Caponigro Gathers Workshop Alumni for Exhibition

ROCKPORT, Maine - Maine Media Workshops and John Paul Caponigro present a beautiful collection of his alumni's work for the first time ever July 6 - 30, 2009 in an exhibition titled The Next Step at the Workshops Gallery. The opening reception is set for Tuesday, July 7 at 6:30 pm. John Paul will present a wider selection of each artist's images in an evening lecture at 8 pm. Many of the artists will be on hand to discuss their work.

For over 15 years John Paul Caponigro (artist, author, educator, digital pioneer) has been a leader in the field of training photographic artists using digital technology in their creative processes. Over 1000 people have studied with him his workshops, with tens of thousands more benefiting from his seminars, writings, and audio/visual products. A member of the Photoshop Hall of Fame, author of the book Adobe Photoshop Master Class and the DVD series R/Evolution, he has been a contributing editor/columnist for many magazines including Digital PhotoPro, PhotoshopUser, and PhotoTechniques, and websites such as Apple.com and the Canon Digital Learning Center. His monthly enewsletter helps over 15,000 members. He lectures frequently at national events including Photo Plus, Photoshop World, and the Epson Print Academy and at educational institutions such as Brooks, Hallmark, and MIT.

For over 35 years, Maine Media Workshops has been a celebrated leader in the field of media education, with concentrations in photography, film, and multimedia. World-renowned photographers and filmmakers have flocked to the quiet town of Rockport to share their crafts and passions for their arts, and to advance the practices within their fields. Many of today's top professionals have studied and/or taught at Maine Media Workshops.

At the request of a small group of alumni from the Maine Media Workshops, John Paul Caponigro's Next Step Alumni group was started. They have met collectively and privately for over 9 years in private workshops and online forums. The membership has grown to 75 members (by invitation only). The name for the group came out of John Paul's constantly asking his students, "What's your next step?" It was quickly found that this prompting focused individuals to generate concrete results quickly and to realize
that there is always a next step. Individual growth has been extraordinary. Many have become professionals in their chosen fields. Everyone has made their own creative lives more vital and dynamic, in part with the help of the other artists in the Next Step community.

Caponigro has had an influence on all of the participants but his style is not directly reflected in their work, "It's a privilege to help foster each individual's authentic artistic voice in ways that are most appropriate for them. If I attempted to make their work more like my own I would be doing their spirits a great disservice and robbing myself of an opportunity to challenge and develop my own sensibilities at the same time. We have all helped each other grow in this process." Individuals within the community have encouraged each other to pursue their own unique creative paths.

The members of John Paul Caponigro's Next Step Group collectively set the goal of producing a group exhibit. This exhibit is their achievement. 24 members are currently participating in the exhibit. Entry criteria were rigorous. Each artist produced a thematically cohesive body of work, artist's statements, book, and website. The resulting work is as diverse as the individuals, ranging from documentary journalism, editorial, still life, floral, nude, landscape and abstraction.

The Workshops Gallery is located on the second floor of historic Union Hall at 2 Central Street in Rockport Village.

Gallery hours are Monday – Wednesday 11:30am - 8:30pm, Thursday & Friday 11:30am - 5:00pm, and Saturday 9:00am - 3:00pm.