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:
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Kathy Morris, Snake
Staff Woods
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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.
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Paul Pearce, Enviro-Mate Sack
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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.
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Marjory Wilkins, Untitled
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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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