Meditations on Boundary Landscapes and Surveillance
A PHOTO PROJECT BY DIFFUSION AND PLATES TO PIXELS ALUM PHIL NESMITH.
The Objective
To create compelling images of boundary area landscapes to be the heart of national and international exhibitions, and possibly to serve as material for a photo book (money pledged to project will only assist funding of image creation).
As with the 2010 Exposure Kickstarter effort that resulted in the critically acclaimed Flow body of work, your support is essential to the success of this project.
The Basics
My work is focused on the blurring of time, and this project will continue the intersection of past and present begun with the My Baghdad (2007), and Flow(2010) bodies of work (see galleries here). The ambrotype views captured with the 19th century wet collodion photographic process* for this project will modify our contemporary understanding of time, bending, folding, tugging it backwards along the sliding-scale of memory, challenging the viewer to question our ideas of progress, history, and America’s obsession with security.
This project is focused on the vast desert landscapes of the more remote border areas of southern Arizona, while grounded in the aesthetics and methods of the photographic images created during the great American West survey expeditions of the 1870s. Long stretches the Arizona border, established in 1853 by the Gadsden Purchase, and the lands surrounding it have changed little since that time, marred only by the jarring appearance of modern surveillance equipment and operations. Imagine a beautiful 20” panoramic plate depicting the rugged desert landscape, an image that could have been produced by Timothy O’Sullivan, Alexander Gardner, or Eadweard Muybridge during the Modoc Indian War of 1873 only to have your sense of time jolted into the present by the realization that in the distance you see a 100’ Department of Homeland Security surveillance tower observing the creation of its own image.
The part of the Sonoran Desert I will be operating in is the same desert that gave birth to the American legends of Wyatt Earp and the gunfight at the OK Corral in Tombstone. It is the same desert that Francisco Vasquez de Coronado plunged into searching for El Dorado. This landscape has been the stage upon which so much human theater has been played out. Although the desert boundary area is vast, just about any location you might find yourself someone is watching your every move. From ragged hilltops, spotters working for drug and human traffickers lay in silence for days directing the movement of their shipments north. The government watches day and night by employing the latest military surveillance equipment ranging from fixed and mobile camera towers, UAVs, Areostat balloon systems, ground surveillance radar, seismic sensors, and helicopters, and it is this watchful landscape that I am most interested in.
*Note: This project produces unique direct positive glass images known as ambortypes, not glass negatives as depicted in the video above. The same process is used to create both image types.
Interview with Jake Shivery. March 2011
Then there’s dark slides flying and the shutter clicks and then it’s over. Morning whiskey is always appreciated.
Ms. A. Jones, Sauvie Island, 2009 no2
Roundtable Review - Portland, May 10-12
We are pleased to announce the Roundtable Review, to be held May 10-12, 2012 at the Newspace Center for Photography in Portland, Oregon.
The Roundtable Review is an opportunity for fine art photographers to present their portfolio to a panel of three reviewers at one time. This format allows for more dialog and problem solving about the work, as each reviewer brings a different perspective and different ideas.
The Roundtable Review is open to fine art photographers at any level. Sessions are available for twenty-five photographers, and sessions will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Each participant will have a 30-minute session with the three panelists and receive feedback on their work. Participants may choose to do a second session for an additional fee.
Review sessions will be offered on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. In addition to the review, there will be several other photography events open to participants over the course of the weekend. Jennifer Schwartz will be giving a presentation on the Crusade for Collecting on Thursday night at Newspace Center for Photography. On Friday night, Michael Itkoff will have a book signing at Ampersand Gallery & Bookshop for Daylight’s collection of essays, Photographs Not Taken. Participants will also have an opportunity to participate in a portfolio walk on Saturday afternoon and attend an opening for “Gravitational Pull”, a photography show at Lightbox Gallery in Astoria, Oregon, curated by Jennifer Schwartz.
The submission period begins March 9 and will close when all sessions are filled.
