2012 Starts with a Bang
First up, Eric and I were asked to be the award jurors for a photography competition at Duke’s Divinity School. What a wonderful challenge to start the year off!
Some background: Duke Divinity has an “Arts and Theology Program”, chaired by Jeremy Begbie, from Cambridge University, England. This photography event was designed to visually portray a piece of music by composer Olivier Messiaen. Entrants were invited to submit a photograph for each movement of this incredible work. Over Holy Week in April the music will be performed at Cambridge, the winning photographs exhibited there, and the overall winner invited to attend.
A committee was formed at Duke for the intake of all the entries. The two or three images in each movement they felt were the best were selected, then sent to us to pick the winners. Their thoughts during the first round of selections were included as a bit of context for each movement.
Our process was to listen to the music ourselves, while looking at the images for a movement. We each made our own selection and discussed the merits of each photo—both as a photograph and as it related to the music. It was after our discussion that we looked at the notes sent to us. The committee did a great job, and the whole process went smoothly. A slideshow with the Winners and the Honorable Mentions for each movement is included below.
Two things struck me: First, it is not so easy to set aside my own conceptions to view each entry with a neutral mind. Fortunately, but not surprising, the images we got were excellent. The intent of each one was clear, creative, and generally well executed. Second, how closely Eric and my aesthetics are aligned. Really cool for a left-brain Ford finance guy turned photographer and right-brain artist couple.
Being part of a jury process requires pulling yourself out of your own world and objectively look—really look—at someone else’s art; to be accountable and articulate for your reactions. It stresses to me how important it is to do this as I view other exhibits. It is too easy to make snap judgments and walk away. That is not what art is about.
Grand Prize winner:
Kate Roberts, MDiv ‘14
“The winning photograph is a dynamic composition in black and white that gives a strong sense of endless creation, showing the darkness punctuated by points of light flowing out from a white center. It also suggests the majesty of God with the single small figure in silhouette against the bright light. The energy conveyed by this superb photograph mirrors the overall impression on the listener of the music.”
Some background: Duke Divinity has an “Arts and Theology Program”, chaired by Jeremy Begbie, from Cambridge University, England. This photography event was designed to visually portray a piece of music by composer Olivier Messiaen. Entrants were invited to submit a photograph for each movement of this incredible work. Over Holy Week in April the music will be performed at Cambridge, the winning photographs exhibited there, and the overall winner invited to attend.
A committee was formed at Duke for the intake of all the entries. The two or three images in each movement they felt were the best were selected, then sent to us to pick the winners. Their thoughts during the first round of selections were included as a bit of context for each movement.
Our process was to listen to the music ourselves, while looking at the images for a movement. We each made our own selection and discussed the merits of each photo—both as a photograph and as it related to the music. It was after our discussion that we looked at the notes sent to us. The committee did a great job, and the whole process went smoothly. A slideshow with the Winners and the Honorable Mentions for each movement is included below.
Two things struck me: First, it is not so easy to set aside my own conceptions to view each entry with a neutral mind. Fortunately, but not surprising, the images we got were excellent. The intent of each one was clear, creative, and generally well executed. Second, how closely Eric and my aesthetics are aligned. Really cool for a left-brain Ford finance guy turned photographer and right-brain artist couple.
Being part of a jury process requires pulling yourself out of your own world and objectively look—really look—at someone else’s art; to be accountable and articulate for your reactions. It stresses to me how important it is to do this as I view other exhibits. It is too easy to make snap judgments and walk away. That is not what art is about.
Grand Prize winner:
Kate Roberts, MDiv ‘14
“The winning photograph is a dynamic composition in black and white that gives a strong sense of endless creation, showing the darkness punctuated by points of light flowing out from a white center. It also suggests the majesty of God with the single small figure in silhouette against the bright light. The energy conveyed by this superb photograph mirrors the overall impression on the listener of the music.”
posted by Candy at 5:32 AM
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