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.
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
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| DoubleTree Hotel Complex |
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| 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
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| Williams Tower Opening Reception |
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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
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Exhibitors, l to r: Brad Tempkin, Pedro David, Lindsay Lochman,
Robert Harding Pittman, Barbara Ciurej
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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 -
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| Menil Collection and Rothko Chapel |
Additional Activities attached to Fotofest
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| Marfa Dialogues |
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| Farewell Hodown Lawndale Arts Center - Hillerbrand & Magsamen Exhibition |
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| Barb views Turrell Installation- Museum of Fine Arts Houston |
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| Lindsay views Turrell Installation |
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| Farewell Ho-Down Houston Barbeque |
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| Menil Collection Nourishment |
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