Guidelines for submission:
An artist bio, a short description of the work, and a link to a website to view the work (preferred) or 5-10 jpegs (100dpi and 6 inches at the longest dimension) sent in a zip folder (preferred) or as email attachments.
Email submissions to submissions@roundtablereview.net.
Accepted participants will be sent a PayPal invoice to pay for the review. The cost of the review is $199.
Receipt of payment confirms your participation, and you will receive an email with your session time and information on how to present your work at the review and what to bring.
Reviewer Schedule:
- Thursday, May 10: Jennifer Schwartz, Michael Itkoff and Christopher Bennett
- Friday, May 11: Jennifer Schwartz, Michael Itkoff and Laura Moya
- Saturday, May 12: Jennifer Schwartz, Michael Itkoff and Blue Mitchell
You may request a specific day for your review, and we will try to accommodate you as best as we can.
About the Reviewers:
Jennifer Schwartz is the owner of Jennifer Schwartz Gallery, located in Atlanta, Georgia, and the creator of the online photography gallery, The Ten
Jennifer Schwartz Gallery is a fine art photography gallery promoting talented, original and emerging photographers as well as established contemporary photographers. Through regular rotating exhibitions, educational artist talks and the representation of gifted and unique up-and-coming photographers, the gallery aims to enhance awareness of the rich variety of photographic talent.
The Ten is a highly curated monthly online exhibit of ten photographic images for sale in a limited edition at an affordable price. The Ten is an opportunity for photographers to explore the creative possibilities of pulling together a selection of work with a strong statement and a tight edit.
Jennifer Schwartz co-founded the Roundtable Review program with David Bram. She regularly reviews portfolios, most recently at PhotoNOLA, SPE National Conference, PhotoLucida, Atlanta Celebrates Photography and Fotofusion. She was a juror for Critical Mass in 2011 and a curator at the Lishui Photography Festival in China last November. She is looking for work to feature in her gallery as well as on The Ten.
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Michael Itkoff, photographer, writer, educator and a Founding Editor of Daylight Magazine, received his BA from Sarah Lawrence College and an M.F.A. in Advanced Photographic Studies from ICP/Bard. Michael’s photographs have appeared on the covers of Orion, Katalog, Next American City and Philadelphia Weekly and he has written for the NYTimes Lens blog, Art Asia Pacific, Nueva Luz, Conscientious blog and the Forward. In addition to his work at Daylight, Michael has worked at Aperture, Rizzoli, Polaris Images and the Annie Leibovitz Studio. Michael was the recipient of the Howard Chapnick Grant for the Advancement of Photojournalism (2006), a Creative Artists Fellowship from the Pennsylvania Arts Council (2007), and a Puffin Foundation Grant (2008). Michael’s monograph Street Portraits was published by Charta Editions in 2009. Michael is looking for cohesive bodies of photo-based work to consider for Daylight’s book, multimedia and magazine publishing programs. Daylight is a non-profit organization dedicated to publishing art and photography. By exploring the documentary mode along with the more conceptual concerns of fine-art, Daylight’s uniquely collectible publications work to revitalize the relationship between art, photography, and the world-at-large.
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Blue Mitchell is an independent publisher, curator, and photographer. Based in Portland, Oregon, he has been involved with many facets of the photographic arts. Mitchell received his BFA from Oregon College of Art & Craft, where he studied photography. Since then, he has curated and juried several photography exhibitions, created an online photography gallery (platestopixels.com), and launched a new fine art photography magazine called Diffusion. Most recently Mitchell was invited to jury the 2010 Photolucida Critical Mass as well as serve as a reviewer at the 2010 PhotoNola in New Orleans and Photolucida in 2011.
Blue’s online curatorial project, Plates to Pixels (founded in 2007), bridges the gap between antiquated photographic processes and new digital media. Every month the gallery showcases and interviews artists working in these seemingly polarized mediums. Plates to Pixels also hosts a annual guest juried exhibit, other themed invitational group exhibitions, and a new moving images section titled eMotion.
