posted by Ian Summers on September 27th, 2010
BETHLEHEM, PA—Presentations by some of the nation’s most esteemed photographers, dynamic photography exhibits and the Lehigh Valley’s only public photography portfolio review highlight the inaugural InVision Photo Festival Nov. 5-7 at ArtsQuest’s™ Banana Factory®, 25 W. Third St., Bethlehem, PA.
InVision gets underway Nov. 5 with a free evening of presentations and exhibitions. Activities kick off at 5:30 p.m. with InVision Artist in Residence Larry Fink, who will give a presentation documenting his work from 1957-present. A professional photographer for more than 45 years, Fink has had solo exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art and Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Musee de la Photographie in Belgium and the Musee de l’Elysee in Switzerland, among others. His commercial work includes advertising campaigns for Smirnoff, Bacardi and Cunard Line, and his photographs have appeared in publications such as Vanity Fair, GQ, Detour, The New York Times Magazine and The New Yorker.
.
.
InVision’s opening evening also includes the announcement of the winners of the “InVision Juried College Photography Contest Exhibit.” The exhibition, which will feature the work of students from colleges and universities from throughout the Northeastern United States, will be on display in the Hallway to the Arts through Jan. 9. Other exhibitions include “InVision MUSE,” featuring the work of up-and-coming photographers and the masters who inspired them, and the “Photo Design Project Exhibit,” highlighting the work of participants in the Photo Design Project, a unique job and life skills program presented by ArtsQuest and funded by the Lehigh Valley Workforce Investment Board Inc.
InVision MUSE, which will be on display in the Banko Family Gallery through Nov. 21, includes veterans Fink, Sid Kaplan and Susan S. Bank, as well as emerging photographers such as Dani Bogenhagen, Timothy G. Piotrowski and Lisa Kessler. The Photo Design Project Exhibit, which highlights the positive impact the program is having on disadvantaged young adults, will be on display in the Olympus Digital Imaging Center through Nov. 30.
“The goal of the InVision Photo Festival is to offer to the community the very highest photographic experience. From exhibitions and parties, to workshops and presentations, this festival will celebrate all that is photography, igniting the public’s passion for exciting photographic work,” says ArtsQuest Director of Visual Arts and Education Janice Lipzin. “A special announcement will be made on Friday evening that will launch the InVision festival for the following year in a very dynamic way.”
On Nov. 6 at 2 p.m., photography enthusiasts are invited to “Take a Walk on the Wild Side” with National Geographic photographer Michael ‘Nick’ Nichols. Nichols, who was dubbed the Indiana Jones of photography by Paris Match, has worked for National Geographic since 1996, travelling the globe while photographing more than 25 stories for the magazine. Nichols is also the founder of the LOOK 3 Festival of the Photograph in Charlottesville, Va., and his work has appeared in popular consumer and photography magazines including Life and Rolling Stone. Tickets for Nichols’ presentation are $25.
Saturday’s InVision activities also include an opportunity to enjoy locally made beverages while meeting Alex Webb and Peter van Agtmael, photographers from the prestigious Magnum Photos agency of New York City. The “Magnum and Microbrews” event, open to ages 21 and older, will get underway at 7 p.m. and conclude with presentations by Webb and van Agtmael. Webb’s presentation will focus on his three decades of working in color, beginning with his first book, Hot Light/Half-Made Worlds, and ending with his most recent book, Violet Isle: A Duet of Photographs from Cuba, a collaboration with photographer Rebecca Norris Webb. Van Agtmael’s presentation will focus on his documentation of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, highlighted in his 2009 book, “2nd Tour Hope I Don’t Die.” Tickets for the event are $35 per person and beverages are included in the ticket price.
On Nov. 7, from 11 a.m.-1 p.m., InVision continues with John Isaac’s “The Art of Seeing and Printing” workshop, during which the former United Nations Photo Unit Chief will share valuable tips and tricks for transforming images into spectacular prints. Cost is $35 per person; only 30 spots are available and advance registration is suggested.
