The Portrait Society Gallery, in the Third Ward’s Marshall Building, hosted the 2nd Milwaukee Photo Tweetup this evening. A number of photographers came out to see the “BS @ PS” show and to socialize with each other.
I was thankful for the group that came out, as I got to see photo-friends I’ve not seen in a while – Miles Fabishak, Jennifer Janviere, Rebeccas Spasiano, and Jeff Miller. It was good to hear what they were up to and just to see them “in the flesh” again, as we get used to “socializing” so much through the Internet anymore. It was also a pleasure to finally meet Kat “Ellagraph” Schleicher, as I’ve been a fan of her work for a long time, and to meet C.M. Spears and Andy Manis.
The tweetup was held at the Portrait Society so that everyone could have a chance to view the “BS @ PS” show – a very unique juried show that PS put on for the first time this year. Where traditional juried shows have creatives submit slides, digital images, or actual artworks to the gallery for jurying, this show had creatives submit self-published/created photo-books for judging! The PS received 70 photo-books, and from that bunch, the jurors chose three solo-show awards, four honorary mentions, and one “Best of Show”.
Those winners were:
Honorary Mentions
Back in the World, James Gill
Digging, John Lusis
A Working Ranch, James Brozek
Flores de Guatemala, Pamela Miller
Best of Show
Brief Encounters, Marta Shumylo
Solo Show
Christopher Colby, Peruvians
The Bedroom, Lois Bielfeld
A Selection of Selections, PJ Moody
While at the gallery tonight, my goal was to look at all of the photo-books, and relate to you which ones I personally, subjectively thought were stand-outs. So, here we go…
-just as trends go, it was interesting to see three books all about last springs Madison protests against Scott Walker. There were “This Is What Democracy Looks Like” by Barb Miner, “Show Me A Sign!” by Ken Halfmann, and “The Pulse of the Protests” by Diane Kravetz.
These books were my faves, and I list them in no particular order…
- A Working Ranch, by Jim Brozek. Lovely documentary coverage. Nice images, well-printed.
- Back In The World, by James Gill. Again, good book presentation/production. Wonderfully lit portraits.
- Peruvians, by Christopher Colby. Some real great street-photography, but I do feel it could have received a tighter edit and better printing – in the book and in the images that were on the wall.
- A Selection of Selections, by PJ Moody. Nice observations, rich color, a nicely printed book and nicely printed wall images.
- States of Matter, by Shana McCaw and Brent Budsberg. A really talented, local “art-couple” these two always make interesting projects and this book documented a recent one well.
- Thailand: Land of Smiles, by Stacey Meanwell. I really enjoyed the color in the first section, but the book as a whole seemed a little scattered to me. Again, I think it could have used a tighter edit.
- This Is What Democray Looks Like, and Anatomy of an Avenue, by Barb Miner. Ms. Miner has some nice images between these two books, and while “This Is What..” is more topical and vibrant, I really enjoyed “Avenue” more. More classic in its B+W images.
- Winter Zen, by Art Elkon. I’ve not normally inclined to landscape/nature photography, but Art’s got some real nice, quiet moments in this book.
- The Bedroom, by Lois Bielefeld. What’s neat about this book is that EVERYONE who saw said the same thing – “Wow, what great lighting!” and I echo that statement too. Great images in a well-produced book made for an excellent outcome. Even the paper was nice. 🙂
- That Was Then…This Is 2011, by yours truly. My short little book was produced very quickly, and to my surprise was a bit cathartic. I didn’t intend to enter a book, and am thankful for Erik Ljung’s prodding.
- Facets, by Sheila Teruty. There aren’t many “art” photo-books that I dig. I’m normally a documentary kinda guy, but this project – a series of self-portraits in different masks, outfits, and environments – was actually pretty neat.
- For the Love of Dogs, Stef Bartz. Bartz has long been known for her pet-portraiture, and it’s showcased real well here. She even has a Kickstarter going on to support her publishing!
