I am heading to beautiful Seattle and will be offering a seminar and and all-day workshop in conjunction with Photographic Center Northwest and Crista Dix at WallSpace. These two programs are designed for working photographers with an eye toward art. If it is time to jump-start your understanding of where you are and where you want to be in the art world, here is your chance.

The Seminar: Introduction to Critical Looking: A Seminar for Thinking Photographers will be held at PCNW on Saturday, May 22nd from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm.

The Workshop: Critical Looking: The Art of Conscious Creativity will be held at PCNW on Sunday, May 23rd from 11:00 am to 4:30 pm. Enrollment is limited to 15.

Advanced Registration is available through PCNW or Crista. See you there!

I am in Houston. It is the third week (out of four!) of portfolio reviews in the International Meeting Place. There are shows all over the city. YIKES.

Over the next few days I will be driving throughout the city, seeing as many shows I can while still attempting to look at work at the Meeting Place. I am not an “official” reviewer this time around at the Meeting Place, but do a tremendous amount of “over the shoulder” work…that is to say I stand behind folks who are showing their portfolios to others, looking and listening, and if interested arrange to talk to the artist more after they are done with their presentation. This allows me the freedom of dipping in and out of only those sessions that interest me as well as giving me the opportunity to see so much more work than if I were on the official “20-minute treadmill.” (Thank you, Fred, Wendy, and Martha) Occasionally, I will catch up with an artist whose work I have reviewed in the past which lends a “homecoming” atmosphere to the process.

On a different track, and one that hold particular appeal to me as an EX-museum curator, are the opportunities to take in the exhibitions that have been mounted as the adhesive to bond the festival together. Like any set of festival exhibitions, the tend to address broad issues or open-ended themes…and like any set of festival exhibitions they purport to be very current. I saw three shows yesterday and will take in that many again today. I will be posting my thoughts about them here as the week goes on and after I have had a chance to think about what I have seen.

Stay tuned….

Every now and again we get reminded why we do what we do.
I have always been energized by meeting with smart artists…I spent two hours with the collaborative team of Louviere and Vanessa and am BUZZING! They are smart, understand the importance of process, and are constantly prodding themselves to pursue IDEAS! Incredibly refreshing, no? Our conversation was wide-ranging and candid. Jeff and Vanessa may not always hit the mark with their work, but they consistently challenge themselves and the media they employ. I can’t wait to see what direction they take next and talk with them again.

I was fortunate enough to have been asked (thank you, Debra Weiss) to be the subject of an interview by Jeff Sedlik and his class at Art Center in Pasadena last night. Jeff moderates a class that brings together disparate voices and personalities from all across PhotoLand in an effort to give a very broad perspective to his students about their career path potentials in a post-artschool reality. It was a nice evening (after all what’s NOT nice about being given the opportunity to pontificate in front of captive audience.) I must say that I am still a little freaked out that the session was video’d. I tend to tell the truth when asked a question, so here’s hoping that video does not find it’s way onto YouTube…there will be no shortage of seemingly defamed artists and exhibitors!

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