2012 CNY Scholastic Art Awards


Image by Peter Cihon of Skaneateles High School in Skaneateles, NY

Light Work would like to congratulate Peter Cihon of Skaneateles High School in Skaneateles, NY as the winner of the Light Work Award for Best Photography Portfolio in this year’s CNY Scholastic Art Awards.

About his work, Peter writes:

My two trips to Spain, to study Spanish language and culture, have inspired my portfolio. While university classes were informative, my ineractions with the Spanish people—through the lens or in everyday life—were truly inspirational. While photo-journalistic style is meant to capitvate the view, it should also teach him or her something about Spanish culture.

See the full list of Award Winners here.

Light Work Seeks Lab Manager and Customer Service Assistant

Light Work is currently seeking a Full-time Lab Manager and a Part-time Customer Service Assistant.

For information about the positons and how to apply:

FULL-TIME LAB MANAGER

Light Work, a nationally recognized, artist-run photography and digital imaging center at Syracuse University, seeks qualified candidates for the position of Light Work/Community Darkrooms Lab Manager.

The Lab Manager will be responsible for overseeing the operations of Light Work’s public-access photography and digital imaging lab facility, Community Darkrooms, its business plan, budget, payroll, and customer service needs. He or she will provide direct support to Community Darkrooms members and visiting artists and will be responsible for all financial reporting, point-of-sale reconciliation, and other darkrooms-related business. He or she will supervise several staff members and at least a dozen student workers. The Lab Manager develops a schedule for photography classes and programs, recruits instructors, and manages them. Other responsibilities include equipment and building management, invoicing customers, and purchasing equipment and supplies.

The successful candidate will be an individual who understands and champions the organization’s commitment to supporting emerging and under-recognized artists. He/she will possess demonstrated managerial skills and experience in all key areas, especially budget management. The position requires the ability to work as part of a team and the proven ability to take initiative. The successful candidate will be a creative and efficient problem solver.

A working knowledge of photographic practices and techniques, including digital imaging, is a must. The successful candidate must possess this knowledge in order to effectively advise Artists-in-Residence, as well as support the darkroom staff. As an artist-run organization, priority consideration will be given to a working artist.

The Lab Manager must be able to assess current business practices and develop, plan, and execute programming to achieve Community Darkrooms’ objectives. As part of budget management, the Lab Manager will recommend expenditures, maintain budget records, and submit monthly financial reports.

We are seeking highly qualified candidates who possess the above skills and qualifications, and we strongly encourage applications from individuals of diverse cultural backgrounds. BFA or equivalent experience with solid background in photography required. Candidates must have a minimum of three years managerial and budget experience. Salary will be commensurate with candidate’s experience, and includes full health and pension benefits through Syracuse University.

This position will remain open until filled. However, priority will be given to applications received before June 8, 2012. In order to apply, visit www.sujobopps.com (view exempt salaried opportunities).

PART-TIME CUSTOMER SERVICE ASSISTANT

Light Work, a nationally recognized, artist-run photography and digital imaging center at Syracuse University, seeks qualified candidates for the part-time position of Customer Service Assistant.

The Customer Service Assistant supports the Light Work/Community Darkrooms Lab Manager through front desk coverage, providing reliable customer service, technical advice, and direct customer engagement for the public-access photo imaging center.

Major responsibilities of the job include:

* Point of Sales entry and other business transactions
* Front desk customer service
* Answering the phones for Light Work/Community Darkrooms
* Invoicing customers
* General support of the Lab Manager

Desired education, degree level:
Minimum four-year retail experience. Background in photography a plus.

This position will remain open until filled. To submit your application, please contact Community Darkrooms at 315.443.2450.

NYFA MARK'12 Bootcamp

NYFA MARK’12 Bootcamp
Performing, Literary and Visual Artists of the Central, Western
and Southern Regions of New York State

Application Deadline: MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012

New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) is pleased to announce the NYFA MARK’12 Bootcamp program for the Central/Western/Southern regions of New York State. NYFA is working in partnership with our host organization Light Work, Syracuse NY, and outreach partners Cultural Resources Council, Syracuse, NY and Community Arts Partnership of Tompkins County to host the program which will take place over one intensive weekend, June 8-10 and a one-day follow up event on July 7 at Golden Artist Colors in New Berlin, NY. In 2012, modeled on NYFA’s Artist as Entrepreneur Boot Camp, MARK’12 Bootcamp is now open to artists working in the performing and literary arts. NYFA is excited to be able to support the wide variety of creative activities in the region.