As a UN photographer for more than 20 years, Isaac visited more than 100 countries, documenting world crises such as the Cambodian Killing Fields, the war in Lebanon, the invasion of Afghanistan, the Iran-Iraq War, the famine in Ethiopia, the genocide in Rwanda and the war in Bosnia. Since 1998, he has concentrated on nature photography, capturing birds, mammals and landscapes from New Mexico and Wyoming to Iceland and Africa.
InVision culminates with the InVision Portfolio Review on Nov. 7 from 2-7 p.m. Designed for aspiring photographers and college photography majors, the portfolio review is a rare opportunity for participants to have their work reviewed by top photography professionals without having to travel to New York City or Philadelphia. Reviewers include American Photo magazine Executive Editor Russell Hart, Painter, photographer and career coach Ian Summers, Lehigh University Art Galleries Director Ricardo Viera and Norris Webb, whose work has appeared in publications such as Time, New Letters and Orion. Registration fee for the portfolio review is $75; only 30 spots are available and advance registration is required.
Tickets for all InVision events are on sale now at www.artsquest.org/invision or 610-332-3378. A limited number of festival passes are available for $149 each, a $21 savings over the individual ticket price.
INVISION 2010 TICKET PRICES
“Take a Walk on the Wild Side” with Michael ‘Nick’ Nichols – $25
“Magnum and Microbrews” with Alex Webb and Peter van Agtmael – $35
“The Art of Seeing and Printing” with John Isaac – $35
InVision Premier Portfolio Review – $75
Festival Pass – $149
For more information on InVision, please visit www.artsquest.org/invision or call 610-332-1300.
ABOUT ARTSQUEST
ArtsQuest™ is a Bethlehem, PA-based nonprofit dedicated to presenting music, arts, cultural experiences and educational and outreach programs that aid in economic development, urban revitalization and community enrichment. Through festivals such as its flagship event, Musikfest®, and the Banana Factory® cultural arts and education center, ArtsQuest’s programming currently reaches more than 1.3 million people annually.
ArtsQuest is furthering its mission of celebrating arts and culture through the development of the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks. The 65,000-square-foot building, set to open in May 2011, will feature live music, independent and scientific films, new festivals and community celebrations year-round, reaching an additional 750,000 people each year.
For more information on ArtsQuest, visit www.artsquest.org or call 610-332-1300.*/1
.
.
posted by Ian Summers on August 20th, 2010
.
Optimism is the madness of insisting that all is well when we are miserable.
Voltaire
.
I invite you to visit my new group on Facebook called 1501 Quotes Questions & Pondering About the Creative Process and where I hope to engender some lively discussions about the creative process by readers sharing their experiences and beliefs. I have 500 new quotes in my collection that were not included in my EBook. Many of the quotes refer to the marketing of creativity. After all, marketing is part of the process, isn’t it?
.
It’s All Good
.
My days of whining and complaining about others have have come to an end.
Nothing is easier than fault finding. All it will do is discolor my personality
so that none will want to associate with me. That was my old life. No more…
…Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if they are going to be dead by
midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness and understanding you can
muster. And do it with no thought of any reward. Your live will never be the
same again.
Og Mandino
.
Give the newly re-popularised buzz phrase, ‘It’s all good!” the meaning it deserves. Believe it for just one more day. And another. And another. One day at a time. Be kind, caring, empathetic with everyone you meet without an attachment to any outcome. Build relationships without an analysis of what you are going to get. It is as simple as a smile, eye contact, and wishing another a good morning. Prepare to perform Random Acts of Kindness. The tools are simple: graciousness, a smile, and creativity.
I am writing this today because I was the recipient of an act of kindness two weeks ago and I am still smiling.
I was driving on the NY State Thruway, pulled off for gas, and continued another fifty miles or so. I stopped at the next rest stop for a cup of coffee. I could not find my wallet. I tracked back to the previous gas station. The wallet was not there. I started to panic. Sure I understood that it would be time consuming, frustrating and annoying to cancel all those credit cards. I thought, “It’s all good, whatever that means.”
Just then I received an email message from a woman named Rosemary who found my wallet and asked me to call her back so that she would know what I wanted her to do with it. Then I accidentally erased the call. The panic became overwhelming.
