Editor’s Note: This is the first of what hopes to be many posts by our intern/workstudy students! The first is by Kassia Karr, a 4th year BA/MA student in interdisciplinary studies, focusing on South Asia, at BU. As you can see by the above image and at her Web site, she is also a very talented photographer! She’s been away from the PRC for about a year. We’re glad to have her back!

When I landed at Logan Airport in May, it was windy, rainy, and cold: 55, maybe 56 degrees. I had been in transit for over 36 hours, and when I realized that the only ‘warm’ piece of clothing I possessed was a single, well-worn cardigan, I was ready to hop the next plane back to India.

After returning to New England weather, what could possibly cheer me up? Coming back to work at the PRC, of course! I jumped right back into my position as a PRC intern after a year’s absence from Boston. I had left the day after last year’s “Exposure” exhibition, and returned a little over a week before this year’s show. The center was a busy place, with artwork to be hung, condition reports to be filled out, newsletters to be sent, numerous letters to be folded and stamped, etc. The opening reception had a great turnout despite the threat of rain. If a girl in a bright blue skirt handed you a glass of wine or a beer, that was me. Yes, interns wear many hats, including that of bartender.

While I was gone I kept up with PRC happenings via our very active Flickr site. From 7000 miles away I was able to look at images from the 2007 PRC Benefit Auction, the installations for the AD AGENCY, student, and New England Survey exhibitions, and shots of various photographers from our lecture series. I regularly updated my Flickr account as well, giving people back home a little glimpse of my life and travels during my year abroad. I also enjoyed perusing our contacts’ Flickr sites and user-driven groups like the New England Survey photo pool. I was happy to see my friend and local photographer Derek Vincent contributing some of his work to the pool.

Despite the mediocre weather, I’m happy to be back in Boston and back at the PRC. There’s a busy summer ahead, as it’s time to start organizing the 2008 PRC Benefit Auction set for October 25th. I am looking forward to the work ahead!

ABOVE IMAGE: Hanukkah in Madurai. December 2007. Photo by Kassia Karr

From the “This Just In” department: Renowned photographer and uber educator Stephen DiRado has agreed to lead the Photographic Resource Center’s Fall 2008 installment of the Portfolio Project Seminar. This program provides an in-depth opportunity to share and receive feedback on your work in a small group setting and supportive environment. For this installment Mr. DiRado has offered up the use of his legendary personal studio, in which he has been conducting salon style photo gatherings for many years. More details will be available on prcboston.org shortly.

In the meantime check out Stephen’s website, stephendirado.com for more on his work. Read Alec Soth’s interview with Stephen or read an article published by Clark University, where Stephen has been teaching for more than 20 years.

The image above is from his “Dinner Series,” a wonderful long term project in which the artist captures intimate moments–partly candid, partly constructed–from meals shared with friends and families. Anyone whose grown up around a dinner table populated by a larger than life family can attest to how formative this space can for developing identity and relationships.

Please join the Photographic Resource Center for the last in our series of “Behind the Scenes” special events. This event is open to a limited number of people on a first come, first served basis. Space is limited for this event, so please call 617.975.0600 to reserve your place today.

The third and last “Behind the Scenes” Event
A Private Collection Becomes Public
ISM.
Thursday, June 12, 2008, 6:30 - 8:30pm
745 Boylston Street
Boston, MA 02116
ISM, a travel and leisure marketing company, is allowing a limited number of visitors to view their never-seen-before corporate collection. Guests will be treated to a guided tour with ISM’s President and CEO, Gary Leopold, and enjoy cocktails and hors d’oeuvres on its roof-deck, with a spectacular view of the Back Bay. Gary has been an avid collector of photography and a member of the PRC Board of Directors. The price of the event is $100 per person. RSVP by June 9th.

Shown above is an image from the ISM corporate photography collection. “Anamika Bhatnager and Dennis Willette, BBC News & Access Hollywood, Thursday, October 2nd, 2003, 7-8pm.” by Matthew Pillsbury.

We just posted new pics on our PRC flickr page. So surf on in and check out installation shots of the current exhibition and photos from the opening reception of EXPOSURE: The 13th Annual PRC Juried Exhibition.

Just click the photomontage below!

A sneak peek, CLOCKWISE from upper left:

* New England Institute of Art Photo Faculty Molly Lamb and Jared Leeds (past PRC NEO!) come out to support exhibiting artist and NEIA faculty Claire Beckett (center)
* Exhibiting artist and MassArt alum Erik Schubert and PRC Curator Leslie K. Brown
* PRC Executive Director Jim Fitts and Gallery NAGA Director Arthur Dion
* Juried show alum Bob O’Connor and friend check out Eric Percher’s work

Inspired by our current landscape show, New England Survey, I thought it would be interesting to place a map in the gallery and encourage folks to notate it with their own “senses of place.”

It took me a while to track down a map of New England with the region all on one side (thanks AAA!). My hunt for map pins also took a little longer than expected (thank you Bob Slate!). I stocked a wooden sketch box full of materials (thanks Pearl!) and cut up pieces of vellum upon which to write. After ironing the map flat, I hung it up in the gallery and waited…

Whenever I come up with such ideas, I never know if visitors will go along. Well, I am happy to report that they did! After the opening, we had about 25 notes/places and as of yesterday, I counted over 125! As you can see in these installation shots, folks have shared a wide variety of places and ideas. Interestingly, a vast majority of them are along the New England coast, Cape Cod, or in Maine.

I have noted a few of my favorites below, but you can also check out others on the PRC Flickr page. (In our flickr group we’ve had an active discussion on what makes New England, New England.) I’d love to hear more. What spaces and places in New England are you moved by and why? Share them below, or come to the PRC and add to the collective notion of our region before the show’s last day, May 11th!

