Courtesy of the artist
Artist Huguette Roe photographed bales of mashed juice bottles at a recycling plant in France in "Mixed Drinks."
|
Gallery owners can be picky. And when it comes to choosing artwork for a photo competition, Kate Fraser lives up to that reputation.
The British-born owner of the Bethesda gallery that bears her name won't accept "snapshot art." Nor does she opt for "already unsuccessful photos" that have been "digitally manipulated into even less successful images." And Fraser begs artists never to submit what she describes as "the worst soft porn," such as a photo of a "45-year-old naked woman with a guitar between her legs. Do they really think I want that in my gallery?"
Her expectations are simple — well, sort of.
"The work must be extraordinary," she says. "I don't want anyone to come to the gallery and wonder why I picked a photograph."
While composition, technique, ability and a fresh vision matter to Fraser, they are also part of photographer Huguette Roe's mantra. Somehow the Falls Church artist has captured beauty from recycling centers in the U.S. and abroad. Even the process of getting into recycling centers has a performance art quality.
"People [at the recycling centers] think I am selling something and hang up on me," Roe says.
But once inside the noisy and odoriferous facilities, she walks amid the stacks of tightly mashed bales of plastic, metal and wire in search of beauty.
It's not all a matter of looking good. Roe hopes her work makes an environmental statement. She admits that meshing these concepts isn't always easy, but sees her work as "artistic and meaningful. For me, they are more of a statement. You have to cover a lot of ground to find interesting compositions."
Photographer Andrea Land takes a different approach. The Springfield, Mo., artist photographs young girls in their own homes.
"I have always been interested in the portrait, and I am interested in children in their spaces, whether it's a living room, bedroom or kitchen," she observes.
Relying on natural light, Land aspires to an "insular dreamlike state" to her portraits.
The public reaction has been powerful. People find her work has an "intriguing, yet uncomfortable quality that challenges particular individuals to question our culture's ideas and norms, particularly ones relating to gender and youth," Land explains.
Her subjects always look directly at the camera. As such, Land hopes to make the point that "We [the audience] are allowed to stare as long as we like at the image. It relates back to the idea of watching, staring at individuals, especially young girls, at such private moments."
Unlike Roe and Land, Silver Spring artist Alain Debrabant likes to create beautiful landscapes. Whereas that may sound simple enough, offering a fresh take on the Potomac River isn't easy.
"I often have to go a spot a number of times before the lighting is just right," he explains.
Debrabant doesn't rely on luck. Upon returning from shooting photos, he spends hours in an honest-to-goodness old-fashioned dark room — no Photoshop for this artist — where he manipulates the image.
Regardless of the subject or methodology, Fraser's competition offers a serious take on what sadly has become an anyone-can-do-it art form.
The Eighth Annual International Photography Competition is on view Tuesday through Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., through Saturday, March 7, at Fraser Gallery, 7700 Wisconsin Ave., Suite E, Bethesda. An opening reception is planned for Friday, 6 to 9 p.m. Call 301-718-9651.
Copyright © Post-Newsweek Media, Inc./Gazette.Net