My friends and family were telling me to trust the universe. That is what I would have told them to do. However,I wasn’t believing it was all good. I got home five hours later. My wife and I had a late dinner. She helped me calm down.
The next morning, there was an email message from Rosemary telling me the wallet was in the mail. I wanted to call and thank her however there wasn’t a telephone number, last name or location. I returned her email with a note saying I wanted to send her a limited edition print as a thank you.
Rosemary wrote back promptly. She said, “All I ask is that you be kind to others.”
The wallet was returned via the post office three days later.
.
It’s All Good may mean that nothing is bad. It may be used in a seemingly optimistic sense
Art Buyer:
Hey man. We gave the assignment to someone else. Sorry about that.
Photographer:
Oh, It’s all good.
It may also mean; despite any possible doubt, everything’s cool:
Photographer:
We agreed that the agency would send me a check for 50% of the production
budget, before tomorrow’s shoot.
Art Director:
Don’t worry. It’s all good.
It may be used when someone doesn’t wish to get into something difficult,
complex or just plan annoying. Whatever. Later for that. It’s all good.
.
From Bob Dylan’s Song
Big politician saying lies
Restaurant kitchen full of flies
Don’t make a big difference, don’t see why it should
But it’s alright ’cause it’s all good
All good, it’s all good
.
.
posted by Ian Summers on August 16th, 2010
.
.
I have never asked for a dime from my readers for anything. About three weeks ago, I received an email message from Stavit Allweis:
Hi Ian,
I’m writing to invite you to view early images from “ISNESS” my epic fotonovela currently in the works.
It is hybrid of cinema, the graphic novel form, and is deeply informed by cult masterpieces of past.
We are in the crucial mid-production phase and reaching out to create a fan base and raise finishing funds.
Naturally, I am hoping that you will find my efforts worthy of an article or link on Ian Summers’ Heartstorming.
It would be an honor to have you glance at the Kickstarter link: http://kck.st/bEKVTm
Sincerely,
Stavit Allweis
.
Stevie found Heartstorming while searching for photo novella on the Internet. I am glad she did. She found a couple of my articles about sequential art and a challenge to photographers to create the next great photo novella. I am impressed with the fundraising campaign for a wonderful innovative project. She has been using Kickstarter as a means to raise money to complete her photo novela. She has less than one week to raise the remaining start up costs for ISNESS. Kickstarter is an all or nothing at all deal. Won’t you take a few minutes to view the video below and donate five dollars or more? Everyone contributing $35 or more will receive a signed copy of the book upon publication.
Still photographers interested in multimedia should check this out. Photo novelas are great examples of sequential art. Learn more about the How Messing with Mr. In-Between May Make Gutter Talk more Interesting.
.
THE STORY
ISNESS tells of the story of the last remaining family on earth. The story is set in the remains of the culture of the 1970′s, somewhere in North America.
Over the course of 24 downspiraling hours, one family member after another succumb to powerful forces of evolution run amok in their home. As in mythology, their characters are deeply archetypal and some posses supernatural qualities.
On one level the story is the disturbing tale of a dysfunctional suburban family gone post- apocalyptic. On a deeper level, the story lays out and examines increments along the carnality/spirituality spectrum in the human predicament.
THE NAME
ISNESS, the name of the novel pertains to survival: Either “you IS or you ISN’T”. It is the degree of one’s “isness” that nature trades in: that moment in nature’s cyclical regurgitation of matter that we experience as being alive and which we cling to so desperately.
THE FORM
The final product will be in the form of a graphic novel composed of many sequential photographic images. This genre, though rarely employed by comics artists nowadays, used to thrive in the form of pulp magazines in the 70′s and earlier. It never took off in the United States as it did in Europe and South America.
.
Only $431 to go as of August 20th with only 7 days to go. Please help.
.
As of this writing $6319 dollars has been raised. Stevie needs only $431 to reach her goal of $6,750. Remember, it’s all or nothing at all. Don’t let this great project get away.
Check out this interview with Stevie Allweis at Williamsburg-Greenpoint News+Arts.
There is even more background information at Stevie’s blog Countercomics.com
.
.
.
.
.
.
