How does a relatively unknown Connecticut artist exhibit his work in a Texas gallery that shows some of the best known contemporary and 20th century photographers? By attending one of the largest biennial photography events in the world, FotoFest (http://www.fotofest.org). Rick Turek, (http://www.rickturek.com) who resides in Wallingford, CT, was one of six photographers selected to exhibit at the Photographs Do Not Bend Gallery (http://photographsdonotbend) in Dallas, Texas this summer. The exhibit is titled Global Warming, Hot Selections from the 2004 FotoFest International Meeting Place". Artists from Denmark, Czech Republic, England and the United States are included in the exhibition which runs from June 25 to August 28 this summer in Dallas.
(PRWEB) July 2, 2004 -- How does a relatively unknown Connecticut artist exhibit his work in a Texas gallery that shows some of the best known contemporary and 20th century photographers? By attending one of the largest biennial photography events in the world, FotoFest (http://www.fotofest.org). Rick Turek, (http://www.rickturek.com) who resides in Wallingford, CT, was one of six photographers selected to exhibit at the Photographs Do Not Bend Gallery (http://photographsdonotbend) in Dallas, Texas this summer. The exhibit is titled Global Warming, Hot Selections from the 2004 FotoFest International Meeting Place". Artists from Denmark, Czech Republic, England and the United States are included in the exhibition which runs from June 25 to August 28 this summer in Dallas.
Every two years since 1986, hundreds of photographers flock to the city of Houston, Texas to participate in a month long event called FotoFest(The Meeting Place, FotoFest's portfolio review program for photographers, is one of the biennial's most important and popular programs. The twelve-day Meeting Place presents an unparalleled opportunity for artists using photography to have their work reviewed by some of the most important people in the field of photography.
This year, 310 photographers participated in the 2004 Meeting Place. The participants came from 35 different U.S. States and 15 different countries. There were 114 Reviewers that attended the International Meeting Place. The reviewers came from 20 different states and 19 different countries.
In March of this year, Turek decided to throw his hat in the already heavily saturated fine art photography ring by attending FotoFest. I am really terrible at marketing and talking about my work and I take forever getting slides together to send out to galleries and magazines. Finding the right fit with a gallery is the proverbial needle in the haystack. FotoFests Meeting Place seemed to be a great way to see a lot of people with a serious interest in photography in a short amount of time." Turek said.
The artist adds,The review process was very exciting and intense. You had twenty minutes to show your work to a reviewer, the time flew by, some photographers dropped out after the first day, I guess they didnt like what they heard. I tried not to get too emotional about the reviewers comments. You know the old saying about opinions". He adds All in all, the reviewers and photographers were very passionate and generous, they would steer you to other reviewers they thought would be interested in your work. There was a lot of information-sharing between photographers and reviewers and amongst fellow photographers."
FotoFest attendees are given a list of reviewers who will be attending the event. The photographers submit a wish list of who they would like to see each day. These wish lists gets put into a computer which then creates the artists appointments for the day. Turek recallsI remember being very excited to see that Burt and Missy Finger, co-owners of Photographs Do Not Bend Gallery were going to be FotoFest reviewers. I had seen examples of the kind of work they show several years earlier at the Photography Show in NYC and was blown away by some of the artists and work they were exhibiting."
Photographs Do Not Bend Gallery just celebrated its Ninth year of operations in Dallas. In April of 1995, they opened their doors with an exhibition of Joel-Peter Witkins work and have continued to play an important role in the Dallas art scene by exhibiting vintage and contemporary photography. Some of the photographers they have featured include Shelby Lee Adams, Keith Carter, Jack Delano, Ralph Gibson and Micheal Kenna.
As to Tureks meeting with the Fingers, I met with Burt and Missy my first day at FotoFest, after a handshake and a little friendly banter, we got down to looking at the work. I brought several different series for review, for which I was previously scolded by other reviewers.That was a no-no. Halfway through the review, Burt stared at me and said I was having too much fun, I asked "Is that a bad thing?" He said "No, I'm jealous". One series that intrigued him was a series of heads I did that was inspired by the painter Francis Bacon These are interesting, send me a couple" was all he said and scribbled his name and number on a postcard."
Burt Finger, Director and Co-owner of Photographs Do Not Bend Gallery offered this perspective on the FotoFest Meeting Place program. A lot of the work I reviewed there was very, very good, but very good isnt going to make it anymore, the work has to be excellent."
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