SPE Regional Conference 2011

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The SPE Regional Conference programming kicks of today with some great events and speakers. Here’s the full schedule for your convenience!

Friday, November 4

9:00 – 6:00pm
Registration and Badge Pick-up

9:30 – 11:30am
Artist Book Workshop (pre-registration required) Bird Library

10:00 – 11:30am
Tours through Light Work and self-guided gallery tours to campus exhibitions (maps available)

Lunch

12:00 – 4:00pm
Portfolio Reviews in Schine Student Center, Room 304ABC

12:30 – 1:00pm
Opening Remarks

1:00 – 1:45pm
Colette Copeland
Publish or Perish—the artist as critic

2:00 – 2:45pm
Anne Whiston Spirn
The Power of a Book to Change Its Author: Dorothea Lange and An American Exodus

Coffee Break

3:15 – 4:00pm
Paula McCartney
Expanding My Audience (faster, cheaper, more!)

4:15 – 5:00pm
Featured Speaker Mary Virginia Swanson
To Be Published or Self-Publish? An Overview of Options for Artists

Dinner

Evening Events at Everson Museum of Art

6:00 – 6:45pm
Buses to Everson Museum of Art, leave from Sheraton Hotel
Opportunity to see exhibition From Here to There: Alec Soth’s America

7:00 – 7:30pm
Honored Educator Award to Doug DuBois

7:30 – 8:30pm
Keynote Speaker Alec Soth
From Here to There

8:30 – 9:00pm
Reception for exhibition, From Here to There: Alec Soth’s America

9:00 – 10:00pm
Buses back to Sheraton Hotel

Saturday, November 5

10:00 – 10:45am
Tate Shaw
Artist publications at Visual Studies Workshop

11:00 – 11:45am
Ken Schles
The Photographic Books of Ken Schles

Coffee Break

12:15 – 1:30pm
Suzanne Opton: Soldier

Lunch (Schine Student Center)

2:15 – 3:00pm
Members Meeting in Schine Student Center

3:30 – 4:15pm
W.M. Hunt
W.M. Hunt and “The Unseen Eye”

4:30– 5:45pm
Photo 2.0 — Online Photographic Thinking
(Panel discussion with Andy Adams (moderator), Molly Landreth, Amy Stein and Philip Toledano)

Dinner

7:30 – 8:30pm
Featured Speaker John Gossage

8:30 – 9:00pm
Buses to Spark Gallery from Light Work (continue to circle until 11:00p)

8:30 – 11:00pm
Closing Party at Spark Gallery

11:00pm
Last bus leaves to hotel

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In addition to the blog, tune into Light Work’s Facebook and Twitter pages for updates throughout the conference.

Thilde Jensen: Canaries

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As I walk into Light Work today it is almost exactly a year since, for the first time, I was able to enter this or any building not wearing my respirator. For seven years before that, my life was restricted by my body and brain’s sudden inability to process the vast amounts of chemicals floating in the air surrounding us. A year into my struggle with Multiple Chemical Sensitivities I started documenting my own life and the lives of others with similar stories. My first contact with Light Work was in 2006 when I received the Light Work Grant based on some of these pictures. At the time I was living in a tent in the woods just starting to build a safe house. During the following years the house project took priority and it wasn’t until spring of 2010 that I again came into contact with Light Work. During a meeting with Jeffrey Hoone it was decided to work towards a future exhibition of the Canaries series. With the help of the intern program, and under the guidance of digital lab manager John Mannion, we started digitizing most of my negatives. For me this was a terrifying moment—I had lived in total avoidance of computers for six years due to the often severe pain following exposure to their emissions, and here I was working in a digital lab like a dinosaur misplaced in the future. Needless to say it was a slow and difficult process culminating not only with the creation of a powerful exhibition, but also with my return to life as a “normal,” unmasked being. Without the support of Light Work the Canaries series would never have made it as far as the New York Times, reaching millions of people with a story both personal and timely. Thank you Light Work.

