Iceland, was chosen by juror John Paul Caponigro for the Juror’s Selection in the Elements of Water exhibition. The sheer power of the image, which shows a wave crashing and flowing over glacial ice, represents water in its natural oceanic condition while also symbolically portraying the world’s rising global climate concerns.
Jokulsarlon, Iceland is a place where imagery is in a continual flow of eruption and change. The beauty, uniqueness, and diversity of the landscape inspire an intensity, which dramatically captures the attention, consumes all sense of separate being, and passionately seizes upon the awestruck heart to be One with itself.
More of Barbara’s work can be found at www.barbaraventura.com
Read MoreJUROR JOHN PAUL CAPONIGRO
(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 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.
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