15th Annual JEG Photography Exhibition

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15th Annual Joyce Elaine Grant Photography Exhibition
TWU East | West Galleries

Exhibition Dates: February 15 – March 9, 2016

Opening Reception: February 16, 2016 | 5:30 – 7:00 pm

Guest Lecture with Juror, Dr. Rebecca Senf: February 16, 2016 | 4:00 – 5:00 pm

Juror’s Statement:

Theme: “Nourish: Food as Sustenance and Pleasure”

Food is the foundation of life; it is sustenance for our bodies and can be the source of great pleasure. We live in a time where food is abundantly available, and yet we have to evaluate grocery store items to determine if what is being offered is actually “real food.” (Fruit Loops, Cheetos, Twinkies, Cheez Whiz. Not real food.)

This is a moment of farm-to-table, locavore, slow food, craft and small batch production, as well as a panoply of ways to describe what we eat, including veganism, pescetarianism, flexitarianism, paleo, and gluten-free. Food (and eating) can be fraught with negative emotions, like guilt, sadness and regret, while at the other end of the spectrum, making food for others can be a profoundly generous and nourishing act. These dichotomous ideas, and range of diets, complicate our relationship to food.

Naturally food has inspired art, and this dynamic selection of works demonstrates that photographers have explored food in all its stages, with a wide range of concerns. Everything from abstracted and aestheticized images of food to pictures that document where our meals come from, these photographs go from appetizing to repulsive, sometimes managing to be both simultaneously.

Grab a napkin, pull up a chair, and find yourself something to eat. Just watch out for the Twinkies.

Artists in exhibition:

Rob Stephenson, Brooklyn , NY (Solo Show Award)

Chris Ireland, Stephenville, TX (Coupralux Award)

Tara Sellios, Somerville, MA (Freestyle Photographic Supplies Award)

Caren Alpert, San Francisco, CA (Imaging Spectrum Award)

Josh Dryk, Arlington, TX (Red River Paper Award)

Amelia Morris, Indianapolis, IN (Arlington Camera Award)

Jacinda Russell, Muncie, IN (Arlington Camera Award)

Deedra Baker, Denton, TX

Mary Ellen Bartley, Wainscott, NY

Tatyana Bessmertnaya, Plano, TX