Thilde Jensen
www.thildejensen.com

Civil War exhibition at George Eastman House

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The online edition of The Wall Street Journal featured the Civil War exhibition at the George Eastman House, giving high praise for Light Work artist William Earle Williams: “Only William Earle Williams hits the right notes. His precise black-and-white photographs depict landscapes where black soldiers fought. Weeds have grown over these ditches and bulwarks where no plaque or monument was ever erected. But 150 years later the war is still visible in the scarred earth.” We love Willie’s work. We exhibited the images in a solo exhibition Unsung Heroes: African American Soldiers in the Civil War that started in Light Work’s Main Gallery in 2007 and went to multiple other venues from there. The exhibition was accompanied by a catalogue, Contact Sheet 140.

Unsung Heroes Series

William Earle Williams
Earthworks, Fort Pillow, Tennessee, 1999

The exhibition at the George Eastman House, titled Still Here: Contemporary Artists and the Civil War, will be on view through June 12, 2011. In addition to Willie Williams, the exhibition includes Light Work artist Oscar Palacio, who spent his residency refining some of the photographs now on view in Rochester. His image of a canon barrel (Untitled, from the series History Re-visited) makes quite an impression when visitors first enter the exhibition.

Light Work at San Francisco Fine Art Fair

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We’re packing up and heading west for the San Francisco Fine Art Fair, which will be held at the Fort Mason Festival Pavilion May 20-22, with a special opening night preview on May 19. Please stop by Booth 54 and say hello to Associate Director Mary Goodwin and Promotions Coordinator Jessica Reed. We’d love to tell you more about our mission, show you some work by our current artists-in-residence, and sell you a beautiful fine art print (like the image shown here by former Light Work Artist-in-Residence Yolanda del Amo). Every penny we make at the fair goes right back into our programming to support emerging artists. Hope to see you there! Click here for admission information and here for a list of programming and events.

Yolanda del Amo
Edith, Juan, 2007
Pigmented inkjet print, 8 x 10″ on 11 x 14″ sheet
Signed and numbered print in a limited edition of 50

Thanks Chicago!

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We had a great fair in Chicago over the weekend. Just a couple of scenes from the booth – we enjoyed seeing some long-time friends and making so many new ones.

Former Light Work Artist-in-Residence Kelli Connell visits the booth.

Local artist Liese Ricketts.

Belgian photographer Wouter Deruytter.

Dawoud Bey visits the booth.

Indianapolis-based photographer Justin Lane.

Rachel Herman stopping by.

See you in Chicago

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We’re looking forward to our first year at Art Chicago, happening this year from April 29 to May 2, as usual on the 12 floor of the Merchandise Mart. We’ll be telling people all about our residency program, exhibitions, and Contact Sheet, as well as our world-class digital services and our new online Digital Archive. We’re also bringing an amazing array of beautiful prints to sell in support of our programming, including the four images new to our 2011 Subscription Program. Among these is this gorgeous image by master photographer Carrie Mae Weems, called Untitled (Woman and Daughter with Make-up) from the iconic Kitchen Table Series.

Over the course of the fair, we’ve invited three former Light Work Artists-in-Residence to stop by the booth, talk about their work, and share their experiences about being a resident at Light Work. Make sure to stop by and meet:

Kelli Connell, Friday, April 29, 2-3pm
Kelli Connell was a Light Work Artist-in-Residence in 2008. Connell received her MFA in photography from Texas Woman’s University, and her BFA in both photography and visual art studies from the University of North Texas. Her work has been exhibited nationwide. Connell has also received various awards and residencies, and given lectures and workshops across the country. Connell currently teaches at Columbia College in Chicago. For more information about Kelli Connell please visit her website.

Judy Natal, Saturday, April 30, 1pm
Judy Natal was an Artist-in-Residence at Light Work in 2003, and her work  was featured in an exhibition in the Light Work Main Gallery in 2004.  Natal is a professor of photography at Columbia College in Chicago. Her  work is the collection of institutions including the California Museum  of Photography, Center for Creative Photography, and the Museum of  Contemporary Photography, among many others. Her work has been exhibited at Projects International, The Nelson-Atkins Museum, and the Sao Paulo Biennial, among other venues. For more information about Judy Natal and her work, please visit her website.

