Times up. Now the waiting begins.

Thank you to everyone who submitted for New Directions.
We had over 200 entries, so George has almost 1,000 images to look at.




We will have decisions to everyone as soon as we hear from our very esteemed juror, who will be very busy going over so many fabulous entries. I will be highlighting some here after the judging comes back - I don't want to skew the process with my selections just yet.

The show will open in January - mark your calendars. Mr. Slade will be in the gallery and up at PhotoCenter during the weekend.

6 January - 7 February, 2009
Artist Reception with Mr. Slade, 5 February, 6-8pm
Lecture by Mr. Slade in conjunction with Photographic Center Northwest-

Contemporary Photography Now, or, Today is So Yesterday

Location: PCNW Auditorium, Tickets: $6 regular, $4 Members & Students

Given the proliferation of venues for contemporary photographic artists how do viewers and makers navigate the flow of images and assimilate the dialogue surrounding them? Mr. Slade examines the new wave of photographic practice from the perspective of a curator, consultant, and writer currently caught in that wave, trying to historicize, interpret, and articulate while simultaneously just staying afloat.

and for those of you who want more input into your work - Photographic Center Northwest will be having their annual PhotoRevu that same weekend, and George will be one of the many reviewers available to talk to, learn from and have see your portfolio.

The FOTO REVU is a unique opportunity for members to receive one-on-one professional critiques by some of the Northwest's most respected people in the field of photography including gallery owners, museum curators, publishers, artists & educators. In the last decade photo review events have become the primary venue for fine art photographers to network & show their work to people that can make a difference in their future. Experiencing Foto Revu is an excellent stepping stone to participating in the international review events such as Fotofest, Review LA, Photolucida, PhotoNOLA and Review Santa Fe. There is a lottery system before the sessions begin to select your reviewers and to assure fairness. A reception with the reviewers and photographers will follow the event in the gallery. $150 per session: (morning session - 5 twenty minute reviews) (afternoon session - 5 twenty minute reviews) (late afternoon session - 5 twenty minute reviews)...(Full Day = 15 reviews for $$450). Contact PCNW front desk to register. Stay tuned for a list reviewers.

New Directions 2009 submissions

image by Shauna Doyle Hammond, participant of New Directions 2008

wow.

I am so excited about the submissions pouring into the gallery for the juried show!

Mr. Slade will be thrilled and overwhelmed at the response we have gotten from some top notch photographers, and I am excited to sit down soon with a beverage and go through the work myself with the help of my highly talented assistants.
But I can't yet - I have to get everything together for our juror.

If you are perusing our pages tonight and see that it is the last night for submissions, you are in luck. We are extending the deadline until Monday at 6pm pst. I am trying to catch up with everyone who has submitted so far, and since I am still processing information, if you can get it to us by Monday at 6pm, your in!

Thank you to everyone who has submitted, and we wish you the best of luck!

Nicole Dextras

Nicole Dextras photographs filter into my mind on these days with ugly grey skies, rain and darkness, and in viewing her images, I get a sense of beauty in all that grey that I may not find just looking out my window... I think her work is beautiful. I came across the work at the 23 Sandy Gallery, run by the fabulous Laura Russell. I have been haunted by the work since. The series I find most serene and beautiful is Iceworks. Her decision to encase clothing in ice, then watch them degrade over time and document the shift, is stunning in her muted color palette, choice of landscapes, and connection to the surrounding environments.

what do you think?

New Directions Deadline coming up!

We are coming up on our deadline for New Directions!



image by Jennifer Greenburg, another ND participant.

get those entries ready, you have 18 days left (which if you are like me, seems like tomorrow.)

For those of you who are looking for a theme - the theme is you, your work and your vision.

and as extra incentive - all of the submissions for the show are seen by me, and considered submissions for the gallery. While I won't put in my 2 cents to affect George's vision for the final selection, just know I am looking at them too. Some of the new artists we have found from the last 3 years are


Joseph O. Holmes, last seen in 20x200 today



Joelle Jensen



Cynthia Grieg.

