Printmore: A Gallery Show
Last weekend, I was lucky enough to be invited to a gallery opening from one of my/our students. I have been invited before to many gallery openings, but rarely have the capability of attending because of this or that—another photographer said, “Your kids are your built-in excuse for everything.” This opening was no different, in that I had a Hunt’s workshop in the morning, immediately followed by a wedding in which I was the photographer. However, unlike many galleries that I’m invited to in Newburyport or Worcester, the gift was given to me that this gallery was only a ten-minute drive from the wedding! I packed up my bag at 8:15 and high-tailed it over to Winchester Center.
The Show
If you take enough photo walks or workshops, attend enough Hunt’s events and seminars, you tend to see some similar faces. Many that have taken photo walks or workshops realize that it’s often a great opportunity to socialize, which surely was an unintended consequence when we discussed Photo Walks at Hunt’s a dozen years ago.
One of those faces is Melissa Marsh, the subject of our story—our exhibiting artist. Melissa’s work was sprawling. I remember when she came to us mentioning her interest in showing at a gallery and she had this subset of images that was so varied. She had landscapes and people and wildlife and more! It was challenging for her (or anyone) to whittle down the quantity of images she wanted to display, as culling one’s own work can tear it up. Still, the quality of what was displayed was fabulous. She succeeded in tying together a plant with wild tendrils to a beached ship; wild horses, lions, and frost-covered wolves; abstracts! The walls of the small Rubini Art Gallery in downtown Winchester were packed with beautiful images. It was a fabulous success for Melissa (and a great joy) to see these images on display.
Of other note was the level of support she received. As you can see from the images included, Melissa was supported by many other local photographers and fellow students. This level of support and enthusiasm is almost as important as the work because putting a show together is time consuming, expensive, all-encompassing, and draining. There needs to be a light at the end of the tunnel that you can show it all off to! (A margarita afterward isn’t bad, either.)
The Process and Why We Print
I can’t tell you everything about Melissa’s process—from culling images to editing to printing to deciding how to matte and frame individual images. I can say with assurances from personal experience that printing, matting, and framing nearly 20 images is not only a major expense, but also an immense challenge because of the care that it takes to organize every step of the way. Which paper surface should be use? What matte style? What frame style? How do these elements tell a story together or individually. Ultimately, the work should be cohesive together as a group, but also individually, should the work sell.
The common belief is that the average person spends anywhere from 5-30 seconds looking at a piece of artwork in a gallery. Anyone that edits their images knows that they can easily spend 30 minutes or more processing the image in software. For printing, it’s even longer, as rarely is the first print the final print.
This intimate time with the print is one of the key reasons I believe everyone should print: Printing makes you a better photographer by forcing you to look deeper at your images. We are constantly trying to cram as many images as possible through the meat grinder of Lightroom that the individual image can easily be neglected. Staying with that photograph for a long time can influence future improvements and develop a personal language and style! (I met with another printer earlier this week, and when I asked about paper choice, he stated, “I know it when I’m taking the image”, which is something I too have been discussing in my printing classes!)
But Should I Have a Gallery Opening?
Yes and no. Not everyone should have a gallery opening in the traditional sense, but creating a cohesive body of photographic images (printed, of course) is the culmination of all your hard work! Your gallery opening could be having a single image exhibited at a coffee shop or your local library, or it could be in your living room with a small handful of images. And sure, have a bigger gallery opening if you feel up for the challenge! Just make sure to invite me—I will do my best not to come up with an excuse!
