A Case of 'N', or Between 'Aesthetic' and 'Anesthetic'
These last couple of weeks have been busy, with trips to Washington DC, Boston and New York.
I am very excited to announce that one of my photographs, Untitled, No.1, from 'Towards the Light' series, was awarded an Honorable Mention at the 9th Annual International Photography Competition at Fraser Gallery in Bethesda, MD. I attended an opening reception and awards ceremony on the night of Saturday, March 12th, amidst a rain so hard you'd think it's running for a deadline, floods stopping traffic and communication, and power outages along the east coast - something that made this gathering ever more cozy and jolly, all of us gathered there being among like-minded people, voyeurs and enjoyers of art, critics (let's face it, we all have a vicious critic inside of us!), lovers of human condensation in small places (although that's not me, under usual circumstances..) The collection on display, 36 images selected from a pool of about 550 photographs submitted from the US and abroad, was decidedly on the 'beautiful' side of things.. Landscapes, clean abstractions, still life, poems in line and tone variations, some of them paying homage to the old masters (see a recent article on the show in the Washington City Paper talk about this), others experimenting with painting with light in time, yet all searching for an expression of beauty in their own right.
With 'beauty' being an underdog in the lexicon of today's art world, it's rather daring to focus an entire show on the aesthetically pleasing.. But Catriona Fraser, the owner of the gallery and the judge of the competition is unapologetic about it. She's seen enough of urban decay imagery in the last 10 years, it's time to catch a different train. Besides, who's to say that beauty - in art, or in life for that matter - is a crime? A voluntary uplifting anesthetic perhaps, for our souls yearning for high altitudes.. After all, an 'N' is all that separates 'aesthetic' from 'anesthetic'!
9th International Photography Competition, opening reception and award ceremony. Fraser Gallery, Bethesda, MD. March 12, 2010
Outside view of the Fraser Gallery, Bethesda, MD. March 13, 2010. My two photos are right next to the entry
'Black Widow' by Karl Doyle, one of my favorites in the show. Fraser Gallery, Bethesda, MD. March 12, 2010
