newspace - Rental Darkroom, Studio and Gallery

July 2007

AMONG US AND CURIOUS
3rd ANNUAL NATIONAL JURIED EXHIBITION

Curated by Darius Himes

July 6th through 29th
Opening Reception: Friday July 6th 7-10pm

Newspace Center for Photography is pleased to present AMONG US AND CURIOUS, our 3rd annual national juried exhibition curated by Darius Himes. Darius serves as Adjunct Professor of Photographic Arts at the College of Santa Fe, and the Editor of the photo-eye Booklist, a nationally recognized publication devoted to the fine-art photography book community. He speaks to students, photographers and workshop classes about the marriage of photography and books, based upon his extensive knowledge of the photography book market.

Juror statement:

Photography in the early years of the 21st century is a panoply of diversity. The availability of picture-making devices is rampant. Different types of cameras--from the cell phone and the scanner to the view camera, the pinhole device and the hand held 35mm--are within the reach of anyone with an inkling of artistic interest. Independence of individual thought and action--that child of the moral revolutions and technological innovations of the 2oth century--permeate the Western world and have made in-roads to more closed societies. The sheer variety of images that we witness today is due more to a belief that ALL voices have a rightful place in the world than anything else. Filters and "the critical lens" are a necessity, now more than ever, when it comes to imbibing and coercing meaning from the sea of work out there.

Thirty-five images from thirty-two photographers are included in this show, culled from over 2,000 images. My approach to jurying this show was neither to survey the field and present a cross-section of "what's happening" nor was it to award artists for the "Best Images in Show." Rather, I looked at the work in front of me and allowed a loose narrative, an unspoken and enigmatic script to emerge. Each of the photographs included have their own merit and play a contributing role in the unity of the show. I chose the work of John Mann, Alex Emmons and Takako Kido to be the award recipients based on the strength and coherence of the 5 images they submitted, rather than just on the strength of the image(s) I decided to include. By excluding some photographs and including others, I sought to strengthen this overall group of images into a cohesive unity. Playfulness, mystery, fauna, fancy and the presence of others among us--these are all words that I hope will resonate in your minds as you view these wonderful, diverse pictures.

Darius Himes
June 2007

1st Place
John Mann
Tallahassee, FL

[artist website]