The Portrait: Up Close and Personal Juror Results
The Mpls Photo Center is pleased to announce the juror's selection for "The Portrait: Up Close and Personal" Call for Entry. Congratulations to all the photographers whose images were selected for this exhibit.
Juror Selections
The Portrait: Up Close and Personal
Photo: Dan Koeck - Fargo, North Dakota
On Exhibit: June 22nd through August 19th, 2012
Opening Reception: June 22nd, 2012, 7:00 to 10:00 PM,
Mpls Photo Center 2nd Floor Galleries
Andrea Mellard, Juror Statement:
“The Portrait: Up Close and Personal”
At a young age children learn not to stare. Yet, we are drawn to look at each other, curious about what stories faces tell about how other lives are lived. “The Portrait: Up Close and Personal” invites you to look intently. These seventy-five portraits, selected from over 1,600 submissions, stand as exceptional examples of the diversity in contemporary photography.
The tradition of documentary photography still thrives as evident within the selection of photographs of workers—a farmer’s wife harvesting, a minister and architect in their places of worship and work, a Florida shrimper, a rodeo cowboy, and of course a photographer. An even older impulse to bring back images of the world traveled is reflected in the ethnographic portraits including those of African and Aztec dancers, an Indian singer and costumed child, and a bazaar vendor from China’s Silk Road. Others examine a culture closer to home, with portraits of unconventional characters, such as those attending motorcycle rallies. Four portraits record historic moments of social unrest, with depictions of an America’s civil rights figure and the 1970s counter culture movements, and more recently political protestors in Egypt and Occupy New York. No less dramatic, portraits with an implied narrative feature compelling protagonists frozen in moments of action leave viewers wondering how the story will end. Several photographs celebrate the beauty of the sitters with a direct gaze into the camera. However, in addition to representing traditional aesthetic ideals, portraits inclusive of a wide range of races, ages, and gender expand definitions of beauty. Several portraits of elderly and young subjects also reconsider age, by presenting exceptional individuals, such as the powerful aging surfer and the triumphant young amputee.
Experimentation with genre, format, and medium characterizes the portraits included in the exhibition. Some artists reconsider what constitutes a portrait, using objects, animals, masks, reflections and shadows to stand in for people’s visages. Like playful Russian nesting dolls, other photographers cleverly included portraits within portraits, such as the Cuban painter in his studio or the artist’s reflection on the glass of an heirloom daguerreotype. Finally, I commend the accomplished versatility with which photographers experiment with the history and future of the medium. Transcending debates for digital vs. film, the work in this exhibition also demonstrates newer technical innovations, like the iPhone and Photoshop, alongside early traditions, such as tintype and ambrotype photography. The diverse, highly competitive photography selected for “The Portrait: Up Close and Personal” is proof of the consistent power of portraiture to draw in viewers and encourage curiosity about other individuals.
Juror, Andrea Mellard, Curator of Exhibitions and Public Programs for AMOA-Arthouse
Exhibit Juror: Andrea Mellard
Andrea Mellard is Curator of Exhibitions and Public Programs at AMOA-Arthouse in Austin, Texas. The newly merged museum provides rich environments for a wide range of audiences to investigate and experience excellence in modern and contemporary art. The museum accomplishes this through innovative exhibitions, education, interpretative programs and direct access to the creative process. Andrea Mellard draws on an interdisciplinary background to connect visual art to contemporary culture. She has been on staff for seven years and curating for since 2009. Recently, she curated exhibitions of photography including Clifford Ross: Outside Realism and New Art in Austin: 15 to Watch. Previously, she was a curatorial and research assistant at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History for a three-year long cultural history project on Memphis, Tennessee. She holds an M.A. degree in American Studies from The University of Texas at Austin and an Interdisciplinary Humanities degree for California State University at Monterey.
The complete juror results can be found in this 2012 The Portrait: Juror Selected Images
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Ghost 3
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Bau 14, 86 lbs
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RS and Hydrangea |
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Odalisque |
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Boy Playing in Mud |
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Eduardo "Choco" |
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Exhibitors, please read Exhibitor Instruction Form carefully and complete the Exhibitor Information and click on submit.
Exhibitor Instruction Form Exhibitor Information Form
