News
Outtakes from Critical Mass 2009: Selections by Christopher Rauschenberg
Exhibiting Artists include: Cynthia Bittenfield (New York, NY), Daniel Handal (New York, NY), Francis Bishop Good, Gary Grenell, J. Gilbert Plantinga, John Mahony, Laura Noel, Markus Altmann, Maylee Noah, Shannon Benine, Tony Fouhse, Yael Ben-Zion, Zachary Allen
29th Annual Juried Membership Exhibition
July 8 - August 21, 2011
Houston Center for Photography
1441 West Alabama
Houston, Texas 77006
713-529-4755
Curated by Ariel Shanberg
Houston Center for Photography is proud to announce its 29th Annual Juried Membership Exhibition and this year's participants. Juror Ariel Shanberg selected 30 artists from over 200 entries. Mr. Shanberg will give remarks about the selections on Friday, July 8 beginning at 5:30 p.m. prior to the opening reception from 6 - 8 p.m. Artist Talks with a group of this year's participating artists will be held on Saturday, July 9 beginning at 2 p.m. One of HCP's most diverse exhibitions of the year, the Annual Juried Membership exhibition highlights the photographs of its national and international members. HCP's members have been an integral part of its mission since 1981. "The 30 photographers featured in this year’s installment of the Houston Center for Photography‘s Members exhibition have seduced me. Each in their own right, through their own visual language and strategies, through their elocution of their subject matter...made me look longer and deeper into their images, and meditate on the themes and concerns in their work. In successfully grabbing a hold of me, they never fully let go, remaining inscribed on the mind and in the heart, and having instilled new perspectives and fresh understanding. What binds [them] together, is what I infer as their fervent belief in the power of images, their adherence to the craft of image making, and their strident (and successful) desire to connect with the viewer’s mind and heart. It has been a joy to encounter such images and I hope they will impart on you a similar thrilling sense of discovery and encourage you to let them grab a hold of you – you’ll be glad they did." --Juror, Ariel Shanberg Executive Director, The Center for Photography at Woodstock
Exhibiting Artists include: Susan A. Barnett (New York, NY), Mary Ellen Bartley (Wainscott, NY)*, Meg Birnbaum (Somerville, MA), Cynthia Bittenfield (New York, NY), Tami Bone (Austin, TX), Mike Callaghan (San Francisco, CA), Juan Fernandez (Downers Grove, IL), Matt Gainer (Burbank, CA), Tim Gruber (Minneapolis, MN), Daniel Handal (New York, NY), Sylvia Hardy (Brooklyn, NY), Kathleen Hawkes (Albuquerque, NM), Lori Hepner (Pittsburgh, PA), Joel Hernandez (Houston, TX), Chuck Ivy (Houston, TX), Eleanor Kerr (Baton Rouge, LA), Stefanie Klavens (Boston, MA), Rosine Kouamen (Houston, TX), Elizabeth Libert (New York, NY), Jessamyn Lovell (Albuquerque, NM), Zach Nader (Lubbock, TX), Christopher Olivier (Houston, TX), Irby Pace (Krum, TX), Maggie Preston (San Francisco, CA), Ben Ruggiero (Austin, TX)*, Andrew Spear (Columbus, OH), Motohiro Takeda (Brooklyn, NY)*, Erin Trieb (Bellaire, TX), Bill Vaccaro (Chicago, IL), Valerie Yaklin-Brown (Magnolia, TX) * Juror Commendation
Review Santa Fe 2011 Photographers Listing
Review Santa Fe 2011 Selection Committee
Karen Irvine, Curator & Manager of Publications, Museum of Contemporary Photography
Whitney Johnson, Director of Photography, The New Yorker
Alan Rapp, Alan Rapp Studio; formerly Senior Editor, Chronicle Books
"Overall, the quality of the work I reviewed was excellent. Most of the photographers were technically competent, and the majority of the work was solid in terms of idea, execution and cohesion. The criteria I employ to evaluate a photographic series is difficult to articulate, but as a starting point it is essential that form and concept work in tandem to express an idea. I feel that an artist must be aware of how their photographs fit into current contemporary practice, what traditions in art history they are extending, and most importantly, a clear sense of why they are making their work. They must be able to recognize not only what their work means to them, but also what it might communicate to a viewer who sees the work without any prior knowledge and perhaps no inclination to read titles or accompanying texts. In other words, to understand why the work might be relevant to anyone, and what it has to say about the world around us. Good photographs typically hook the viewer through purposeful composition, appropriate and skilled technique, and then slowly reveal a strong and personal point of view. In general