Windows, Mirrors, and Doors

Juror's Statement

I often think about photographs as either windows, describing the world that is laid before the photographer, or as mirrors, reflecting the unique expressions, sensibilities, and points-of-view that the photographer projects onto the world.

When tasked with selecting works for this exhibition where windows, mirrors, and doors are considered the subject or compositional device, I decided to focus on photographs that take full advantage of the unique framing that these structures provide. The photographs selected allow windows, mirrors, and doors to complicate space or heighten the psychology of the image. Each of the selected pictures is inextricably tied to the notion that the framing provided by the window, mirror, or door offers a unique opportunity to fracture or reveal information captured within the photograph.

As a testament to the endless possibilities of photography, these images range from sparsely populated works with a single subject to dense spaces that conflate multiple subjects into a single picture plane. Regardless of the use, each of these artworks succeed by holding the attention of the viewer and demanding observation through the presence of a window, mirror, or door.

I would like to thank each of the artists for their continued exploration and innovation and PhotoPlace Gallery for giving me the opportunity to engage with these works.

- Seth Curcio

About the Juror

Seth Curcio is the Associate Director for Pier 24 Photography in San Francisco. He previously served as the Director and Curator for Redux Contemporary Art Center in Charleston, South Carolina, as well as founder and Editor in Chief of the online contemporary arts publication DailyServing. Curcio has written widely on contemporary art and photography for various publications, and regularly lectures and conducts studio visits at colleges and universities across the country.

Seth is also an artist whose work explores the role of images in the construction of knowledge and experience. Often appropriating photographs that illustrate a place, object or experience that is witnessed primarily through media outlets, his work addresses the notion of human limitation and the unknown. Working through collage, photography, and sculpture, his projects co-opt and fracture existing imagery to underscore the distance between the viewer and the original source.

Call for Entries

Windows and mirrors offer photographers an amazing variety of creative options. a window can offer a reflected subject or be used as a framing element in a composition. A mirror can present two different realities simultaneously, or present an altered view of reality. We are honored that San Francisco gallerists Elizabeth Corden and Jan Potts served as the jurors for this exhibition. Together they selected a remarkable collection of photographs that explore the strange and wonderful ways that mirrors and windows help us see our world anew. They chose forty photos for exhibition at PhotoPlace Gallery from October 30th through November 20th, 2012. They also selected an additional thirty-five photos for the gallery's "Online Annex."