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11 November, 2009

Lishui Photo - Rita Maas

Rita Maas and curator Paula Tognarelli, from the Griffin Museum in Boston head to the Lishui Photo Festival to showcase Rita's series, Reality TV. I reviewed the work in Portland, at PhotoLucida, and found it fascinating. Reality TV is a world unto its own, creating a culture of reality stars and megastars, elevating the average to iconic status. It spawns some curious creatures, like Balloon Boy's Dad, in its more obvious surreal forms.
But what Rita is looking at is far more subliminal and seductive. Think about the palettes she is showing, from TV shows like Top Chef, The Home shopping Network, even news like Obama's Inaguration and baseball games - Pirates vs. Cardinals. We all know how we are affected by sunshine, and what that warm light does to us, how it lifts our spirits as it washes over us. But think about that light emanating form that big screen tv you have on all the time in that background. How does that affect your mood? Rita's presentation asks a good question, and showcases a perplexing answer.

About her series -

Reality TV was created as a direct response to living in a culture of You Tube and Twit- ter; constantly multitasking on multiple screens and the unending stream of informa- tion, both relevant and banal.

Feeling overwhelmed after the recent political season I felt the need to express my search for relief. The result is “Reality TV”. Each composite photograph represents a television program photographed with the camera directed towards a wall and ceiling or corner of the room where the program is being viewed. The camera takes in the information beamed from the television and reformulates it for the viewer as reflected color. The camera sensor is recording the light over several seconds, blending it as the capture takes place. It is recording the unseeable. The assembled images of saturated color vibrate against each other and are evocative of both field paintings and pixels. They are, in a sense, a reduction of the very notion of a photograph, the recording of light.

This piece is meant to highlight issues of observation and comprehension. How much of the world we inhabit do we really observe? How much do we comprehend of all we take in everyday? To what extent do we create our own reality?

The piece itself hangs on the wall as a kind of spiritual icon, presenting a space of mediation, a transformation of what it was created from.


“Nothing is more abstract than reality” —Giorgio Morandi




10 November, 2009

Lishui Photo - Stan Raucher






Stan Raucher has been traveling the world, capturing the streets of Paris, Latin America and soon, China. I can't wait. I have been watching Stan grow as a photographer over the last few years, and his newest group of portraits I have found really lovely, engaging and intense.

Stan started as an observer, photographing the life he saw around him, now he is a participant, engaging his subjects, and the change is evident.

Here is Stan's statement about his process.

Using natural light and a bit of serendipity, I strive to create compelling black and white photographs that provide a glimpse into aspects of the human condition.

My candid photography documents ordinary people going about their daily lives in public spaces. These images capture fleeting moments, spontaneous gestures and the ephemeral juxtaposition of people and their surroundings. They depict situations that are unexpected, mysterious, humorous, bizarre or poignant. These photos are neither posed nor staged and I do not interact with my subjects before or after photographing them. Creating these images requires both quick reactions and a great deal of shoe leather since there are no second takes for this type of photography.

My portrait photography conveys a distinctly different sensibility. Portraits from Latin America documents people I have met during my journeys through this region. Although these encounters are brief, I attempt to delve beneath the surface and reveal insights into the lives and character of these individuals. These photographs portray a variety of temperaments and display a range of emotions. Making these portraits involves genuine interpersonal interactions that transcend language and cultural barriers.

09 November, 2009

New Directions 2010 Submissions due 15 November

Pardon the interruption, but I wanted to make sure ya'll knew this was the last week to get your submissions in for New Directions 2010 and in front of Carol McCusker of Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego, California.

Do Not Delay! Get 'em in soon.

Remember, the show hangs in Seattle and Portland in January and February, and will be showcased online as well.
I am so excited with the number of entries that have come in, as well as the quality of images! It will be tough for Ms. McCusker to make her choices.


Did I mention our Best of Show winner receives $100 credit from Blurb to produce a book? Who doesn't want that?