Dawoud Bey, Sunday, May 1, 1pm
Dawoud Bey was a Light Work Artist-in-Resdidence in 1985. His work was featured in an exhibition in the Light Work Main Gallery in 1986, and his work is included in the Eatonville Portfolio. His work has been exhibited at numerous institutions worldwide, including The Art Institute of Chicago, The Barbican Centre in London, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art, among many others. For more information about Dawoud Bey, please visit his website.

See you at the fair!

Enjoy the Contact Sheet Digital Archive today

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Over 160 issues of Contact Sheet are available online in our Digital Archive. If you currently subscribe to Contact Sheet, all you have to do is sign in for immediate access to the Archive. You can subscribe online – if you’d like to go entirely paperless, you can get online-only access to every Contact Sheet ever printed for $25. Our free trial subscription allows you to peruse the most recent issues of Contact Sheet, including the Light Work Annual. Click here for a quick preview and find out how easy it is to use the Contact Sheet Digital Archive. Let us know (315.443.1300; info@lightwork.org) if you have any questions about how to access this amazing resource.

Contact Sheet 161, the latest to be added to the Digital Archive, features the work of Jeffrey Henson Scales, whose exhibition That Year of Living is also currently on view in the Light Work Main Gallery.

From the Juror, Amber Terranova

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More than 50 Syracuse University students entered the Light Work Student Invitational this year. Photo District News photo editor Amber Terranova served as our juror to select a Best of Show winner, Genevieve Marshall, and Honorable Mention award recipients Andrew Hida and Renée Stevens. An exhibition featuring the work of all those who entered is currently on view on the Light Work flat screen. Congratulations to the winners, and our thanks to all participants and our juror.

Juror’s statement by Amber Terranova

A number of themes recurred in the Light Work Student Invitational, including identity, love, loneliness, and the beauty of nature. I was particularly struck by the connection between photographer and subject in much of the work. Images of family dynamics, couples, moments between young lovers and friends, celebration, objects, religion, nature, empty urban and interior spaces all seem to permeate the open invitational this year. In this particular invitational the individual images had to make an immediate impression since the call wasn’t for series. While editing the selections I began to take notice of imagery that revealed the photographers’ unique perspective or an intention. Technically proficient images reflecting a strong concept or aesthetic stood out.

Many of the students’ images appealed to me and felt fresh. But I was drawn to Genevieve Marshall’s portrait (above), the recipient of the 2011 Best of Show Award. Her image offers room for a viewer’s interpretation. The gentle light, muted colors, gesture, and subtle eye contact suggest a certain curiosity about her subject. This image also emphasizes the importance of timing. To capture spontaneous moments requires being observant and quick. Here, Marshall’s choice of focus and perspective create both intimacy and distance. It’s a moment that raises questions or hints at something to come.

Amber Terranova is the photo editor for Photo District News. She worked previously for New York magazine and Outside. Amber has reviewed portfolios for the New York Photo Festival, the International Center of Photography, Review LA, Review Santa Fe, Photo NOLA, the Boulder Magazine Conference, Aurora photography, APA, and has been a guest lecturer at ICP, SVA, MICA (Baltimore) and Dawson College in Montreal.  She has judged national photo contests, serving in 2009 as one of three jurors for Review Santa Fe and in 2010 as a judge for the International Photography Awards. She also judged The Center for Fine Art Photography’s Red competition and an issue of F-Stop magazine.


