Congratulations to the winners of the latest Maine Photography Show competition, presented by the Boothbay Region Art Foundation. We were pleased to see so many familiar names on the list of winners, including Best of Show winner Moe Chen, who recently received an honorable mention in our own Spirit of Place competition. His winning photograph, Sand Beach Nights, is another stunningly colorful nighttime seascape. Maine Media MFA graduate Leslie Inman won 3rd Place (Trees) for her black & white APortals #13, and alum Ni Rong won Honorable Mention (Color) for her self portrait In America - Winter #1. Be sure to check out the entire collection of winning photographs at the BRAF Gallery, located at 1 Townsend Avenue in Boothbay Harbor. The show runs from April 13 through May 3.
News
One of America's foremost character actors of the stage and screen will be joining Maine Media's MFA guest faculty this spring. Having made his film debut in The Deer Hunter, Joe Grifasi has since gone on to appear in more than 50 films, including Moonstruck, Splash, The Flamingo Kid, Benny & Joon, The Hudsucker Proxy, The Naked Gun, Batman Forever, and Natural Born Killers. You've also seen him regularly on Law & Order and Law & Order: SVU. We're thrilled that our MFA candidates will be gaining from Grifasi's experience as an actor who has worked with directors like Oliver Stone, Joel & Ethan Coen, Michael Cimino, Alan Pakula, and John Sayles, as well as his own stage directing experience. Grifasi currently teaches at The New School for Drama in NYC, and conducts master classes at numerous universities across the country. We look forward to welcoming him here in Rockport, and to watching our students profit from his knowledge.
Artists learn and hone their craft in many ways, but perhaps no relationship is more instructive and lasting than one built with a mentor. Sharing a lifetime of knowledge with another artist—from favorite techniques and tools of the craft to inspiring self-criticism and deeper motivation—mentors can propel an artist forward, illuminate new creative territory and serve as a guide through periods of self-doubt.
For 40 years, Maine Media has fostered relationships between emerging and established artists through its intense and immersive courses, building bonds between teachers and students that have lasted decades and spanned the globe. Maintaining their relationships long after the lessons have ended, many of our students have gone on to become masters in their own right, and now pass on their knowledge to a new generation of emerging artists.
As part of the yearlong celebration marking our 40th anniversary, we are thrilled to announce the upcoming exhibition, Mentor: 40 Photographers, 40 Years, in partnership with the Center for Maine Contemporary Art. The exhibition will feature the work of some of Maine Media’s best-known master teachers alongside the work of their students, who continue the connection with Maine Media through teaching and mentoring.
Curated by Bruce Brown and Brenton Hamilton, Mentor will be on display from July 27 to September 22, 2013 at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art here in Rockport. We hope you will join us at the opening reception on July 27, or at the alumni reception on August 10 to celebrate the spirit of creative collaboration that is at the heart of everything we do here at Maine Media.
April is National Poetry Month, and we'd like to know what your favorites are. Does poetry inspire your visual storytelling? In the summer, Maine Media President Meg Weston welcomes new students on Sunday evenings with a poem, and it sets the tone for a week full of focus, hard work, risk-taking, and emotion. She's looking for poems about creativity and transformation to share with our students. We're sure you have some great ones in your pocket this month. Send them to president@mainemedia.edu.
For many of our students, one week with us is just not enough. Students who are looking to gain a broader array of skills, delve more deeply into a project, or launch a brand new career need the time, focus, and guidance that only a longer term program can provide. Maine Media offers a wide range of long term programs to help you reach your creative and professional goals. Come visit us in Rockport on May 8 from 1:00-4:00pm to find out more about our Four-Week Film School, Six-Week Photo or Film Workstudy, 12-Week Photo or Film Residency, One-Year Professional Certificate, or Three-Year Master of Fine Arts programs. See our campus, meet our core faculty, and let us help you pick the program that fits with your budget, schedule, and goals. You'll have an opportunity to see what our current Professional Certificate and MFA students are working on, and chat with our instructors about what you'd like to achieve. We're especially excited to fill you in on our brand new Professional Certificate In Visual Storytelling program that does even more to prepare our students for a world in which artists and professionals must have a clear voice across multiple disciplines. The lines between photography, filmmaking, writing, and design are changing rapidly, and our long term programs are designed to give you the technical knowledge, inspiration, and mentorship to succeed and grow creatively as well as professionally. Come to our Open House and start planning your future.
