TIE A STRING
AROUND YOUR FINGER

I always remember the thing I needed from the grocery store about 10 minutes after I leave the grocery store.  I used to put Post-it® notes everywhere.  That didn’t work.  I tried pre-printing lists with check-off boxes.  That didn’t work.  Now I send myself a text message with the essentials and an alarm for the time I plan on going to the grocery store.  Sad, but true.  Consider this your official text message for The Arrangement.

The deadline for entry in The Arrangement at Vermont Photo Space Gallery is Wednesday, December 22nd at Midnight EST.  You can email your entries and pay via PayPal so there are no excuses folks.  I know you don’t like it when I repost, but this is a great opportunity, and I don’t want you to wish you had bought milk 10 minutes after you leave the grocery store.  So, here is the original posting…

CALL FOR ENTRIES: The Arrangement

The tradition of still-life as subject matter has roots deep into the history of art, pre-dating photography as a medium by centuries.

Fine artists in all mediums, photography included, benefited from the total control they had over the final piece; the art making began with their arrangements of the mostly inanimate objects they intended to represent. As Vermont Photo Space Gallery owner Ken Signorello aptly points out, “…it is art squared, where one first creates a work of art and then another to preserve it.”

The history of still life in Photography is as old as the medium itself. Henry Talbot himself produced the first photographic images using the inanimate objects of still life. In its earliest days, utilizing still life as subject matter allowed for the lengthy exposures necessary for its initial technologies.

In the early 1900s, studies in line and form of object contributed to popular abstractions. In the 1950s, still-life concentrated on the kitsch, and re-emerged in the 90s after a few decades in obscurity, in perfect partnership with the new trendy super-saturated film stock. Overall, the genre has been largely ignored, despite periodic bouts of influence – surprising, for a photographic practice with so much potential.

What is still life today?

Vermont Photo Space wants you to show them your arrangements, from advertising to record photography, the abstract to the obvious. Whether you are an amateur or professional, you may have experienced your still-life photographs as some of your favorite images – Juror Paula Tognarelli wants to see them.

JUROR: Paula Tognarelli is the Executive Director and Curator of the Griffin Museum of Photography. The Griffin Museum of Photography’s mission is to promote an appreciation of photographic art and a broader understanding of its visual, emotional and social impact.

Tognarelli holds a M.S. in Arts Administration from Boston University; is a graduate of the New England School of Photography (Applied Program) and is a current candidate for her Masters in Education at Lesley University as a visual arts teacher.

Paula describes her photography as her native language. “I’ve always been more visual than vocal. I could draw a picture much faster than I could articulate a story in words. Photography made dialogue that much easier for me.”

Tognarelli is also a digital imaging specialist. She has done extensive postgraduate study in color management, color theory, digital photography and digital imaging processing. She has lectured on digital imaging throughout the United States and in Japan, representing Agfa and Polaroid Graphic Imaging. She has also been a speaker at the Seybold Conferences. She is a former member of the Xerox Technical Advisory Board. Paula was named by Printing Impressions magazine as one of twelve women who made a major contribution to the Graphic Arts/ Imaging industry.

RULES FOR PHOTO SUBMISSIONS:

Age: Entrants must be at least 18 years old. If younger, a parent or legal guardian may make the submission for you.

Ownership: All submitted photos must have been taken by the photographer making the entry.

If you are a parent or legal guardian submitting for a minor, please make it clear on the submission form.

Digital Submissions: All submissions must be made by digital files through:

1. Upload on VermontPhotoSpace.com or

2. Sent via email to submissions@VermontPhotoSpace.com. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it along with an application form. There is a $5.00 surcharge for email entries.

3. Images should be as large as possible but no larger than 1280 pixels on the longest side, type jpg – set to the highest quality. DPI can be set to any number, but if you must specify something go with 72 dpi.

FEES: Up to three images may be submitted for a fee of $20 US for on-line submission and $25 for email submission. Additional images may be submitted for an additional $5 US per image.

DEADLINE: Images and payment must be received by midnight EST on the submission closing date December 22, 2010.

RIGHTS: Photographers retain all rights to their work, except for submissions accepted for exhibition: artists grant Vermont Photo Space the right to use their images to promote the exhibition and for display on VPS website and for inclusion in an exhibit catalog.

Vermont Photo Space Gallery provides free matting and framing of accepted entries for the duration of each of our exhibitions, subject to standard sizes. Photographers set their own prices if they wish to sell their work, and retain all rights.

For the full Call for Entries, visit their website.