New Directions 2009

curated by George Slade

6 January - 7 February, 2009

Artist Reception 5 February, 2008

Lecture with George Slade - 6 February, 2008 6-8pm; in conjunction with Photographic Center Northwest.

We are currently accepting submissions for our third annual juried show - New Directions.

Curated and Juried by George Slade

About Mr. Slade

Photography Curator, Historian, Writer and Advisor

George Slade is an historian of photography and a native Minnesotan. He became the artistic director and chief curator of the Minnesota Center for Photography (MCP in 2003 after serving as a curator, editor, writer, and advisor to the organization since 1992. His position at MCP ended when the organization closed at the end of July of this year. He has also directed the McKnight Foundation Artist Fellowships for Photographers Program since 1998.

He has served as a juror for for CoPA in Milwaukee, IRevelar in Atlanta (organized by Naomi Silva Gallery) with Clint Willour and Rick Perez. Mr. Slade is a reviewer for Critical Mass 2008, and will also be in New Orleans at PhotoNola in December of this year.

Rules:

1. Your entry (via mail with CD or on-line) must reach the gallery by 15 November 2008.
2. A maximum of 5 images may be submitted
3. Traditional or Digital Images may be submitted
4. Submission fee is $35USD. If mailing entry, enclose payment. If submitting on-line, we will call you within 48 hours for payment.
5. Image selections will be made and artists notified 13 December 2008.
6. Selected images must be delivered to the gallery framed and ready for exhibition between 26 December 2008 and 6 January 2009.
7. Framed exhibition prints must not exceed 20x24.

see the gallery website to enter online or for our mail in form

Critical Mass 2008

wow.

over 600 entries, almost 6,000 images...and we had 2 weeks to get through them. As one of the lucky pre-screeners, I was honored to be part of this great opportunity to see what a great community of photographers we have.

I want to thank everyone who submitted images, and put themselves out there. There was alot of really good work. I had a really hard time narrowing down my choices.

I have to say I am really proud of my artists who made the cut -

Susan Burnstine, and her luscious, soft focus, memory images.



Tom Chambers, with his newest work, Improbable Dreams



Mitch Dobrowner, with his incredible landscapes

with her deeply emotional and riveting portraits, Lydia Panas,

and Aline Smithson, who showcased a new series of books that I think it is really creative.



and I will be highlighting artists I thought were really stellar over the next few posts. stay tuned.

Annie Leibovitz is in Seattle - November 19, 2008

Mark your calendars  for 19 November at 7.30pm - 

Annie Leibovitz is coming to town, courtesy Seattle Arts & Lectures. Discussing her new book, Annie Leibovitz at Work, she will open up about her process, covering the technical as well as the creative. 

Give the group a call at 206.621.2230 or log onto the website to purchase your tickets. 

Here is Annie on Annie -

“When I’m asked about my work, I try to explain that there is no mystery involved. It is work. But things happen all the time that are unexpected, uncontrolled, unexplainable, even magical. The work prepares you for that moment. Suddenly the clouds roll in and the soft light you longed for appears.” —Annie Leibovitz

Shameless Self Promotion - November

So many things, so many going on right now either at the gallery, or with my very talented group of artists. I am so excited for them, and feel so proud to represent them and their incredible work.

Take a look -

Susan Burnstine - Within Shadows, a solo show at Gallerie BMG
- Bridge To Nowhere won two 2008 Black & White Spider Awards; third place in the Fine Art Category and second place in the Silhouette category.

Tom Chambers - Tom is going to Bogata, Columbia next May.
FOTOGRÁFICA BOGOTÁ 2009 sponsored by the National Museum of Photography in Bogotá.

Cynthia Greig - Cynthia's showing her Representations series at Ute Noll's UNO Art Space in Stuttgart, Germany. 8 November 2008 - 8 February 2009

Keith Johnson - Panopticon Gallery in Boston and also through 31 October at Valpariso University in Indiana

Lydia Panas - Lydia's work is included in the exhibition "Humanscape"  in Korea in December, and Dean Jensen Gallery in Milwaukee.

Joelle Jensen - is in the newly released Flash Forward 2008

Mitch Dobrowner - is in LensWork coming up in the December issue.