MARK is the New York Foundation for the Arts’ (NYFA) program for artists based in New York State, (outside of the five boroughs of New York City) who want a unique opportunity for individualized focus on the professional and business side of their creative practice. MARK is designed to address the concerns of artists living outside of New York City while providing them with a new network statewide.

Presented over one intensive weekend with a follow up event, MARK’12 Bootcamp is a rigorous blend of formal classes, individualized training, networking and group interaction. Participating artists can expect MARK to spark goals and help to define concrete steps while providing individual and group feedback. Up to 40 artists will be selected for this location, encouraging and fostering a community network of cross-disciplinary artists.

Click Here for List of Elegible Counties, Guidelines and the Online Application
Click Here for Schedule, Location and for More Information
Click Here for FAQ

Applications should be received by MIDNIGHT on the day of the deadline.

Questions: FHogan@nyfa.org
Felicity Hogan, Program Officer, NYFA Learning/NYFA Consults

2012 Book Collectors Offer

Take advantage of the 2012 Book Collectors Offer and receive two books worth $65 each, plus a subscription to Contact Sheet for only $95. (Save $75!)

Leon Borensztein: American Portraits
Nazraeli Press, 2011
Signed book, limited edition of 2,000
96 pages, clothbound, 13 x 11″ with 60 duotone reproductions

Leon Borensztein’s American Portraits brings together ten years of portaits by the photographer. Visiting his subjects at home, Borensztein would set up a generic backdrop behind his sitters and then take a step back to reveal a glimpse into their personal spaces. The resulting collection of photographs is a playful and touching look into the lives of the everyday Americans he encountered.

Suzanne Opton: Soldier / Many Wars
DECODE Books, 2011
Signed book, limited edition of 1,500
104 pages, hardbound, 9.5 x 12″ with 39 four-color reproductions

Portrait photographer Suzanne Opton’s latest monograph Soldier / Many Wars reflects a curiosity about the military at a time of war. Focusing her lens on soldiers who recently returned from their tour of duty in Iraq, her images are both emotionally and politically poignant. “It is not sensationalism I am after. I am after the human being,” writes Opton.

Don’t miss our other signed books, including:

Christian Patterson: Redheaded Peckerwood
Carrie Mae Weems: Social Studies
Alessandra Sanguinetti: On the Sixth Day
Doug Dubois: …all the days and nights
Hank Willis Thomas: Pitch Blackness

+ many more!

PPAC Book Fair – Saturday, May 5

The Philadelphia Photo Arts Center will be hosting its Third Annual Book Fair this Saturday, May 5 from 12-6pm. A number of local, national and international presses, publishers and artists will be in attendance selling books, prints and other ephemera.

Visit Light Work’s table to find signed books and to subscribe to Contact Sheet!

PPAC Book Fair
May 5, 2012 from 12-6pm
Philadelphia Photo Arts Center
1400 N. American Street #103
Philadelphia, PA

See you there!

Peter Barberie Speaks at SU's Watson Theater, May 3

Join us this Thursday, May 3th at 5:30pm at SU’s Watson Theater for a lecture by Peter Barberie (Curator of Photographs, Philadelphia Museum of Art)! Hosted by Light Work and Transmedia.

Made possible with support from The Division of Student Affairs, Syracuse University.

Signed Copies of Redheaded Peckerwood by Christian Patterson

We’re pleased to announce that signed copies of Christian Patterson’s highly-acclaimed Redheaded Peckerwood are now available for pre-order from Light Work.

Redheaded Peckerwood is a work with a tragic underlying narrative — the story of 19 year old Charles Starkweather and 14 year old Caril Ann Fugate who murdered ten people, including Fugate’s family, during a three day killing spree across Nebraska to the point of their capture in Douglas, Wyoming. The images record places and things central to the story, depict ideas inspired by it, and capture other moments and discoveries along the way.

