Viewpoint Exhibit History

Entries for Twelve: Parallels have been selected.  Congratulations to our winners and all the photographers whose work is in the exhibit, and a big Thank You to everyone who submitted images! The winners are:

1st Place: James Gilmore, Memory and Metaphor
2nd Place: Eric Baral, Cell Phone Diptych 2
3rd Place: Gordon Reynolds, Johns
Honorable Mention: Dan Herrera, The Carapace
Honorable Mention: Diane Tempest, Parallel Shoes
Honorable Mention: Roberta Neidigh, Five Trees

Viewpoint Gallery’s annual juried exhibit Twelve encourages photographers to interpret an idea suggested by the theme of the show. This year’s theme “Parallels” alludes to the year 2011 itself with its obvious numeric parallel. But it also invites photographers to conjure connections and relatedness within the photographic frame. Entries for Twelve: Parallels will contrast, compare, illuminate, suggest, capture, and express photographers' varied approaches to this theme. In addition to single images, Twelve: Parallels will feature multiple images in diptychs, triptychs and polyptychs.

Chris Schiller has been photographing the American West for over 20 years.  He seeks out places and views rarely or never photographed before. He uses his camera as another way to explore the places he visits, bringing his images a sense of discovery and delight. In this exhibit of superbly crafted images, Chris Schiller looks at the movement of water in all of its manifestations, both in the present and the past. 

Hidden in remote areas of Nevada and adjacent states are beautiful rock engravings known as petroglyphs. They record the visions and dreams of ancient Native Americans. Many are thousands of years old, and most are completely unknown to the public; their existence has been kept secret to protect them from vandalism.

World renowned photographer John Wimberley spent ten years searching for these fragile, irreplaceable cultural treasures. During this time he visited more than 100 sites and exposed 5000 large format negatives. His stunning black and white photographs reveal the beauty and profound sacredness of shamanic images in stone.

In October, Viewpoint's 20th Year Celebration culminates with Vintage Contemporary: The Charter Members Show, an exhibit of work by many of the original members of Viewpoint Photographic Art Center. The Vintage Contemporary exhibit will showcase the work of over 50 charter members and celebrate Viewpoint's continuing role in the community. The title encourages artists to show older work created using traditional photographic media or current work in digital or alternative processes. In fact, some artists may choose to exhibit paintings, mixed media, video, or other media to reflect their ever-evolving artistic interests.

Viewpoint Gallery presents an exhibit of exceptional images by noted photographers David Gardner and Stephen Johnson, who both look closely at the Earth—its wild places and the influence of man.

For David Gardner, the impetus for Marking Our Place in the World came from a tree—festooned with shoes—beside U.S. Highway 50 in Nevada. After photographing it he started digging through his car for his own piece of footwear that he could add—and then he stopped, not really understanding why he’d experienced that odd impulse. He is interested in that impulse and its result as applied to the landscape. Gardner says: “As humans we must communicate – it is what we do best. Why are we compelled to ‘leave our mark’ upon landscape, whether or not others understand its meaning or semiology?”

Exquisite Earth is an extraordinary collection of works by photographer Stephen Johnson, one of the original masters of digital photography. These dramatic images were created in Antarctica, the Galapagos Islands, Iceland, the American West, and elsewhere. “The grouping," says Johnson, "... is meant to convey my deep appreciation for this extraordinary planet we call home.”

In March 2012, Viewpoint Photographic Art Center is presenting something different. An internationally supported photography website will be featured, presenting the works by 15 photographers who serve or have served as gatekeepers for the vast collaboration known as 1X.

1X (1x.com) is an online photo gallery and social network. 1X differs from most other photo sites in that every photo displayed has been handpicked by a group of curators. The images on display at the Viewpoint Gallery during the month of March are selected works of past and present curators, including Viewpoint member Jerry Berry.

Only through the Internet could a group of photographers from different regions of the world get together and collaborate, become friends and curate world images for a site such as 1x.com. Jacob Jovelou and Ralf Stelander, from Uppsala, Sweden, have brought together these photographers by inviting them to evaluate images to publish on the front page of their website, 1X. With the basic premise of the site’s mission, Searching for the Sublime, these passionate photographers bring their varied viewpoints and often conflicting opinions to discussions on the relative strengths and weaknesses of each individual photograph submitted for publication on 1X.