For more information about ND10 - Down + Out, log onto the website.



All of our submissions are considered for gallery representation to both wall space and 23 Sandy in Portland.

Some previous participants of ND now represented by the gallery - Joseph O. Holmes, Priya Kambli, Joelle Jensen, and Bill Vaccaro.





we look forward to your seeing your work.















Images shown Jennifer Schlessinger, Bill Vaccaro, Joelle Jensen and Joseph O. Holmes.

Lishui Photo - Carol Isaak






Carol Isaak was a participant of PhotoLucida in April of last year. I got the opportunity to sit down with her for 20 minutes and review her work. Her focus, China, showcased an outsider's view of a foreign landscape. Bright color, beautiful architecture, and a sense of place fill her images with life.
She is headed to Lishui, and will continue her travels and add more dimensions to her visuals. By incorporating sound, she hopes to give us as viewers a transported vision. Not unlike when we head to our own International District, or Chinatown. Documenting a changing culture is difficult, but I applaud her for her efforts. She has done a nice job of showcasing a beautiful culture.

Here is more on Carol's vision -

Core Sample: China

I photograph NOW. My worldview is as a “social documentarian.” I look at societies thru their material culture in order to understand the population primarily by documenting their objects, as well as documenting the lives of women, some men, and some children.

My photographs are not timeless; quite the opposite. Markers anchor us to a specific time, especially images of material culture. We recognize the time-signs by historical references, garments, vehicles, architecture, juxtapositions, or by something in process that inevitably gets completed.

My goal is to present bodies of work that tell the backside, or the inside of the story, the private side, the small picture, not the global, general big picture. I search for the intimate, which reveals something larger. Core Sample: China describes certain visual conventions (like the pierced spaces in window coverings), and the contrast and tensions between the different realities that are lived and aspired to. But it is a country in flux, and that movement is vital to its wellbeing as the population explores long suppressed traditions and newly government-encouraged innovations.

11 November, 2009

Lishui Photo - Rita Maas

Rita Maas and curator Paula Tognarelli, from the Griffin Museum in Boston head to the Lishui Photo Festival to showcase Rita's series, Reality TV. I reviewed the work in Portland, at PhotoLucida, and found it fascinating. Reality TV is a world unto its own, creating a culture of reality stars and megastars, elevating the average to iconic status. It spawns some curious creatures, like Balloon Boy's Dad, in its more obvious surreal forms.
But what Rita is looking at is far more subliminal and seductive. Think about the palettes she is showing, from TV shows like Top Chef, The Home shopping Network, even news like Obama's Inaguration and baseball games - Pirates vs. Cardinals. We all know how we are affected by sunshine, and what that warm light does to us, how it lifts our spirits as it washes over us. But think about that light emanating form that big screen tv you have on all the time in that background. How does that affect your mood? Rita's presentation asks a good question, and showcases a perplexing answer.

About her series -

Reality TV was created as a direct response to living in a culture of You Tube and Twit- ter; constantly multitasking on multiple screens and the unending stream of informa- tion, both relevant and banal.

Feeling overwhelmed after the recent political season I felt the need to express my search for relief. The result is “Reality TV”. Each composite photograph represents a television program photographed with the camera directed towards a wall and ceiling or corner of the room where the program is being viewed. The camera takes in the information beamed from the television and reformulates it for the viewer as reflected color. The camera sensor is recording the light over several seconds, blending it as the capture takes place. It is recording the unseeable. The assembled images of saturated color vibrate against each other and are evocative of both field paintings and pixels. They are, in a sense, a reduction of the very notion of a photograph, the recording of light.

This piece is meant to highlight issues of observation and comprehension. How much of the world we inhabit do we really observe? How much do we comprehend of all we take in everyday? To what extent do we create our own reality?

The piece itself hangs on the wall as a kind of spiritual icon, presenting a space of mediation, a transformation of what it was created from.


