Almost 200 years after it was invented, there are still people who don’t think of photography as a significant art form.
The fact that every cellphone is also a camera may have devalued the medium even more – but artist and event organizer Greg Smith aims to challenge that view with More Than the Eye Can See, first exhibition of the new year at the Landmark Pop-Uptown Gallery (Jan. 4 - 29, Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day).
The free exhibit will showcase the work of 20 local photographers over the course of the month, Smith said – each work illustrating the potential of photography as a means of artistic expression.
“As Yousuf Karsh, Canada’s most famous photographer, said: ‘look and think before opening the shutter…the heart and mind are the true lens of the camera,’” Smith commented.
To further underline the artistic possibilities of photography, a Karsh original will also be included in the exhibition.
In what has emerged as the Semiahmoo Peninsula’s premier photography-only exhibition, More Than the Eye Can See is returning to the gallery for a second year, after hosting more than 700 visitors during the previous exhibit.
Among participating photographers in the new edition of More Than the Eye Can See will be Caitlin McDonald,
Oleksandr Smirnov, Ginny Behl, Ken Pfister, Dennis Duklow, Kim Hexter, Steve Yates, Stacy Ascah, Terence Thomas, Rob Hallam, Lynn Kelman, George Samson, Richard Wilson, Lisa Geddes, Chris Leach, Don Hudson, Amy Clegg, and Alasdair Toms.
Much of the work on display will be available for purchase, Smith said, and photographers will be expected to make clear the number of prints that will be made available for sale as an assurance of the value of the work.
The show will also provide a posthumous celebration of late local photographer, Scott Stone, who passed away recently, Smith added.
“Scott will not be with us, but his beautiful work will be on display in his memory,” he said.
Creatively-inclined visitors to the exhibition will also have a chance to “let their inner poet loose” during the event, Smith said.
One of the features of this year’s show will be an ‘Ekphrastic’ poetry contest, he said (ekphrastic poetry is a creative written or verbal interpretation of something visual, like a work of art, or a scenic view).
Winning entries will be selected by Barbara Carter and a panel of poets – and by public voting for a People’s Choice Award, Smith said.
Aspiring photographers wanting to hone their technique will be also able to attend a series of free workshops available in the second half of January (details will be available at the exhibition, and some photographic equipment will also be on sale at bargain prices).
Smith also noted the contribution of the City of White Rock, which makes the gallery available to a wide variety of local artists in all disciplines, throughout the year.
“This initiative by the city ensures that both established and emerging artists have an opportunity to be seen and appreciated by the public”, said Smith.
The Landmark Pop-Uptown Gallery is located at 15140 North Bluff Rd. (Central Plaza) in White Rock.
alex.browne@peacearchnews.com
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