National Geographic’s Greatest Photos of the American West with Susan Seubert

Sometimes a major surprise lands in my email box.  Although this post is a bit late, I wanted to share a new landmark in my photographic life.  I am included in a new book called National Geographic Greatest Photographs of the American West.  At the time this was announced to me last July, the exhibition and book were still under way.  Now the exhibition is still being shown throughout some 10 museums in the United States and I am, needless to say, thrilled to be included.  The accompanying catalog is now available for purchase from National Geographic online here.  The images for the exhibition and book were culled from some 8,00 to 10,000 pictures in the National Geographic Image Collection, according to Jim McNutt, the president and CEO of of the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  Although the photographs span from 1873 to the present, only 175 were chosen for the show and the catalog.  From those 175, 63 photographers were represented, including me.   Here is the list of photographers with links that allow viewers to get a more thorough glimpse at the photographers who helped shape the visual landscape of the American West through that iconic yellow rectangle of the National Geographic Society. This is a tremendous honor and I am extremely grateful and humbled to be included along side such photography luminaries as Edward Curtis, David Allen Harvey, Ansel Adams, Vincent Laforet, Frans Lanting, Robb Kendrick, Eugene Richards, Annie Griffiths, and Chris Johns just to name a few.

The press release page for the book, National Geographic Greatest Photographs of the American West

I hope that if you live in any of the places where the exhibition is showing that you will have a chance to see the installation in person.

Here is a list of participating museums.  Since the exhibit opened in late October of last year, some of the shows have already closed. However, if you see a museum in your area, please click on their site to see if it’s still showing.  Thank you for visiting!

The exhibition will open Oct. 27 at the following museums:

Booth Western Art Museum, Cartersville, Ga.

Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, Wyo.

Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, Indianapolis

Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, Okla.

National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City

National Geographic Museum, Washington, D.C.

National Museum of Wildlife Art of the United States, Jackson Hole, Wyo.

Rockwell Museum of Western Art, Corning, N.Y.

C.M. Russell Museum, Great Falls, Mont.

Stark Museum of Art, Orange, Texas

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Fine Art Photography: Artist Susan Seubert shows at Kittredge Gallery and Blue Sky

I am pleased to announce the opening of a show at the Kittredge Gallery at the University of Puget Sound in Washington State.  The show opens today, August 21st and runs through September 22nd, 2012.

The show is entitled, “Nerve-Wracked,” and includes pieces from the series, “Panphobia,” and, “Neurasthenia.” Examples from the exhibit are below.

The opening reception is on September 5th.  Unfortunately, (or rather fortunately!), I have an assignment on the Oregon Coast at that time so I will not be in attendance.  However, I encourage anyone in the area to go and see the exhibition.

More information, including gallery hours and location, can be found here.

Information about Susan Seubert’s show, “Nerve-Wracked,” at the Kittredge Gallery

 

If you aren’t in the Puget Sound area, my work will also be included in a show opening September 5th at the Blue Sky Gallery/Oregon Center for the Photographic Arts  in Portland, Oregon.  The show is entitled, “The Unseen Eye.” My piece that is being shown is part of curator W.M. Hunt’s personal collection.  He purchased, “Neurasthenia #1,” and it has been chosen for exhibition at Blue Sky.

Title: “Equinophobia” Medium: Platinum Print, on view at the Kittredge Gallery from August 21 through September 23

Title: “Neurasthenia #1″ Medium: Dry Plate Tintype, on view at the Blue Sky Gallery beginning Sept. 5th, 2012

To view more of my personal work, you can do so by visiting seubertfineart.com

If you are interested in purchasing available work, you may contact any of the following galleries:

The Froelick Gallery, Portland, Oregon

The Joseph Bellows Gallery, La Jolla, California

The G. Gibson Gallery, Seattle, WA

Thank you for your time!

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Fine Art Photography: The Digital Divide by Susan Seubert

Yet another long overdue post…

This year I was one of  24 artists/teams selected for the citywide Oregon Biennial, Portland2012 which was held earlier this year. Portland2012, the Biennial of Contemporary Art, is a major survey of work by visual artists who are defining and advancing the contemporary arts landscape in the state.  The show was presented by Disjecta and curated by Prudence F. Roberts.

