Sam Tischler, Vessel #9, 2016, Van Dyke print, 30" x 22"
Recently retired longtime reigning DMN Food/Travel etc etc editor and glue, Cathy Barber, contacted me from Santa Fe where she and husband Dan, a former DMN reporter whose been honing his skills as a fine arts photographer for many, many years, recently moved. I’ve never been to Santa Fe and now I have a really good excuse to make the trek. As you can see from Cathy’s post below that there’s a lot to offer for photography lovers. And I’ll make them put me up to cut expenses. Such a deal! SANTA FE – Not that you need an excuse, but this summer, photography geeks have even more reason to head to New Mexico. PhotoSummer 2016 is four months of intense photo fascination across Santa Fe and Albuquerque. Expect plenty of exhibitions as well as workshops and events. Not to mention all that gorgeous landscape for your own shots. Some shows are already up. Lowriders, Hoppers, and Hot Rods: Car Culture of Northern New Mexico is mainly a photo exhibit. But they did manage to get two real-life lowriders up to the second floor of the New Mexico History Museum on Santa Fe’s Plaza, where they will be on exhibit until March 5, 2017. You have some time on that one, but most PhotoSummer events begin in June and wrap by early September. Summer, get it? Traci Quinn, Curator of Education and Public Programs at the University of New Mexico Art Museum, is PhotoSummer’s coordinator. She explained via email that the museum was looking for a way to generate interest during the school’s slower summer months. The museum is noted for its photography collection, so a photo fest was a natural. The idea grew from there, jumping up I-25 to encompass several Santa Fe spots, including CENTER. “Photography is an expressive medium that takes dedication, skill and creative engagement with the world. Its place as an art form has long been established and the continued dedication to photo-based exhibitions and programs in New Mexico serves as a reminder,” she says. A small sampling of what’s to come: Inherit the Dust is Nick Brandt’s examination of how urban sprawl in Africa has affected the animals there. Brandt installed life-size photos of wildlife in sites that had been taken over by development, then photographed the result. It opens June 10 at Photo-Eye Gallery in Santa Fe (photoeye.com). In Albuquerque, Future Tense will look at the relationship between people and the places they inhabit. The exhibit, which includes 14 artists from around the world, opens June 18 at 516 ARTS (516arts.org), one of PhotoSummer’s organizers. The Fence New Mexico, a curated outdoor photo exhibit shown in five cities (including Houston), opens July 9 in Santa Fe’s Railyard Park (thefencenm.org). For this version, the work of New Mexico photographers will be highlighted. Opening that same day, also in Santa Fe, is Past is Present: Alternative Processes in Contemporary Photography. It’s at David Richard Gallery (davidrichardgallery.com). And so much more. For six Mondays starting June 27, Santa Fe Photographic Workshops will host free lectures, with instructors sharing their work. More time on your hands? 516 ARTS will present a weekend workshop, “Using Photography in Mixed Media,” with artist Holly Roberts. It’s July 8 through July 10. Whether you’re a shooter or you just like to look, PhotoSummer has something to thrill and inform. Click on photosummer.org to check the whole schedule, including dates for the all-important opening receptions. And don’t forget your camera. Also in Santa Fe “Georgia o’Keeffe’s Far Wide Texas,” featuring works the artist did in Canyon and San Antonio, is on display through Oct. 30 at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum.
- Guy Reynolds - Dallas Morning News