Myths, Legends, and Dreams

 Juror's Statement

Wow! What a thrill and an honor to review such compelling and thought-provoking imagery with extraordinary levels of ingenuity. Thanks to all the artists who shared their work with me. The theme Myths, Legends, and Dreams lends itself to a rich and multi-interpretational platform for making art—art that can be playful and haunting, abstract and representational as well as literal and imagined. You will see all approaches considered in the works selected for this exhibition. These images stand as a testament to the ever-broadening definition of the medium of photography, while also offering refreshing takes on classic tales, dreamscapes, and difficult-to-explain phenomena.

I believe there is an element of magic that unites all this work, along with the unusual capacity to connect with the viewer in deeply profound ways. I was especially fascinated by images that emerged from developed bodies of work, in which the artist is pursuing a cohesive photographic vision. It’s always exciting to discover an artist who understands how to harmonize his/her creative voice, establishing a signature style that can be easily identified yet does not appear formulaic, familiar, or redundant. Also, I encountered a lot of work that surprised me with its clever transcendental quality—taking me somewhere else, a place of the artist’s invention. Much of the beauty of a photograph is in its inherent nature to communicate a “truth.” However, many of the images in this show challenged my sense of what’s real by fabricating a convincing “new reality.”

- Amy Holmes-George

About the Juror

Amy Holmes George is Executive Director of the Texas Photographic Society and a fine art photographer based near Dallas, Texas. She has held teaching appointments at Collin College, Baylor University, University of North Texas and Stephen F. Austin State University.

Amy's work is exhibited widely throughout the United States, Italy, England, France and China. Her work has been featured in over 100 exhibitions and is housed in several permanent collections, including The Getty, The Kinsey Institute and the Fratelli Alinari Museum. Her images have been published in a variety of texts, including The Book of Alternative Photographic Processes (Christopher James, 2015) and Exploring Color Photography: From Film to Pixels (Robert Hirsch, 2010).

Amy is a recent member of the National Board of Directors of the Society for Photographic Education and a 2008 Fulbright grant recipient. Learn more about her work here: www.amyholmesgeorge.com

Call for Entries

Photography has the ability to make visible scenes that never did or never could exist, thus providing artists with the ability to fabricate stories, create legends, and delve into self-reflection. For this exhibition, we seek images that bring us into your world of fantasy and reflection.

All captures and processes welcome.

We are very pleased that Amy Holmes George has agreed to jury this exhibit. She will select approximately 35 images for exhibition in our Middlebury, Vermont gallery, and an additional 35 images for our Online Gallery Annex.

The Juror’s Award and Director’s Award recipients will be entitled to a portfolio review with Amy Holmes George.