I believe that the photographer has just a few seconds to grab a viewer’s attention using style, composition, framing, color, and subject matter, but then needs to keep his or her attention by having something to say. Compelling images usually have a sense of mystery, layers of meaning, and ask more questions than they answer. In other words, they go beyond what they literally depict, and from a broad idea offer us a variety of more subtle directions for our imaginations to take. There were some submissions entered without artist statements, which is a mistake. In some cases the pictures were very good, and I might guess what was going on, but without confirmation it was too big of a risk to assume that what I was taking away from the pictures was consistent with the artists’ intentions. Since this review is all about giving serious photographers the chance to network and receive critical feedback on their work, I felt it was essential to be 100% sure that the artist is able to position his or her work in an intelligent, informed, and meaningful way. I congratulate everyone on putting together what were mostly very thoughtful, professional submissions. It was a privilege for me to see so much good work in one place."
Karen Irvine
"I was honored to be a part of the Selection Committee for Review Santa Fe this year. Out of the hundreds of entries, the projects that rose to the top were visually cohesive and accompanied by a clear statement. I recently published a two-page spread by a photographer whom I met at Review Santa Fe. While the weekend does lead to concrete outcomes, it is primarily a venue for a dialogue about the work, with both industry professionals and fellow photographers; the review should be the start of an ongoing conversation, or relationship with an editor, gallerist, or curator. These connections with the photographic community make the weekend inspiring, and a great deal of fun. For those photographers not selected, I'd encourage you to look closely at your work as a whole; being able to write and speak about your work is essential."
Whitney C. Johnson
"Photography remains one of the most powerful tools for communicating in and understanding the world. And as the world has become exponentially more globalized, multipolar, and technological, photographers have to meet these conditions with fearless engagement and sophistication. The honor of selecting entries for inclusion in Review Santa Fe 2011 is matched with the responsibility of evaluating how contemporary photographic practice responds to, and in turn conditions, this complexity.
Few of these selections came easily, but I sought out those photographers who display the level of technical finesse, artistic individuality, and a desire to go beyond the merely personal that positions them for relevance. This is not to say that the best work is "political," or that intimate work cannot attain this status. But in that photographic practice has arguably multiplied exponentially in recent years due to some of the same conditions that make the world a more interesting place to photograph (globalization, technology), photographers more than ever have to do the additional challenging task of knowing how their work fits in an ever more vast field. Your potential audience, peers, and field of employers/collectors/patrons are now probably larger and more accessible to you than ever before. But they are also more specific, and this challenges photographers to keep making coherent and relevant work that continues to press the limits and expectations of the medium, fostering its unique ability to help us see the world anew."
Alan Rapp
Black & White: People, Places & Things
September 10-October 25, 2010
MPLS Photo Center
2400 North Second Street, Minneapolis, MN 55411
Curated by George Slade, Photographic Resource Center, Boston, MA
Opening Reception: Friday, September 10, 6-10pm
The Black & White: People, Places & Things
Sixty Nine Photographers, Sixty Nine Photographs
August 28-November 7, 2010
Lyceum Theater
324 Horton Plaza, San Diego, CA 92101
Curated by Natasha Egan, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, IL
Producer: Steven Churchill
Opening Reception: Saturday, August 28, 6-10pm
The Art of Photography Show 2010 is a world-class international exhibition of photographic art occurring August 28 through November 7, 2010 at the elegant two-level Lyceum Theatre Gallery, a perfect venue for exhibiting a large showcase of awesome photographic art. One of the distinguishing characteristics of this competition and exhibition is that our judge is always a highly acclaimed museum curator.