In 2009, Blue successfully published the first volume of Diffusion, an annual photography magazine featuring artists working with “unconventional” processes. Diffusion has doubled in size from volume one to volume two, featuring portfolios with interviews, a variety of photography related articles, a themed group showcase, book and dvd reviews, artists to watch, and other many other special features. Diffusion is unique because it showcases alternative-process photography and other unconventional photography not seen in other magazines or publications.
Blue also curates and organizes physical exhibitions including the annual Diffusion Gala and Exhibition and most recently “Dream Allegory” a six person exhibition at LightBox Photographic Gallery and Fine Printing. He is most interested in seeing photography that utilizes unconventional or historical/alternative processes.
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Christopher Bennett is a photographer, curator and photo educator living in Portland Oregon. His work experience includes the George Eastman House, the Santa Fe Photographic Workshops and Photo-eye Books & Gallery. Chris is the founder and Executive Director of Newspace Center for Photography.
Newspace Center for Photography is an educational and cultural nonprofit that is dedicated to promoting photographic education and appreciation to the public as well as providing a space and building a community where photo enthusiasts can learn, create, discuss and show their work. The Center’s gallery mounts 12 exhibits annually. Artists are showcased in solo or two-person shows with the occasional group show or juried exhibition. Curatorial emphasis is placed on modern, fine-art and documentary photography and has included the work of emerging as well as established artists. Newspace also selects six photographers annually for one-month residencies.
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Laura Moya is executive director of Photolucida, a nonprofit organization based in Portland, Oregon that provides opportunities for emerging photographers. Moya has a professional background in photography and independent film, both in production and promotion, having worked for Photo-eye Gallery, the Sundance Film Festival, and the Northwest Film Center. She was invited to participate in the Lodz Photography Festival (Poland), Noorderlict (Netherlands), the Pingyao Photo Festival (China), the Lishui Photo Festival (China), and Xiang Sha Wan Photo Festival (Mongolia). Moya has curated two alternative process exhibits at 23 Sandy Gallery (Portland) - ‘Resurrection: A New Look at Old Processes’ and ‘Photo Alchemy: An Exhibition of Alternative Process Photography’, and has written pieces for Griffin Museum’s ‘Critic’s Pick’ and Finite Foto. She also recently juried Blue Sky Gallery’s Northwest Drawers with Clint Willour. Moya reviews portfolios in the US and internationally, most recently at LensCulture/FotoFest during Paris Photo. In the past, she has included work she has seen in Reviews in curatorial projects.
Crois en tout by Zeb Andrews on Flickr.
C4FAP announces Alt Process selections
Juror’s Honorable Mention: S. Gayle Stevens/Judy Sherrod
Director’s Selection: Bridget Milligan
Director’s Honorable Mentions: Rachel Sokal
S. Gayle Stevens/Judy Sherrod
livebooks Awards: Paul Adams and Jeremy Moore
Blurb Award: Bridget Milligan
All Selected Artists: Paul Adams, Geoffrey Agrons, Bill Barber, Cynthia Morgan Batmanis, Jessica Berkowitz, Diana Bloomfield, Tom Carpenter, Barbara Ciurej/Lindsay Lochman, Michelle Cole, Beverly Conway, Sarah Corbin, Sandra Davis, Ualani Davis/Brandon Ng, Joseph Deiss, Karen Divine, Edie Fogel, Peg Fredi, Bryan David Griffith, Travis Hocutt, Jaime Johnson, Stan Klimek, Karen Klint, Liz Lee, Peter Liepke, Tommy Mathews, Timothy McCoy, Ken Merfeld, Bridget Milligan, Dave Molnar, Jeremy Moore, Ben Nixon, Blake Pack, Vicki Reed, Jenny Sampson, Jean Sanders, Rochell Slahorek, Stephanie Slate, Rachel Sokal, Jessica Somers, S. Gayle Stevens/Judy Sherrod, Tyler Suppha-Atthasitt, Marc Ullom, Alan Vlach, Susan Voss, Jacqueline Walsh, and Marydorsey Wanless.