~ When I was 9, I was mobbed and pinched by a flock of geese. It was the first time I saw the ocean - Chatham Beach, MA
~ Jack’s Old Cottage - Craigsville Beach, MA
~ I fell in love, and felt home - Ayer, MA
~ Where I lived my whole life - Hudson, NH
~ Every October, our family gathers in this isolated cottage. Each morning I’d wake to the breathtaking harbor view - East Boothbay, ME
~ I realized that there is always a back road leading home - Near the border of MA & NY

Every year since 1996, the PRC has presented a juried exhibition with a nationally-renowned juror. We were honored to have as our 2008 juror, Lesley A. Martin, Publisher, Aperture Book Program.

For this year’s exhibition, Ms. Martin selected 14 artists out of a total 376 international submissions—the largest number of entries ever received in the exhibition’s history. A special spread will appear in the summer issue of the PRC’s newsletter, in the loupe and the exhibition will run May 23 - July 2, with the opening reception on Thursday, May 22, 5:30 - 7:30pm. Click here for more information on the PRC Juried Exhibition and its history.

Here is a sneak peek at the selected artists with links to their web sites. CONGRATULATIONS!

Mariliana Arvelo (Cambridge, MA)
Clint Baclawski (Boston, MA)
Claire Beckett (Jamaica Plain, MA)
Cree Bruins (Cambridge, MA)
Lana Z Caplan (Boston, MA)
Talia Chetrit (Providence, RI)
Martine Fougeron (New York, NY)
Robert Knight (Newton, MA)
Molly Landreth (Seattle, WA)
Marta Labad (Providence, RI)
Benjamin Lowy (New York, NY)
Eric Percher (Brooklyn, NY)
Erik Schubert (Cambridge, MA)
Ellen Susan (Savannah, GA)

ABOVE IMAGE:

Mariliana Arvelo, Beatriz and a branch, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, from the series “Generations,” 2007/2008, C-Print, 30 x 40 inches, courtesy of and copyright the artist

We’re doing some blog improvement here at Boston Photography Focus, changing our hosting provider, upgrading to WordPress 2.5 and changing our theme all at once.  Why change one thing at a time, what fun is that?  We’re doing all this to bring you the best New England and Boston photography news and views that we can, so please bear with us, things should be running smoothly again shortly.

We just posted new pics on our PRC flickr page. So surf on in and check out photos from Aperture’s Lesley A. Martin’s seminar on book publishing from April 1st and snaps from the opening reception of New England Survey from March 27th. Just click the photomontage below!

A sneak peek, CLOCKWISE from upper left:
* Lesley A. Martin gave a superb seminar on publishing.  It was very well attended!
* The 2 Lesley/ies. Lesley of Apeture and the other Leslie of the PRC pose with the Boston Skyline.
* Exhibiting artist Barbara Bosworth (center) with Sage Sohier & Margot Kelley - both of whom have shown at the PRC! [in Group Portrait (2005/2006) and Land/Mark respectively (2005)]
* Some folks in this picture: photographer Bob O’Connor, Kate from MassArt and BU photohistorian and PRC board member Kim Sichel

I’ve been rabidly collecting photographs for over 30 years and my collection has ballooned to the point where most of the images are lined up against walls or in closets or under beds.

One drawback of having a large collection is that there are precious few opportunities to present it to an appreciative audience. All my friends have seen it and they do not even try to feign attention any longer. So when an opportunity to air a portion of the collection to a new public was presented, I was thrilled.

The invitation came as part of a private event hosted by Panopticon Gallery in Boston featuring Andy Grundberg. I was asked to bring a few photographs from my collection to an event where Andy could use the images as part of a conversation about collecting.

The first kafuffle was trying to figure out which images to select. The best? My favorites? The dogs? As you can see, a dog ended up as part of the final selection.

Knowing one of the other contributing collectors, and the stellar quality of his collection of vintage photographs, I chose to contribute a few of the more affordable, contemporary pieces.

The selection process behind me, the fear of public ridicule set in. Here was one of the world’s most significant voices in art criticism looking at the images I’ve collected and commenting on them. What if he broke out in loud laughter? Or worse, delivered a remarkably astute critique of the photos under the title of “What not to collect.”

The William Wegman print titled “The Duck” was selected and I thought that this would be his chance to let ‘er rip.

But to my surprise there was not a chuckle or a sneer. Instead he spoke insightfully about Wegman’s early videos, his sense of humor, and his – and others - use of the Polaroid 20×24 camera.

Perhaps I wasn’t in my underwear after all.

Andy Grundberg ponders “The Duck”.
Photograph by Shannon McDonald

Join us @ the PRC this Thursday, March 27, for the opening of New England Survey, from 5:30 - 7:30pm. All of the artists will be in attendance, and even my parents! It is a beautiful show and I am putting the finishing touches on it now. See below for some behind-the-scenes pics of the installation in progress.

A survey of contemporary regional landscape photography - but much more than that really - New England Survey is about “senses of place” and is like a walk in the woods. Dive into 40 x 50 inch C-prints by Barbara Bosworth, follow a path in Jonathan Sharlin’s diptychs, ramble along a stonewall in Janet L. Pritchard’s work, stare into infinity in Tanja Hollander’s minimal Maine marshes, follow a family’s story on the land in Thad Russell’s saga, and boat down the mighty Connecticut in Paul Taylor’s wet plate collodion tea-stained images. Read more and see more about the New England landscape exhibition here.

I hope to see you at our “place,” Leslie