Light Work Announces the 2008 Light Work Grant Recipients
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The 34th Annual Light Work Grants in Photography were recently awarded
to three Central New York residents. The selected artists are Kathy
Morris, Paul Pearce, and Nancy Keefe Rhodes. For the past 34 years,
Light Work has awarded grants to photographers, critics and photo
historians who reside in Central New York. The Light Work Grants in
Photography program is a part of Light Work's ongoing effort to provide
support and encouragement to artists working in photography. The grants
also aim to foster an understanding and appreciation for photographic
arts in Central New York.
The Light Work Grant is a fellowship that includes a $2,000 cash award, an exhibition at Light Work and publication in The Light Work Annual.Applicants
were required to submit 10 examples of their work along with a short
application form. Three judges from outside the grant area then
selected the recipients based on the merits of their work.
Light Work is pleased to announce this year's grant recipients:
Kathy Morris, Snake Staff Woods |
Kathy Morris, Ithaca, Tompkins County
Kathy Morris's series Spinal Diary
is, in her words, "a visual and written narrative about back pain, back
surgery, healing, and the vulnerabilities of being one of the 47
million Americans without health insurance." Her images examine the
current health care crisis. Her autobiographical series exemplifies how
artists translate and transcend physical challenges through creative
expression. Morris has exhibited nationwide, and she has received
numerous grants and awards. Her work is included in permanent
collections nationwide. She previously received the Light Work Grant in
1986.
Paul Pearce, Cross Pollination |
Paul Pearce, Mattydale, Onondaga County
Paul Pearce's photographs question the concept of civilized societies,
and look at the conflict between morality and militarism. He is, in his
own words, "fascinated by the packaging of ideas and beliefs." Pearce's
work looks back at his time as a combat war veteran, and his reactions
to the policies and actions of that time. Pearce is an adjunct
professor in photography at the State University of New York Oswego.
His work has been exhibited nationwide. He received the Light Work
Grant in 1981.
Nancy Keefe Rhodes, Fayetteville, Onondaga County
Nancy Keefe Rhodes won the 2008 Light Work Grant in Photography with a
proposal for a photo-historian project in which she will prepare a
selection of work by long-time local documentary photographer Marjory
Wilkins for exhibition. Wilkins has been photographing Syracuse's
African American community for over sixty years, including the
now-vanished neighborhood of the 15th Ward. Rhodes will work with both
Marjory and her son David, a photojournalist, to select and prepare the
photographs for exhibition. She will also write an extended essay about
the value and context of these historic images. Rhodes is a freelance
arts journalist covering film, photography, and visual arts. She has
written for such publications as Cineaste magazine and Syracuse's City Eagle.
Marjory Wilkins, Untitled |
The judges for the 2008 Light Work Grants competition were Dennis DeHart, Cristina Fraire, and John Clark Mayden.
Dennis DeHart's photographs and interdisciplinary projects are
compelled by the connections, conflicts, and intersections of the
natural and cultural worlds. His work has been featured in numerous
galleries internationally, published in a variety of books, and is
featured in both private and public permanent collections. Argentinean
photographer Cristina Fraire participated in Light Work's
Artist-in-Residence program in 2008. Her images capture mountain
shepherd communities that are isolated high in the Cordoba province -
communities that do not use electricity or telephones, don't have
roads, and depend on sheep as their single economic resource. Fraire's
work has been featured in both solo and group exhibitions
internationally. John Clark Mayden participated in Light Work's
Artist-in-Residence program in 2008. Mayden has worked in Baltimore's
Law Department for twenty-six years. His work depicts the wide range of
experiences found in inner city life, from good times and joy to drugs,
misery, social injustice, and crime. Mayden's photographs have been
exhibited nationwide, and are featured in permanent collections at
Baltimore Museum of Art and Ohio Wesleyan University, among others.
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Artist-in-Residence Update
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 Scott Conarroe
Scott
Conarroe spent September through December 2007 working on a
photographic study of North America's rail infrastructure, and he is
dedicating his residency at Light Work to digitally scanning and
printing these images. In Conarroe's words, "At this point in history,
railroads connecting the settlements and mythic landscapes of this
continent exist in various states from development opportunity to
stubborn lifeline to artifact." This project has taken him through both
urban and rural areas. Conarroe believes that the changes in rail
travel over time can be discussed in relation to topics of climate
change, globalization, as well as urban sprawl, and that the popularity
of rail travel may grow given the difficulties of the current car
culture. This project was supported by a Canada Council for the Arts
Grant which Conarroe received in 2007.
Conarroe
obtained his BFA from Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design in
Vancouver, BC, and his MFA from Nova Scotia College of Art and Design
in Halifax, NS. His photographs have been exhibited internationally,
and his work is featured in the permanent collections at Mt. St.
Vincent's University Art Gallery in Halifax, NS; Kitchener/Waterloo Art
Gallery in Kitchener, Ontario; and multiple private collections.
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