Sunday, May 1, 2016

Exhibition, Publlication & Review - Fotofest 2016, Houston

Fotofest Bienneal Changing Circumstances: Looking at the Future of the Planet
Exhibition March 12-April 24, 2016
Houston  TX 
FotoFest created the first international Biennial of Photography and Photo-related Art in the United States. FotoFest is an international non-profit photographic arts and education organization based in Houston, Texas.
FotoFest's purpose is to promote the exchange of art and ideas through international programs and the presentation of photographic art. Our programs work globally and locally, bringing together an international vision of art and cross-cultural exchange with a commitment to community involvement and the enrichment of Houston's cultural resources.
In addition to its internationally known Biennial, FotoFest sponsors Inter-Biennial programs - exhibitions, international exchange programs, and publications. In grades 3-12, FotoFest operates a year-round classroom education program, Literacy Through Photography, using photography to strengthen writing skills, visual literacy, and cognitive learning. FotoFest is a member of the Festival of Light, an international network of photography events which FotoFest helped initiate in 2000.
“These are artists who have engaged the natural world and humanity’s place in that world, over many years,” says 2016 Biennial co-curator Wendy Watriss. “Many of the artworks manifest the artists’ rigorous investigations into science and philosophy.” Featured projects address the anthropocene – climate change; industrialization and urbanization; bio-diversity; water; the use of natural and human resources; human migration; global capital, commerce and consumption; energy production; and waste.

The CHANGING CIRCUMSTANCES  exhibition is on view at SILVER STREET STUDIOS, THE SILOS AT SAWYER YARDS, SPRING STREET STUDIOS, and WILLIAMS TOWER GALLERY.

FEATURED ARTISTS


The FotoFest 2016 Biennial exhibitions are co-curated by Wendy Watriss and Steven Evans with Frederick Baldwin. Ms. Watriss and Mr. Baldwin are co-founders of the 33 year-old organization. Mr. Evans is FotoFest’s Executive Director. The three curators have organized the Biennial exhibitions, as well as the associated programming, much of which will showcase the artists, and the issues explored in their artworks.

The Houston Double-Tree - the Atmosphere, the Wealth, the Extraction Industry
DoubleTree Hotel Complex



Williams Tower - Exhibit Site and Belly of Extration  Indusry Beast

Our Exhibition Installation

Fotofest Director, Steven Evans discusses Processed Views at the Williams Tower Venue




 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Artists' Presentations of their work at Willliams Tower Venue


Williams Tower Opening Reception

Our Presentation for Fotofest's Literacy Through Photography Program

 

Announcement for our Exhibition  - 

Changing Circumstances: Looking at the Future of the Planet


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

Williams Tower Venue - Installation Shots



Exhibitors, l to r:  Brad Tempkin, Pedro David, Lindsay Lochman, 

Robert Harding Pittman, Barbara Ciurej


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Fence in Houston, on exhibit concurrently with Fotofest


 

 

 

 

 

Exhibition Catalogue - Changing Circumstances: Looking at the Future of the Planet


Essay for Catalogue:  As Midwesterners, we saw the landscape transformed as the family farm gave way to agricultural industry. This was not exclusive to the heartland, as Big Ag and food processing facilities eventually spread across the country. In earlier work, we photographed the American West,observing how human interventions altered the land in accord with ideas of progress and new trends in consumption. In Processed Views: Surveying the Industrial Landscape, we revisit the landscape, this time at the seductive and alarming intersection of nature and food technology.We came to Processed Views from a previous project about the nurturing aspect of food. In those photographs, we traced the emotional and physical energy that flows through the intimate act of preparing and sharing food. The flip side of mealtime in America, however, is the complex, impersonal system of industrial agriculture, food processing, and marketing. As our country moves further away from traditional sources of food, we enter uncharted territory with its myriad unintended consequences for the environment and for our health.Throughout our collaboration, we have turned to history as a source of inspiration. We reference here the work of Carleton Watkins (1829-1916), whose iconic photographs honored nature and documented development on the frontier. His images were made at a critical time in the ongoing oppositional relationship between American industrial development and conservation. We are at another such historical moment today.Processed Views presents a provocative encounter with the average American diet. We ask ourselves and our viewers to reevaluate this supposed utopia. Have we oversold our technological ability to bend the forces of nature, whether to fulfill fantasies of a fun food diet or to meet heroic expectations of feeding the world? We hope this work serves as a cautionary tale, where we can extract lessons from the past and pause to consider the consequences of our choices.
Stellas at Fotofest -  Portfolio Reviews  -


Menil Collection and Rothko Chapel

 

 

 

 

 

Additional Activities attached to Fotofest


 

  

 



 

 

 

 

 

Marfa Dialogues
Farewell Hodown  Lawndale Arts Center - Hillerbrand & Magsamen Exhibition
Barb views Turrell Installation- Museum of Fine Arts Houston
Lindsay views Turrell Installation



