Dear photography enthusiasts and friends,
I have great fondness for winter’s soft light and quiet melancholy, how it reveals the underlying structure of nature, even as much of it is hidden, and the tendency for hibernation. Those of you outside of the Southern Ontario area may not be aware that we haven’t had any significant snowfall this year. It may sound like heresy to my fellow summer loving locals, but I'd really like some snow and cold. In my defense, I believe the enjoyment you get from anything is directly related to the degree to which you embrace it.
The following is my Winter 2010 photography newsletter. Included is information about my updated artist statement, photography talks I've been giving, what I'm working on, recent exhibitions and events, my blog, and the revised edition of my book.
All best, always,
Bret
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Artist Statement
www.bretculp.com/statement
For the audience, an artist's statement should be an introduction to the work, to help put it in context. For the artist, writing a statement may be the hardest part of art making, but it's also one of the most valuable exercises for artistic growth and development. The self-examination that comes from writing a statement leads to a better understanding of what motivates the work, resulting in a focusing of subject matter – hopefully. This is followed by more examination, understanding, focusing and on and on in perpetuity. Here is my latest statement.
All that remains of a formidable castle is a crumbling ruin overgrown with vines and moss; sunrise illuminates morning fog drifting silently through a valley in an instant that will exist only once in time; a mountain is gradually devoured by wind and water leaving behind sediment that is already becoming something new. These are photographs that highlight the beauty of each fleeting moment in a world of continuous change – this cyclical and transitory nature of existence binds everything in the material world.
–Bret Culp, December 2009
Photography Lectures
www.bretculp.com
Photography is the easiest medium in which to be confident, but the most difficult medium to construct a vision.
–Chuck Close
I've been speaking about The Photographer’s Artistic Voice at various photographic organizations over the past couple of years, most recently last December at the Mississauga Camera Club and early February at the Beach Photo Club.
The premise is that art is a manifestation of your interpretation of something based on your unique personality. As you develop skill in your medium and learn to embrace your individuality your expression will naturally find its voice. I also discuss photography as an art form, originality, writing an artist's statement, and much more.
The talks have been well attended, informative, and thoroughly enjoyable. Participants have stated that they have been motivating and have assisted in furthering the development of their work.
Additionally, I have happily accepted an invitation to be a judge at the Beach Photo Club print competition in March.
New Work
www.bretculp.com
Over the past year I've continued to photograph throughout Ireland when not on-set for the fourth and final year of The Tudors. Over time it has become clear to me that I have four distinct subsections of work in my Ireland portfolio.
1. Ruins – including castles, fortresses, estates
A ruin is not just something that happened long ago to someone else; its history is that of us all, the transience of power, of ideas, of all human endeavors.
–George Schaller
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2. Prehistoric Megalithic Monuments – including dolmens, standing stones, stone circles
Sorrow and silence are strong, and patient endurance is godlike.
–Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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3. The Irish Landscape – dramatic country that reflects the hardy Irish spirit
The violets in the mountains have broken the rocks.
–Tennessee Williams
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4. Graveyards and Burial Grounds – including monuments, round towers, churches
From my rotting body, flowers shall grow and I am in them and that is eternity. –Thomas Moore |
The most enigmatic place that I visited this past year was Skellig Michael, the larger of the two Skellig Islands located 15 km off the south-west coast of Ireland. Seven hundred feet atop the rocky island is a well preserved sixth-century Christian monastery that has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Skellig Michael holds a special place in Irish history and folklore, notably having being one the best known but most inaccessible early European monasteries and having survived a number of Viking raids in the 9th century. Climbing to the top of the island using the same rock carved steps that monks used 1,500 years ago was a precarious yet exhilarating experience.
Steps to Elysium, Skellig Michael, Kerry, Ireland, 2010, archival pigment on photo rag
But for the magic that takes you out, far out of this time and this world, there is Skellig Michael, ten miles off the Kerry Coast, shooting straight up 700 feet out of the Atlantic. Whoever has not stood in the graveyards at the summit of that cliff, among the beehive dwellings and their beehive oratory, does not know Ireland through and through, It is the beauty of Ireland that has made us what we are.
