Pictorialist
- Details
Pictorialist is a juried exhibition featuring works in all media by 34 St. Louis regional artists from Missouri and Illinois.
Pictorialist • Jan. 11 - Feb. 20, 2014 • FREE opening reception Sat., Jan. 18, 6-8 p.m
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Jurors are St. Louis-based Jennifer Silverberg, a freelance photographic artist whose works have been published in numerous local & national publications, and artist John Nagel is Executive Director of the International Photography Hall of Fame, St. Louis, MO. From 1974-2007, John was Professor at St. Louis Community College Meramec.
Pictorailist began on January 11. A free opening reception was held at Art Saint Louis on Saturday, January 18, from 6 to 8 p.m. The exhibit remains on view through Thursday, February 20, 2014.
Gallery is free & open to the public Mondays 7 a.m.-4 p.m., Tuesdays through Fridays 7 a.m.-5 p.m., and NEW Saturday hours are 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Closed Sundays.
Congratulations to the following artists whose works were selected by exhibit Jurors Nagel and Silverberg to receive Awards of Excellence as being outstanding artworks in this exhibit: Lon Brauer, Christa Gearhart Denney, Larry Duffy, Mark A. Fisher, Beth Goyer, Sheri Hausman, Connie LaFlam, and Valerie Snyder. |
FREE EVENT
COFFEE WITH THE ARTISTS: SATURDAY GALLERY TALKS
Join us in the Gallery on the following Saturdays when we host free one-hour Gallery talks at 11 a.m. with featured artists from the current exhibit, Pictorialist. Guests can enjoy complimentary coffee tastings courtesy of Mississippi Mud Coffee Roasters while learning about the artists and their artworks.
Some of the artists may bring in samples of their other work or also present a demo of their media & techniques. This is a walk & talk Gallery Talk, so guests will walk with the artists as they talk about their works in the Gallery. Seating is limited.
Saturday, February 8, 11 a.m. Saturday, February 15, 11 a.m.
JURORS' STATEMENTS
A juror statement: On Pictorialism by John Nagel
The work submitted to this "Pictorialist" exhibition ranged from the expected directions in symbolism, especially in photography, to the total adoption of new tools of expression in the digital age. The pictorial movement was all about the emotional content of expression, which often adopted the dreamy qualities of soft focus and came to be criticized for relishing the sentimental. The effort to communicate more dramatic moods and heartfelt feelings sometimes produced results that were viewed as superficial or melodramatic. And while Edward Weston and Ansel Adams later spurned this direction, and disdained the work of William Mortensen, they both used soft-focus lenses in their early work.
It can be said that in photography two disparate directions were available from the very invention of the medium: the soft qualities of Talbot's paper negatives compared to the crystal clarity of the daguerreotype. A masterpiece of emotional expression can be found in Hippolyte Bayard's 1840 image, "Self-Portrait of a Drowned Man" where he posed himself, semi-nude, in protest against the French government that spurned his invention of a photographic process.
The two directions of expression continue in parallel ebbs and flows through the history of photography, painting and poetry to the present day--each camp still critical of the other. The works in this show are worthy attempts to achieve expressive results using alternate processes and crossover techniques.
— John Nagel
Executive Director, International Photography Hall of Fame & Museum
St. Louis, MO
Juror's Statement: The Pictorialist by Jennifer Silverberg
In mental preparation of jurying this exhibit, images of Julia-Margaret Cameron’s started dancing through my head. The softness and romance of an era I both love, and was willing to leave behind but for a bit of influence in the work of today. Work that I had studied and loved, but hadn’t referenced in quite some time. It felt like a welcome and an overdue indulgence.
Moving through the images submitted, some more traditional than others, looking at the decisions of such varied artists left me with more questions then they did answers, and for that, I am grateful.
It is interesting to see the influences of a movement given a more contemporarily relevant context. The use of digital technology, from iPhones, digital cameras, and scanned and manipulated negatives, to more traditional processes, references the movement, but use it as a springboard for modern interpretation. The challenges met by bringing the artist’s life experience to the works, and not falling into what can be now interpreted as perhaps some of the cliché traps of the Pictorialist movement, were met with success and great variation.
It was an absolute pleasure combing through submissions with John, each fighting for images we believe in. While often in disagreement, the process spurred a conversation that confirms for me just how I grateful I am that we don’t have to agree. Art is not here to pander to a lowest common denominator, but to elevate the conversation. Providing a respite for escape or a challenge to confront, it leaves us asking questions, and hopefully, craving more.
— Jennifer Silverberg, photographic artist
St. Louis, MO
Some of the 43 artworks featured in Pictorialist:
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