Farewell Ho-Down Houston Barbeque
Menil Collection Nourishment

Exhibition, Publlication & Review - Fotofest 2016, Houston

Fotofest Bienneal Changing Circumstances: Looking at the Future of the Planet
Exhibition March 12-April 24, 2016
Houston  TX 
FotoFest created the first international Biennial of Photography and Photo-related Art in the United States. FotoFest is an international non-profit photographic arts and education organization based in Houston, Texas.
FotoFest's purpose is to promote the exchange of art and ideas through international programs and the presentation of photographic art. Our programs work globally and locally, bringing together an international vision of art and cross-cultural exchange with a commitment to community involvement and the enrichment of Houston's cultural resources.
In addition to its internationally known Biennial, FotoFest sponsors Inter-Biennial programs - exhibitions, international exchange programs, and publications. In grades 3-12, FotoFest operates a year-round classroom education program, Literacy Through Photography, using photography to strengthen writing skills, visual literacy, and cognitive learning. FotoFest is a member of the Festival of Light, an international network of photography events which FotoFest helped initiate in 2000.
“These are artists who have engaged the natural world and humanity’s place in that world, over many years,” says 2016 Biennial co-curator Wendy Watriss. “Many of the artworks manifest the artists’ rigorous investigations into science and philosophy.” Featured projects address the anthropocene – climate change; industrialization and urbanization; bio-diversity; water; the use of natural and human resources; human migration; global capital, commerce and consumption; energy production; and waste.

The CHANGING CIRCUMSTANCES  exhibition is on view at SILVER STREET STUDIOS, THE SILOS AT SAWYER YARDS, SPRING STREET STUDIOS, and WILLIAMS TOWER GALLERY.

FEATURED ARTISTS


The FotoFest 2016 Biennial exhibitions are co-curated by Wendy Watriss and Steven Evans with Frederick Baldwin. Ms. Watriss and Mr. Baldwin are co-founders of the 33 year-old organization. Mr. Evans is FotoFest’s Executive Director. The three curators have organized the Biennial exhibitions, as well as the associated programming, much of which will showcase the artists, and the issues explored in their artworks.

The Houston Double-Tree - the Atmosphere, the Wealth, the Extraction Industry
DoubleTree Hotel Complex



Williams Tower - Exhibit Site and Belly of Extration  Indusry Beast

Our Exhibition Installation

Fotofest Director, Steven Evans discusses Processed Views at the Williams Tower Venue




 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Artists' Presentations of their work at Willliams Tower Venue


Williams Tower Opening Reception

Our Presentation for Fotofest's Literacy Through Photography Program

 

Announcement for our Exhibition  - 

Changing Circumstances: Looking at the Future of the Planet


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Williams Tower Venue - Installation Shots



Exhibitors, l to r:  Brad Tempkin, Pedro David, Lindsay Lochman, 

Robert Harding Pittman, Barbara Ciurej


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Fence in Houston, on exhibit concurrently with Fotofest


 

 

 

 

 

Exhibition Catalogue - Changing Circumstances: Looking at the Future of the Planet


Essay for Catalogue:  As Midwesterners, we saw the landscape transformed as the family farm gave way to agricultural industry. This was not exclusive to the heartland, as Big Ag and food processing facilities eventually spread across the country. In earlier work, we photographed the American West,observing how human interventions altered the land in accord with ideas of progress and new trends in consumption. In Processed Views: Surveying the Industrial Landscape, we revisit the landscape, this time at the seductive and alarming intersection of nature and food technology.We came to Processed Views from a previous project about the nurturing aspect of food. In those photographs, we traced the emotional and physical energy that flows through the intimate act of preparing and sharing food. The flip side of mealtime in America, however, is the complex, impersonal system of industrial agriculture, food processing, and marketing. As our country moves further away from traditional sources of food, we enter uncharted territory with its myriad unintended consequences for the environment and for our health.Throughout our collaboration, we have turned to history as a source of inspiration. We reference here the work of Carleton Watkins (1829-1916), whose iconic photographs honored nature and documented development on the frontier. His images were made at a critical time in the ongoing oppositional relationship between American industrial development and conservation. We are at another such historical moment today.Processed Views presents a provocative encounter with the average American diet. We ask ourselves and our viewers to reevaluate this supposed utopia. Have we oversold our technological ability to bend the forces of nature, whether to fulfill fantasies of a fun food diet or to meet heroic expectations of feeding the world? We hope this work serves as a cautionary tale, where we can extract lessons from the past and pause to consider the consequences of our choices.
Stellas at Fotofest -  Portfolio Reviews  -


Menil Collection and Rothko Chapel

 

 

 

 

 

Additional Activities attached to Fotofest


 

  

 


Marfa Dialogues
Farewell Hodown  Lawndale Arts Center - Hillerbrand & Magsamen Exhibition
Barb views Turrell Installation- Museum of Fine Arts Houston
Lindsay views Turrell Installation



Farewell Ho-Down Houston Barbeque
Menil Collection Nourishment