Incandescent - color film zine release
Incandescent is a color film zine that we started here in Portland. It is a bi-annual zine showcasing emerging photographers from around the world. The inaugural issue contains 37 photographers and is only available through Kickstarter until March 20. We exceeded our goal of $1600 in 5 days but we hope to continue spreading the word so that people will be able to get a copy of this limited edition special release. We will be putting out another call to art for the next issue within the next couple of months. Our Kickstarter can be viewed here. Our blog is incandescentzine.wordpress.com.
little toy gun by unexpectedtales on Flickr.
PRC Exposure 2012 deadline approaching
Alison Nordström to Jury this Year’s Entries
Juror Alison Nordström will select work by ten contemporary photographers to exhibit in the PRC Gallery for the seventeenth iteration of the PRC’s highly regarded annual juried exhibition.
Awards
- Ten entries selected by juror will be invited to exhibit in the Exposure 2012 exhibition, June 5 - July 18, 2012.
- Best of Show: Selected by juror from winning entries. $500 cash prize.
- Staff Picks: PRC staff will select two entries to be exhibited inLoupe, the journal of the PRC, and in NEO, the PRC’s monthly online gallery.
The 2012 F295 Symposium
June 7, 2012 June 8 , 2012 June 9, 2012 6-9pm: A special program at the Carnegie Museum of Art: Light, Time, and The Apparatus: From Pictorialism to 21st Century Photography June 10, 2012
4:30-9:00pm Thursday evening: Opening Reception at Carnegie-Mellon University
Featuring open portfolio sharing, networking, industry trade show, and an opening evening artists talk!
9am-5pm: Lectures and Round Table discussion at The Carnegie Museum of Art.
Join us as we hear a variety of practicing 21st century photographers share information about their work and the thoughts, ideas, and rationale behind it.
9am-5pm: Hands-on Workshops co-presented by Pittsburgh Filmmakers
This years workshops include: Calotype with Dan Estabrook Daguerreotype with Jerry Spagnoli, Multi-Color Gum with Brian Taylor and Mordançage with Elizabeth Opalenik!
9am-5pm: Continued Hands-on Workshops co-presented by Pittsburgh Filmmakers
This years workshops include: Calotype with Dan Estabrook Daguerreotype with Jerry Spagnoli, Multi-Color Gum with Brian Taylor and Mordançage with Elizabeth Opalenik!
Source: f295.org
underexposed: On The Walls: Andrea Galluzzo @ Camera Work
Last spring, I met Andrea Galluzzo at Photolucida and have kept in touch since. Andrea’s solo exhibition “Know Myself in All My Parts” opens this Saturday at Camera Work Gallery in Portland, Oregon. The opening reception is this Thursday, February 23 from 6:30 to 8:30pm The continues…
Source: susanburnstine
“Do Process” at Verve Gallery
OPENING RECEPTION FEBRUARY 24TH, 5-7pm
Show Continues through April 14th
Conversations with the artists at VERVE Gallery
on Saturday, February 25 at noon.
Source: vervegallery.com
Scan200012 by EVcore on Flickr.
by Arnold Veber
Then.Now.Here
Portland Photo Month is on the horizon here in Portland (April!), and Photolucida is producing a multi-layered project called Then. Now. Here.
The idea is simple: people submit photographs of Portland and/or its people, either historic or contemporary, and images will be juried by Portland’s own illustrious RAYMOND MEEKS. The slideshow will then be publicly projected (on the sides of buildings) each week in April. We’ll also archive the selected images on the web site.
There is no charge to submit work and submissions are open to anyone, be ye an amateur, pro, student, or historian. Deadline is March 10th.
Click here for more information!
