Press
10 June 2008

Artomatic Picks

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During my volunteer hours and other visits to Artomatic over the past few weeks I’ve tried to see as much of the show as possible. With 9 floors filled with art, it’s impossible to absorb it all in one visit. Here are a few of my favorite photographers (and other artists) i’d recommend checking out before the exhibit closes this Sunday June 15:

Erin Antognoli
Using a Holga camera, Antognoli captures intriguing multiple exposure black and white images. Ghostly human figures juxtaposed with city scenes and architectural details. The prints are small, the size of the actual negative, but this serves well to invite the viewer to study the images closely.

Brian Lusher, ‘Adoration of the Jesi ‘
Lusher’s installation involves dozens of plastic Jesus busts colorfully painted to look like they are in drag. This display is accompanied by a couple of large soft-focus photographic prints of these faces. They are beautifully printed and look surprisingly lifelike.

Graeme King, ’24 on 14th’
I happened to be walking up 14th Street during Graeme’s 24 hour stakeout. It’s one thing to have the concept of spending 24 hours in one spot taking photographs of willing passersby, but to actually carry it out (even after the pizza shop closes at 4am) and end up with a visually engaging product at the end is admirable. King’s wall of portraits is fun to browse, and you might even recognize someone. My mug is there somewhere in the middle.

 

Erica Riccardelli
If there’s an award for photographic location scouting, this photographer should get it. The staged murder scenes are interesting, but it’s the great settings, gothic ruins somewhere, that really caught my attention.

Stirling Elmendorf
Just around the corner from my space on the 12th floor, Stirling is a friend and collaborator. Look out for his dramatic 4-foot-high image of pink spheres, each one reflecting the photographer in miniature. It’s hard to miss.

Joanna Knox
Outstanding images of the interiors of decaying abandoned farmhouses. The photographs, taken with a 4×5 camera, are meticulously compsed, which makes the disorder of their contents appear even more stark. I saw her exhibit at the previous Artomatic and immediately recognized her work here.

Scott Davis
Another Mid City Artist photographer, uses a traditional platinum-palladium printing process. His Artomatic display includes recent photos from Washington DC. I especially like his wide-frame image of the P Street Whole Foods at night. The sweeping curved roof of a car along the bottom of the frame reflects the lights above, making what would be a mundane scene into an intriguing composition.

Tracy Lee, ‘Return to Sender’
A collection of old family snapshots and color slides that, according to the accompanying text, record memories of a childhood with two alcoholic parents. It is a compelling piece and uses photography to make this sad story very real and immediate to the viewer.

Jackie Hoysted, ‘Ashes to Ashes’
This isn’t photography, but I thought it was an intriguing concept to make art of of peoples’ last cigarettes as a way  to memorialize their quitting date. I was surprised with the range of artistic constructions that could be made from a cigarette and its effects.  


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