CALL for ENTRIES: Absence of Color

CABBAGE,
not KRAUT

People tell me the wackiest food facts. I love hearing them, and I usually assume I am being told the truth. But, just to be certain, I always verify the facts if I can. Recently someone told me that the black and white cookie, that I alway think of as German in orgin, IS actually German, but it is called an Amerikaner. There has to be some cyclical humor in the fact that an American who thought she was a fan of German cookies is really only a fan of cookies that Germans refer to as American cookies. Funny. This next call is all about Black and White, too. Take a look…

Check out this Call for Entries for Black & White: Absence of Color from MPLS Photo Center (Minneapolis, MN). This is a great venue and a great juror. Don’t miss this opportunity!

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CALL for ENTRIES:
Black & White: Absence of Color

The world’s first photographic images were made in shade of gray, black, and white, and the black and white photograph continues to be an important palette for photographers today. The beauty of a well-printed black and white photograph is undeniable—it is striking, unearthly, and can be life changing.

Some of the world’s most memorable photographs are black and white—the rich blacks, glowing whites, and silvery grays of a strong, black and white photograph leave a lasting impression on the mind. For photographers, those deep blacks hold a special significance, as it is the black tones that reveal themselves first in photographic chemistry and communicate the magic, mystery, and possibility of the photographic process.

Black and white photographs can have painterly, etching-like qualities, which were celebrated by photography’s inventors and early adopters. Photography as art was first championed with The Photo-Secessionists who celebrated the pictorial aspect of the black and white image. Today photography is widely accepted as an art form and as a key medium within contemporary and conceptual art.

The choice of using black and white versus color is the photographer’s choice, and the reasons for that choice can be personal, theoretical, or aesthetic. This call for entry—Black and White—The Absence of Color—looks to grays and blacks and whites to tell the story and make the picture that color would often muddy.

ELIGIBILITY: Open to all artists.

MEDIA: Photography

DEADLINE: Jan. 21st, 2012

NOTIFICATION: Jan. 29th, 2012

ENTRY FEE: $35 for five, $10 ea. add’l

JUROR: Bevin Bering Dubrowski is Executive Director of Houston Center for Photography, a nonprofit organization founded in 1981 offering year-round exhibitions, workshops, publications, outreach programs, lectures, and classes. HCP’s mission is to increase society’s understanding and appreciation of photography and its evolving role in contemporary culture, and produces 15 – 20 exhibitions annually on and off-site, balancing work by regional and internationally acclaimed emerging, mid-career, and established artists. Bevin curates exhibition for HCP and is also editor of spot magazine, a bi-annual journal of photography that includes artist portfolios, interviews, exhibition and book excerpts, and highlights on HCP members’ work.

Prior to joining HCP as Executive Director, Bevin founded the photography division of Bering & James and served as gallery director. Bevin is also a practicing photographer and received her BA in Art History and Visual Arts from Emory University. Bevin has reviewed portfolios for FotoFest, Lens Culture/ FotoFest Paris, Photo Nola, and Photo Lucida. She has also recently served as a juror for Critical Mass and the Lens Culture International Exposure Awards and serves on the FotoFest Art Board.

AWARDS: First Place – $400, Second Place – $300, Third Place – $200 and Three Honorable Mentions. Prizes and Awards include a free Black & White Exhibition Book.