During his residency at Light Work in 2010, Patterson completed the original edition of hand made artist books of Redheaded Peckerwood that would later be the basis for the trade edition published by MACK. The first edition of the book sold out in just months and now the second edition, which includes a few updates and extras, is in circulation. Be sure to secure a copy before they’re gone too!

To pre-order a signed copy of Redheaded Peckerwood click here

Jen Davis' Self-Portraits on Flak Photo

Light Work teams up with Flak Photo again to launch a gallery of Jen DavisSelf-Portraits accompanied by a short essay by Light Work Director Hannah Freiser, both of which were originally published in Contact Sheet 165 (the catalog produced in conjunction with the Light Work exhibition looking & looking, photographs by Jen Davis and Amy Elkins).

Be sure to see the gallery online, and if you haven’t already become a subscriber to Contact Sheet to support Light Work’s program and receive beautiful publications in return!

Amy Elkins' Elegant Violence on Flak Photo

Light Work teams up with Flak Photo this weekend to launch a gallery of Amy ElkinsElegant Violence portraits accompanied by a short essay by Light Work Associate Director Shane Lavalette, both of which were originally published in Contact Sheet 165 (the catalog produced in conjunction with the Light Work exhibition looking & looking, photographs by Amy Ekins and Jen Davis).

Be sure to see the gallery online, and if you haven’t already become a subscriber to Contact Sheet to support Light Work’s program and receive beautiful publications in return!

Spring Sale! Signed Copies of Carrie Mae Weems: Social Studies

Spring has arrived, and to celebrate we want to offer our online followers a great deal on signed copies of Carrie Mae Weems: Social Studies. Usually $75, the book is now just $50 (a savings of 33%!). If you order now, we will also give you a FREE Contact Sheet Subscription (a value of $40!). Order in the next two weeks to take advantage of this offer.

About the book:

Carrie Mae Weems: Social Studies represents a comprehensive look at the artist’s career over the past thirty years. As Carrie Mae Weems describes, “During the past twenty-five years, I have worked toward developing a complex body of art that has at various times employed photographs, text, fabric, audio, digital images, installation, and, most recently, video. My work has led me to investigate family relationships, gender roles, the histories of racism, sexism, class, and various political systems. Despite the variety of my explorations, throughout it all it has been my contention that my responsibility as an artist is to work, to sing for my supper, to make art, beautiful and powerful, that adds and reveals; to beautify the mess of a messy world, to heal the sick and feed the helpless; to shout bravely from the roof-tops and storm barricaded doors and voice the specifics of our historic moment.” The book includes essays by Elvira Dyangani Ose, Annie E. Coombes, and Greg Tate.

Visit the Light Work website to place your order.

2012 Light Work Student Invitational Exhibition


Dan Wetmore, Best of Show, 2012 Light Work Student Invitational

Congratulations to those students selected to be exhibited in the 2012 Light Work Student Invitational, as juried by Jörg Colberg (Publisher/Editor, Conscientious):

Martin Biando, Marielle Brown, Lena Budd, Julia Ferrier, Amy Francisco, Andrew Frost, Erin Geideman, Lana Hijazi, Robert Hopkins, Benjamin Jackson, Lauren Jones, Stephanie Keefe, Sarah Kinslow, Joe Lingeman, Alexandra Marino, Sarah O’Connell, Fernando Perez, Gabriela Perez, Matthew Pevear, Alice Plati, Nick Pray, Teddi Raifaisen, Casey Rosen, Jessica Scarfo, Deanna Smith, Alyssa Stone, Chris Trigaux, and Dan Wetmore.

Best of Show: Dan Wetmore
Honorable Mentions: Julia Ferrier, Erin Geidman, Fernando Perez, and Alice Plati

View selected work from the exhibition and read Jörg Colberg’s statement online here.

Be sure to stop by Light Work to see the full selection of images!

2012 Light Work Student Invitational
March 19 – May 31, 2012
Reception: Tuesday, March 27, 5-7pm

Light Work Hallway LCD Screen
Robert B. Menchel Media Center
316 Waverly Ave., Syracuse, NY

There's No Stopping LaToya Ruby Frazier

We’re pleased to see Syracuse University MFA graduate LaToya Ruby Frazier receiving such great recognition for her intelligent and emotional work. From her feature on Art 21 (see the video below) to her current inclusion in the 2012 Whitney Biennial, LaToya continues to inspire!