My installation at Disjecta is titled, “The Digital Divide,” and consists of a series of QR codes installed in the gallery which, when scanned with a smart phone or other hand-held device, takes the viewer to videos and/or text.  The artist statement follows below.  You can view the installation on my fine art web site here.  The videos can be watched by scanning the QR codes from your computer screen, or by visiting the multimedia portion of my web site.  I would like to thank the fabulous people at Disjecta, Ms. Roberts, Marc Greenfield and all the volunteers that helped make this piece possible.  Tri-Met was a wonderful sponsor and included some stills from the videos on the sides of buses and on bus stop shelters throughout the city of Portland.

A still from, “The Digital Divide” installed on the side of a Tri-Met bus as part of Disjecta’s Portland2012, A Biennial of Contemporary Art

A still from “The Digital Divide,” an installation piece for Disjecta’s Portland2012, A Biennial of Contemporary Art.

The following is the artist statement for the piece:

To explore ideas of toxic waste, environmental impact due to rapid changes in technology, specifically communications technology, I have chosen to create a series of videos, which are accessible via QR codes using smart-phone technology. New methods of communication, (cell phones, smart phones, computers), have created forms of consumption which have had a direct correlation to the environmental impact of that consumption. Although not obvious, many natural resources are used to manufacture technological goods that we now rely on for communication. These materials are often harvested from third world nations, the most famous example being the Democratic Republic of the Congo where the thirst for Colton has fueled violent conflict. Some heavy metals are used in the manufacturing of communication technology such as cadmium, lead and arsenic. The rapid change in such things as processor speed and memory capacity has led to an enormous turnover in electronic hardware waste. (One statistic cites that the performance values of Information and Communication Technology double every 18 months.)
QR (Quick Response) codes are a type of matrix barcode, which consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background. They were designed by the Japanese in the early 1990′s to track vehicles during the manufacturing process. The use of the QR code is growing as a point-of-purchase symbol, where the consumer can scan the code and be taken to a video about whatever product to which the code is connected. The codes can be used for urls, text or numeric information. The problem is that the consumer must have a smart phone, access to the Internet and the application that allows the camera to read the code. Using QR codes as a method of communication, in order to see the actual visual information it conveys, most of which could normally be seen using our eyes through traditional media, one must use a camera. Eyes will simply no longer suffice to handle the task of reading, (i.e de-coding), the image.
Semaphore signal videos installed on the Internet, transmitted to the viewer via QR codes, emphasizes the digital divide that is currently prevailing in our global culture.
Working on the assumption that most viewers of this piece will not be able to read the semaphore signals as letters, (which form a sentence relevant to each location where the video was made), and that there will also be a number of viewers who will not have the relevant technology to read the QR codes, the piece will have effectively alienated the viewer from at least one critical portion of the piece, therefore encompassing both ends of the digital divide. I chose to use the Semaphore code because it is being phased out as a means of communication. Although it is still used in certain military situations, (such as refueling ships or moving munitions at sea), it will soon be gone as a method of communication. The Semaphore Flags system is used for conveying information at a distance by means of visual signals with hand-held flags.

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Fine art photographer Susan Seubert represented at Miami Aqua

The Froelick Gallery, which represents my work, is part of Miami Aqua this year and has chosen several artists, including me , to be included in their gallery space in Miami.  I’m thrilled to be represented at one of America’s largest art fairs, as Miami Aqua serves to bring West Coast artists to Art Basel in Miami Beach.  Art Basel is arguably one of the most prestigious art shows in North America and this is the first year I’ve had work included in the fair.  Charles and Rebecca chose to take some of my more diminutive pieces, including works from the series, “Tic, Tac, Toe,” and, “r e s t r a i n t.”  If you’re in Miami, stop by the Aqua Hotel and say hi!

