I love portraiture.  Portraiture is yummy…often decadent–like a bowl of exotic chocolate truffles.

Some of my favorite portraitists’ work span the gamut of possibilities from the soulful portraits by Paul Murray of mountain folk still living a life most people don’t dream still exists to the utterly surreal portraiture of Christian Rex Van Minnen to the slightly disturbed clowns of Jerry Portelli.  My own work has often centered around “self as other.”  Self-portraiture–whether literal or not–is a soul-searching, profound experience.

Here is a great call for self-portraiture called “Self Searching” brought to you by The Vermont Photography Workplace and PhotoPlace Gallery.  You may remember a previous call for Photo Abstraction from PhotoPlace that we posted during Photography Week. 

Here’s the call:

CALL FOR ENTRIES
Self Searching: The Art of Self-Portraiture

Within the photographic genre of self-portraiture, some of the most probing, surprising, and thoughtful images have been made in the history of the medium.

For Self-Searching, they seek self-portraits that go beyond surface appearance to comment on the hopes, dreams, fears, and identities of the individuals pictured. 

Aline Smithson will choose forty photos for exhibition at PhotoPlace Gallery in Middlebury, Vermont.  

She will select an addiitonal thirty-five images for inclusion in the “On-Line Gallery Annex.” 

All seventy-five photographs will be reproduced in a full-color exhibiiton catalogue that will be available for purchase.  They offer free matting and framing for accepted photographs that fit their pre-cut mat sizes for the duration of the exhibition.

Juror:  Aline Smithson

After a career as a New York Fashion Editor and working along side the greats of fashion photography, Aline Smithson discovered the family Rolleiflex and never looked back.

Now represented by galleries across the country and published throughout the world, Aline continues to create her award-winning photography with humor, compassion, and a 50-year-old camera.

Her work has been featured in numerous publications including the PDN Photo Annual, Communication Arts Photo Annual, Eyemazing, Artworks, Shots, Pozytyw, and Silvershotz magazines. She has exhibited widely including solo shows at the Griffin Museum of Photography, the Oswald Gallery, and Wallspace Gallery in Seattle.

Aline has been the Gallery Editor for Light Leaks Magazine, writes and edits the blog, Lenscratch, and has been curating exhibitions for a number of galleries and on-line magazines.

Submission Instructions:

Along with the completed application form, please submit your work via e-mail or by sending them a CD with your files.  

Digital Files: Theyonly accept digital files.  All digital images should be provided as jpgs only, 72 ppi, image width not to exceed 1024 pixels on the longest side. Files should be titled as follows: LastName_FirstName_1Title.jpg  The number should correspond with the number on the application form.   

E-mail digital files and application form information to photos@vtphotoworkplace.com  or send CD with your images (not DVD), along with application form. Include SASE for return of CD, if desired.   If you have any questions about submitting digital images, please contact the gallery at photos@vtphotoworkplace.com     

Submission Fee:  Non-refundable $25 for the first 5 prints or digital images, $6 for each additional image.  Please make checks payable to Vermont Photography Workplace.  Credit card or PayPal payments may be made using the link at the bottom of the application form.  Applicants must be 18 or over.  Yes, they DO accept international applications.  Send materials to: Vermont Photography Workplace, 43 Weybridge Street, Middlebury, VT 05753 USA.

Acceptance Notification:  Artists will be notified of accepted work via e-mail approximately one week after the deadline.  If selected, artists will be sent instructions for submitting work for exhibition.  

All accepted exhibition prints should be on paper, sized to be matted to fit in an 11 x 14 or 16 x 20 frame unless another format is approved by the Gallery. 

Sales:  If accepted, artists may choose to offer their work for sale.  The VPW retains 40% of the sale price, as well as 6% Vermont sales tax.  Photographs accepted for other VPW exhibitions are not eligible for re-submission for one year. 

Use Rights: Artists whose submissions are accepted for exhibition grant the VPW the right to use their images for the purpose of marketing the exhibition, marketing related programs, and subsequent display as thumbnails on the VPW’s website, unless indicated otherwise.  

The Deadline is Midnight on July 19, 2010…so hurry!

Click Here to Review the full Call for Entries!