We were thrilled to hear that our MFA candidate Alison Hoornbeek has partnered with world renowned fine artist and Maine Media faculty member John Paul Caponigro to curate a new photography exhibition at Soho Photo in NYC. The exhibition, Seeing the Unseen: Equivalence in Photography, opens May 8 and features the work of Caponigro as well as 13 other photographers. Hoornbeek explained that the exhibition's title refers to the term "equivalents," coined by Alfred Stieglitz as a way of describing photographs that use what is seen to express an inner state or feeling that cannot be seen. If you live in New York, be sure to check it out. Soho Photo is located at 15 White St. in NYC. The show runs through June 1.
PhoPa's latest exhibition features the significant collection of photographer, collector, and book store owner Timothy Whelan. Timothy Whelan: Photographer as Collector opened this week and features several of Whelan's own images, as well as a rich sampling of photographs from world-renowned artists and Maine Media luminaries including Paul Caponigro, Joyce Tenneson, Tillman Crane, Elizabeth Opalenick, Andrea Modica, Norman Mauskopf, Christopher James, Craig Stevens, Costa Manos, Arno Minkkinen and Stella Johnson, among others. PhoPa’s co-directors Bruce Brown and Jon Edwards curated the exhibition.
Whelan, an Ohio native, arrived in Maine in 1989 for a job at the Workshops and later opened his Rockport bookstore, Timothy Whelan Photography: Fine Photographic Prints & Books. His store served as a popular meeting ground for the legions of master photographers who came to teach at the Workshops. As a result, Whelan amassed one of the finest collections of contemporary photography in Maine, and the intimate shop soon became recognized as one of the finest photo bookstores in the country. Although the original bookstore officially closed in 2010, a smaller venue continues today at the Maine Media Gallery in the center of Rockport village.
A free artist's talk, "The Inside Story" is set for Sunday, April 21 at 2 p.m. at the PhoPa Gallery. Whelan will share stories about his friendships with the celebrated photographers, and observations about their works that he has collected. The exhibition runs through Saturday, May 4.
PhoPa Gallery, a partnership between independendant curator Bruce Brown, photographer Jon Edwards, and Maine Media Workshops + College, is located at 132 Washington Avenue in Portland, formerly the location of Addison Woolley Gallery. Hours are Wednesday - Saturday, noon to 5 p.m., and by appointment. For more information contact Traci Wagner, Gallery Manager, at twagner@mainemedia.edu or visit us on Facebook at Maine Media Workshops + College PhoPa Gallery.
Considering signing up for your very first workshop, but feel intimidated by the gear? Have no fear! Our introductory workshops are designed to put you at ease, and take the mystery out of image-making technology. We'll help you make the most out of your own camera, or you can borrow some fantastic equipment from our Digital Services Department. Our goal is for you to feel comfortable with your tools, so that you can get to work creating beautiful images and telling compelling stories. You might feel green right now, but by the end of your workshop you'll be set up with a foundation of skills that can be built upon for years to come.
We gave the heads of our film and video departments some of your most frequently asked gear fear questions. Here's what they had to say...
I've only ever shot with a point-and-shoot, and don't own a "real" camera. What do I do?
We have tons of great gear available for you to try out. Borrow one of our Canon DSLRs for the duration of your workshop!
Will everyone in my class be bringing their own gear?
Many students bring the equipment they own and want to learn more about, but we have plenty of cameras, lenses, tripods, and flashes for you to borrow.
If I borrow gear, will someone help me learn how to use it?
Our Digital Services Department can help you learn how to use anything that they lend out. You'll also be doing plenty of experimenting in the classroom and on location.
Will I be handicapped if I don't know how to use photo/video editing software?
Being familiar with photo/video editing software is not essential for most introductory classes. But we do offer some great one-day, two-day, and week-long workshops focused on software like Photoshop, InDesign, and Lightroom for anyone who wants to learn more.
I haven't been in a darkroom in 30 years. Do I need to be able to mix chemicals?
Not for an introductory course. When you're ready for the advanced classes, you'll need to be able to mix your own chemicals.
Will Maine Media provide gear to borrow if I take a Destination workshop?
You will need to bring your own gear for workshops held outside of Rockport.
I'm not sure that I'm ready for a week-long workshop. How will I know?
We also offer one and two-day introductory workshops on select weekends throughout the year. Take one of those, and you'll be hooked!
For a complete list of our introductory workshops, go to our website, select the discipline you are most interested in, and use the search tool to choose "Beginner" workshops.