Niqab, wet-plate ambrotype, 5x4", 2011 on display at Miami Aqua at the Froelick Gallery

This image was made using the traditional wet-plate collodion process where a glass plate is coated in collodion, then soaked in a bath of silver nitrate, exposed using a high powered strobe system and then developed, dried and finished with sandarac varnish.  They are then framed using glass mats and hand made wooden 8×10″ frames.  All the pieces from the series, ” r e s t r a i n t,” are 5×4″ in image size.  This piece is now SOLD.

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Wet Plate Collodion Photographer Susan Seubert reviewed in Equine

Any ink is good ink and this morning I was pleased to read a review in The Oregonian of the group show that my work is in at the Froelick Gallery called, “Equine.”  I made the piece that was curated into this show for my last exhibition, ” r e s t r a i n t.”  When the gallery owner saw the piece, he decided to hold it for this show.  The image is of a bridle with blinders and made with the wet plate collodion process. This piece has sold to a private collector, but I’ve included the image below and there is a link to the review here.  It’s always satisfying when an arts writer understands the territory I’m negotiating with my work and this brief review is no exception.  Thank you Bob Hicks!

"Horse Bridle with Blinders," 5x4", ambrotype, 2011

 

 

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Fine Art Photographer Susan Seubert to speak at the Froelick Gallery

During the month of April 2011, many galleries around Portland will be showing photography in tandem with events surrounding the Photolucida portfolio reviews.  On Saturday, April 16th, photographer Ron Van Dongen and I will be giving brief lectures about our work at the Froelick Gallery. The gallery is located at 714 NW Davis St. and the event will start at 11am.  It is free and open to the public.  I will be talking about my most recent body of work entitled, “r e s t r a i n t,” a series of 4×5″ wet-plate collodion ambrotypes that are a meditation on the word restraint.  If you can’t make it to the talk, you can see the work and read my artist statement at seubertfineart.com, my fine art web site.  I look forward to seeing you at the gallery!

Hotel Room 9, 5x4", wet-plate ambrotype, 2011

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Susan Seubert at the Tacoma Art Museum

The show, “A Concise History of Northwest Art,” is currently on display at the Tacoma Art Museum in Washington state.  A series of pictures I made in 1998, “The Ten Most Popular Places to Dump a Body in the Columbia River Gorge” will be on display until May 23rd of 2010.  If you haven’t been to the TAM, I highly recommend a visit.  Not only is the collection housed in a magnificent building, designed by Antoine Predock, but there are also several other museums located close by.  Although Tacoma is generally not considered as worthy a destination as it’s big sister Seattle, I have found it a fine place to visit.  We’ve taken the train from Portland and spent the night at the impressive Hotel Murano, which is dedicated to glass art.  Not only is the train ride from Portland relaxing, once you arrive in Tacoma, you can take the free streetcar from the train station and spend the day tooling around the downtown area.

Susan Seubert's image from A Concise History of Northwest Art at the Tacoma Art Museum

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Susan Seubert reviewed in San Francisco Weekly

Happiness is a good review.   I have the great privilege to have been included in a three person show at the Rayko Photo Center in San Francisco. The SF Weekly has a very nice blurb about the show here.  Unfortunately, but also fortunately, work precludes me from attending the opening.  If you find yourself in the San Francisco area on October 2nd, head on over to the Rayko Photo Center and party down at the opening of, “Lightning, Lava and Bombs.” It features the work of myself, Ben Nixon and Hendrik Paul.  The opening begins at 6pm.

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Susan Seubert’s piece, “Nest” wins juror’s choice award

The Center for Fine Art Photography in Colorado has announced the winners of the 2009 Art In Nature exhibition and my piece entitled “Nest” has been selected for the exhibition.  The juror was Kathy Moran, National Geographic magazine’s first senior editor for natural history projects.  It is a tremendous honor to have been one of the 48 artists chosen from three countries.  The exhibition will be on display at the gallery from December 4th, 2009 until January 9, 2010.

Nest #1 from the series, "Nest"

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“Science | Fiction” Reviewed in the Oregonian

In today’s Oregonian, writer Chas Bowie reviews my show. I really admire his ability to discuss photography without affectation, which was evidenced at the lecture he recently gave at PNCA.  His clear thinking and grasp of art history make him a great contributor to Portland’s aesthetic dialogue.

The review can be read here.

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