August 2010
Guernica a magazine of art and politics featured my series, World War II Revisited in their Art section.
Photography Now: EITHER/AND Part II: The New Docugraphics
July 24 - September 12, 2010
The Center for Photography at Woodstock
59 Tinker Street, Woodstock, NY 12498
Curated by Lesley A. Martin, Aperture Foundation
Opening Reception: Saturday, July 24, 5-7pm
This year’s installment of CPW's annual Photography Now exhibition goes beyond the typical survey of contemporary photography and departs from its traditional format in the spirit of giving full credence to the medium’s pluralities.
Ms. Martin invites us to consider, "What defines contemporary practice? What is it and what do we value in it? On one hand, we encounter a staunch defense of "reality-based" photography via traditional film and camera optics; on the other, an increase in the use of photographs – staged, found, and digitally remixed – both strategies drawn from among many out of the quiver of contemporary art."
In organizing this years Photography Now installment, she proposes that we are no longer served by a zero-sum approach of "either/or" to the medium, but rather, "either/and".
Exhibiting Artists include: Cynthia Bittenfield, Tony Chirinos, Natan Dvir, Thomas Gardiner, Mike Mergen, Heather M. O’Brien, Brook Reynolds, Christina Seely, Eric White, and Jennifer Wilkey.
November 20 - December 23, 2009
Woman Made Gallery
685 N Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, Illinois 60642
Curated by Karen Irvine
Karen Irvine is Curator of the Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College Chicago, where she is also a part-time instructor of Photography.
Family Album seeks to illustrate the multitudinous ways that family can be interpreted, through varied media and styles. Just as notions of family are malleable, the ways in which the idea of a “family album” is conceived are flexible and individual. This exhibition includes works by 31 artists showcasing an interpretation of family.
Exhibiting Artists include: Kristin Anderson, Sarah Baranski, Jacqueline Bates, Cynthia Bittenfield, Stephanie Booth, Marion Coleman, Sara Peak Convery, Amanda Dandeneau, Barbara Diener, Kia Hui Er, Elissa Farrow-Savos, Charlotte Freed, Niki Grangruth, Joanie Holleb, Kitty Hubbard, Heather Klinkhamer, Megan Martens, Mary Mihelic, Sandi Miot, Jennifer Murray, Anna Ogier-Bloomer, S. Patricia Patterson, Amy Pleasant, Dawn Roscoe, Sola Sawyerr, Helene Smith-Romer, Penelope Comfort Starr, Katherine Strause, Kimberly Strom, Yeachin Tsai, Kelly Weime
SVA MFA Photography, Video and Related Media 2009
Thesis Exhibition, June 12 — 27, 2009 Opening Reception: Tuesday, June 16, 6 — 8 pm
Visual Arts Gallery, 601 West 26 Street, Suite 1502, M — Th 10 am — 6 pm, F 10 am — 5 pm, Sat 10 am — 6 pm
Thesis Video Screening, Wednesday, June 17, 2009 7 – 10 pm SVA Theatre 333 West 23 Street
Exhibiton curated by Bonnie Yochelson
Exhibiting Artists include: Vanessa Bahmani, Jacqueline Bates, Yiftach Belsky, Cynthia Bittenfield, Rachel Brady, Jessica Bruah, Maureen Drennan, Jakov Eres, Harlan Erskine, Adrian Garcia, Sean Hanratty, Johanna Heldebro, Antonia Leite Scott Houston, Youngshin Jang, Barbara Kalina, Jin Ju Lee, Eric Lendl, Andrew Lucas, Cheyenne Picardo, David Rapoport, Lissa Rivera, Annick Rosenfield, Tina Schula, John Stanley, Craig Stokle, Kirsten Kay Thoen, David Todd, Kuo-Liang Tsai, Angeliki Tsotsoni, Arin Yoon, Corinne Van der Borch