–From the "Beauty of Ireland" by George Bernard Shaw
Exhibitions and Events
www.bretculp.com/exhibitions
The following are exhibitions and events that I've been part of since the Metaphors or Idealism? exhibition last November at Leonardo Gallery in Toronto.
PHOTO OF THE WEEK
My photograph, The Transience of Power, was selected as the January 4, 2010 GalleryPrint Picture of the Week. Click here for the GalleryPrint website. |
LIGHT OF WINTER
Arta Gallery, Toronto, Canada
December 9 to December 26, 2009
I participated in the Light of Winter Juried Group Exhibition at Arta Gallery at the Distillery District in Toronto. My photography received a nice mention in an article in the Examiner by Mandi Hargrave.
Here's a snippet:
When you walk through the doors to the gallery, Bret Culp’s black and white photo of an old castle commands your attention. Appropriately titled, 'The Transience of Power' captures your gaze and locks you in. Whether it’s the size of the photo or its overall beauty, something about it won’t let you look away until you’ve fully taken in its natural charm.
Click here for the full article.
Arta Gallery | info@artagallery.ca | 416-364-ARTA (2782)
55 Mill Street Suite 102, Bldg. 9 Toronto, ON, Canada M5A 3C4
Tue-Sat: 11am-6pm Sun: 12pm-5pm Mon: Closed
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OCAD WHODUNIT? MYSTERY ART SALE
Whodunit? 2009 – Mystery Art by the Famous and
Soon-to-be-famous
I’m thrilled that my photography was chosen for inclusion in the Ontario College of Art and Design Whodunit? Mystery Art Sale Gala Preview and Silent Auction.
Gala Preview:
Come celebrate art, artists and friends at a fabulous party unlike any other. Preview the hundreds of pieces of mystery art for sale in the Whodunit? Public Art Sale on November 21. Bid on framed 5.5" x 7.5" mystery art chosen exclusively for sale in the Silent Auction or bid on large-scale art by a select group of artists in the Live Auction. Join mystery artists and friends at our exclusive party!
The Whodunit? OCAD Mystery Art Sale is OCAD's signature fundraising event. It's an exhibition and sale of pieces of original art by well-known and celebrity artists, OCAD faculty, alumni and students. Gaining in popularity year after year, the Whodunit? OCAD Mystery Art Sale offers hundreds of original pieces of art donated by artists who are famous and not-yet-famous. Every piece measures 5.5 x 7.5 inches and each piece is $75. Like it - buy it - turn it over and see Whodunit!
whodunit.ocad.ca
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Blog
www.bretculp.com/blog
I've recently moved my blog directly onto my website. It replaces my Musings page.
The content concerns discussions on art and culture from a photographer's point of view as well as being a place where my updates and latest news can be found. There is already some content that I encourage you to look though and perhaps comment on. It's my hope that there will be healthy ongoing participation from readers.
I'm also interested in posting other's writings as long as it is in keeping with the theme of the blog. It could be anything from a critique on contemporary conceptual art to an inspirational quote. Email me if you are interested in contributing.
 SUBSCRIBE to my blog feed and follow along.
Book
www.bretculp.com/book
A revised and updated third edition of my book, The Beauty of Impermanence | Bret Culp, is now available. It contains more than 40 fine art black and white photographs from Ireland, Italy, Canada and the United States printed on heavyweight art paper.
An online preview is available by clicking the PURCHASE button below.
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A book of haunting and poetic fine art black and white landscape photographs from Ireland, Italy, Canada, and the United States that focus on themes of resilience, reclamation, and renewal while revealing the beauty of impermanence. Also included is a fitting collection of quotations, proverbs and poetry ranging from the transient to the transcendental.
The Beauty of Impermanence | Bret Culp
Standard Landscape 10x8 inches (25x20 cm) | 80 pages
Revised and Updated Third Edition: December 2009
ISBN 978-0-9810253-0-8 |
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