Students Participating in the 2011 Student Invitational Exhibition:

Daniel Aguilera, Sarah Anthony, Martin Biando, Danielle Carrick, Caitlin Caspersen, Luis Chimbo, Kathryn Connelly, Maureen Coyle, Ciara Crocker, Rose Cromwell, Brian Dawson, Joshua L. DeMotts, Emily Edwards, Jillian Ellis, Julia Ferrier, Amy Francisco, Andrew Frost, Anthony Garito, Andrew Hida, Mark Hoelscher, Myron Holmes, Robert Hopkins, Max Jackson, Lauren Jones, Varun Joshi, Jenna Ketchmark, John Liau, Joe Lingeman, Robert Loughlin, Annie Louton, Allie Marino, Genevieve Marshall, Varvara Mikushkina, Bob Miller, Emma Morgan Meade, Hannah Nast, John O’Toole, Arundhati Patel, Carly Piersol, Elizabeth Reyes, Jessica Scarfo, Meghan Schaetzle, Masha Snitkovsky, Renée Stevens, Leah Stiles, Alyssa Stone, Bridget Streeter, Chris Trigaux, David Trotman-Wilkins, Jennifer Turner, Tracey Wishik, and Elif Yoney.

Images: Top, Genevieve Marshall, recipient of the 2011 Best of Show Award; middle, Andrew Hida, recipient of the 2011 Honorable Mention Award; bottom, Renée Stevens, recipient of the 2011 Honorable Mention Award.

Thilde Jensen speaks about art and illness

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Thilde Jensen talks about her series Canaries in this great interview with Syracuse University Goldring student Lily Betjeman. An exhibition of Canaries, which depicts people living with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, is currently on view at Light Work until May 27.

Canaries from Light Work on Vimeo.

2011 Light Work Artists-in-Residence

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Congratulations to the 2011 Light Work Artists-in-Residence, who were selected from an amazing pool of hundreds of applicants. Thanks to all who submitted materials and showed patience throughout the process.

We’re very pleased to host the following Artists-in-Residence in 2011:

Shimon Attie
Jen Davis
Amy Elkins
Sam Falls
Cui Fei
Shane Lavalette
Andrew Miksys
Sherry Millner
Dana Popa
Ohm Phanphiroj
Michael Tummings
Calla Thompson

Our renowned residency program features a $4,000 stipend, a free place to stay for the month, 24-hour access to our state-of-the-art facility, and generous staff support. Light Work was founded in 1973 as a non-profit, artist-run organization. We provide direct support to artists working in the media of photography and digital imaging through residencies, publications, exhibitions, a community-access digital lab facility, and other related projects.

Image: Michael Tummings, from the series Hidden

Light Work at SCOPE New York, Booth #C58

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We’re so excited to have a booth at the SCOPE New York International Art Fair, which begins next week on March 3. Mary Lee Hodgens, our Program Manager, and myself will both be in booth #C58 talking to artists and art lovers about our residency program, exhibitions, and our journal Contact Sheet. Of course, we will also be selling lovely limited edition, signed and numbered prints from our Fine Print Program, as well as an assortment of beautiful signed books. If you’re in the New York area, please stop by, visit with us, hear all about the latest in our mission to support the best in emerging photography, and support us with the purchase of a print or book. Every penny we make through these sales goes right back into our programs.

Carrie Mae Weems – Kitchen Table Series
Untitled, from the Kitchen Table Series, 1990/2010
Silver gelatin print, 9 7/8 x 9 3/4″ image on a 14 x 11″ sheet
Signed and numbered print in a limited edition of 100
Available online here and at SCOPE New York, Booth #C58

Click here to read more about attending SCOPE New York including ticket prices and admission times. See you at Booth #C58!

—Mary Goodwin, Associate Director

Best from the Rest: Forward Thinking Museum & PAL

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The Forward Thinking Museum has posted a wonderful video about an exciting project taking place with local students in Syracuse, New York. The Photography and Literacy Project (PAL) builds visual and verbal literacy, as well as self-confidence, by asking students to explore their lives through photography and writing. PAL founder and director Stephen Mahan launched the project in July 2010, and ever since then, hundreds of students have filled just as many notebooks with their thoughts and observations. Mahan explains, “Our educational system is set up to deal most effectively with one type of learner, and I was the ‘other’ type of student with reading and attention problems that made me feel a certain way. So what I try to do is even the playing field by using a camera as a storytelling device that articulates and validates each individual’s point of view, which builds self esteem. When the pictures are all laid out on the table, it is impossible to tell which kid has difficulties, and that is what motivates my passion.” Click on the image below to see the video and read more about PAL.