Southern Stingrays, Grand Cayman Island
Photograph by David Doubilet
How often do you get the chance to party in paradise? On Friday, November 7, we'll celebrate the opening of "Visions of Paradise," one of our FotoWeek exhibits, with special guest David Doubilet. Based on the National Geographic book Visions of Paradise, edited by Bronwen Latimer, the exhibit features nine of our premiere photographers:
William Albert Allard
Jodi Cobb
David Doubilet
Beverly Joubert
Michael Nichols
Paul Nicklen
Randy Olson
Joel Sartore
Michael Yamashita
Opening reception with David Doubilet
November 7 from 5:30 to 8 p.m.
Smith Farm Center, 1632 U Street NW, Washington, DC
We also hope you can join National Geographic photographers Joel Sartore and Randy Olson at the Smith Farm Center gallery on FotoWeek's opening afternoon. They'll be talking about their adventures in the field, and the twists and turns their careers have taken. I've worked with both of them for many years, and I can promise they'll be both entertaining and enlightening.
Presentation by Joel Sartore and Randy Olson
November 15 at 1 p.m.
Smith Farm Center, 1632 U Street NW, Washington, DC
Consider yourself invited!
Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery at Smith Farm Center
Photograph by Michael K. Wilkinson
In retrospect it's providential that the "Visions of Paradise" exhibit ever came into being at all. Sandy Rossi, the director of the gallery at Smith Farm Center, had asked me to curate a show for FotoWeek, and we were brainstorming ideas, but hadn't yet settled on anything definite. Then one day Maura Mulvihill, director of National Geographic's Image Collection, happened to mention that she was looking for a gallery available during FotoWeek to showcase the photographers she represents. It seemed like an auspicious match. Maura enlisted Julia Andrews (that's Julia with an a, not an e) to be my partner in crime, and we were off. Acting as our advisor was gallery owner Kathleen Ewing, whose endorsement of the "Visions of Paradise" idea clinched the theme for the show.
Maura selected the nine photographers, henceforth to be known as Contemporary Masters. We selected one image by each photographer from the book. But then came the tortuous (not to mention torturous) part. We asked them to come up with two more frames from their archives that embodied heaven on Earth.
Faced with this choice, what would you pick?
Mbuti Pygmy Boys
Photograph by Randy Olson
But then there's the larger question of what happens when you pluck an image from the pages of a book or a magazine, frame it, and hang it on the gallery wall. It might work brilliantly, an iconic gem that stands on its own out of context--but of course not every picture can make that transition gracefully. Which images deserve to be crowned as art, and moreover, can prove themselves when priced as art? What does it take? Beauty in the conventional sense certainly isn't the defining criterion--witness Joel Peter Witkin's surreal illusions offering up amputated body parts or decaying animal carcasses. Or consider Irving Penn's close-ups of cigarette butts, which you would never guess could be so beautiful.
Here's one from our exhibit that was controversial:
Mosquito Feet
Photograph by Joel Sartore
I look at this Joel Sartore picture of his own feet covered in mosquitoes, and since I know it was shot in a wildlife heaven (aka Alaska), I think of it as illustrating the price you pay to be in paradise. I like the visceral humor and the way I can almost feel the mosquitoes moving against his glowing pink skin. (Meanwhile, Julia can't even look at the picture.)
Joel wrote: "Here's the deal. ... Those mosquitoes signal that the ecosystem is intact, and that's what I'm looking for. Alaska is still one of the wildest, least spoiled places on Earth. Anytime you see copious quantities of insects you know this is how the Earth should really be, and used to be, before humans decimated great swaths of it."
Paradise, from the artist's mouth.
Now, don't read this next part (unless you work for NGS). It's the equivalent of an Academy Award speech. Julia and I would like to thank the legions of people who helped us put this show together. First and foremost, Maura and Sandy and our beloved photographers representing both the magazine and the Image Collection. Also, Kathleen. Stacy Gold and Anne Wain and Ashley Clemens. And since the show on U Street is a classic example of National Geographic synergy, we also owe our thanks to Brian Green and the digital imaging lab, Hasan and Natalie, the book division, the museum department, NG Live, communications and marketing, the lawyers, Spencer Oxford and the carpenters (sounds like a retro musical group)........and designer Mollie Bates. Thanks, guys.
Related Links:
www.smithfarm.com
www.daviddoubilet.com
www.michaelnicknichols.com
www.paulnicklen.com
www.randyolsonphotography.com
www.michaelyamashita.com
www.joelsartore.com