“Nothing is more abstract than reality” —Giorgio Morandi




10 November, 2009

Lishui Photo - Stan Raucher






Stan Raucher has been traveling the world, capturing the streets of Paris, Latin America and soon, China. I can't wait. I have been watching Stan grow as a photographer over the last few years, and his newest group of portraits I have found really lovely, engaging and intense.

Stan started as an observer, photographing the life he saw around him, now he is a participant, engaging his subjects, and the change is evident.

Here is Stan's statement about his process.

Using natural light and a bit of serendipity, I strive to create compelling black and white photographs that provide a glimpse into aspects of the human condition.

My candid photography documents ordinary people going about their daily lives in public spaces. These images capture fleeting moments, spontaneous gestures and the ephemeral juxtaposition of people and their surroundings. They depict situations that are unexpected, mysterious, humorous, bizarre or poignant. These photos are neither posed nor staged and I do not interact with my subjects before or after photographing them. Creating these images requires both quick reactions and a great deal of shoe leather since there are no second takes for this type of photography.

My portrait photography conveys a distinctly different sensibility. Portraits from Latin America documents people I have met during my journeys through this region. Although these encounters are brief, I attempt to delve beneath the surface and reveal insights into the lives and character of these individuals. These photographs portray a variety of temperaments and display a range of emotions. Making these portraits involves genuine interpersonal interactions that transcend language and cultural barriers.

09 November, 2009

New Directions 2010 Submissions due 15 November

Pardon the interruption, but I wanted to make sure ya'll knew this was the last week to get your submissions in for New Directions 2010 and in front of Carol McCusker of Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego, California.

Do Not Delay! Get 'em in soon.

Remember, the show hangs in Seattle and Portland in January and February, and will be showcased online as well.
I am so excited with the number of entries that have come in, as well as the quality of images! It will be tough for Ms. McCusker to make her choices.


Did I mention our Best of Show winner receives $100 credit from Blurb to produce a book? Who doesn't want that?


For more information about ND10 - Down + Out, log onto the website.



All of our submissions are considered for gallery representation to both wall space and 23 Sandy in Portland.

Some previous participants of ND now represented by the gallery - Joseph O. Holmes, Priya Kambli, Joelle Jensen, and Bill Vaccaro.





we look forward to your seeing your work.















Images shown Jennifer Schlessinger, Bill Vaccaro, Joelle Jensen and Joseph O. Holmes.

Lishui Photo - Carol Isaak






Carol Isaak was a participant of PhotoLucida in April of last year. I got the opportunity to sit down with her for 20 minutes and review her work. Her focus, China, showcased an outsider's view of a foreign landscape. Bright color, beautiful architecture, and a sense of place fill her images with life.
She is headed to Lishui, and will continue her travels and add more dimensions to her visuals. By incorporating sound, she hopes to give us as viewers a transported vision. Not unlike when we head to our own International District, or Chinatown. Documenting a changing culture is difficult, but I applaud her for her efforts. She has done a nice job of showcasing a beautiful culture.

Here is more on Carol's vision -

Core Sample: China

I photograph NOW. My worldview is as a “social documentarian.” I look at societies thru their material culture in order to understand the population primarily by documenting their objects, as well as documenting the lives of women, some men, and some children.

My photographs are not timeless; quite the opposite. Markers anchor us to a specific time, especially images of material culture. We recognize the time-signs by historical references, garments, vehicles, architecture, juxtapositions, or by something in process that inevitably gets completed.

My goal is to present bodies of work that tell the backside, or the inside of the story, the private side, the small picture, not the global, general big picture. I search for the intimate, which reveals something larger. Core Sample: China describes certain visual conventions (like the pierced spaces in window coverings), and the contrast and tensions between the different realities that are lived and aspired to. But it is a country in flux, and that movement is vital to its wellbeing as the population explores long suppressed traditions and newly government-encouraged innovations.