Hey everyone, sorry about being missing from action these past few days. As you might have gathered from the title of this entry, I am getting ready for my first gallery show. I am very excited and busy doing the final touches for it. I will be back to regular posting on Monday. Below is my artist statement that will be at the show. I will see you on Monday.
Artist Statement
We live in a tumultuous time. It is all too easy to look around us and at every turn see tragedies of all shades. The growth of cheap mass media in television and the Internet have made it easy for us to tune into the world around us twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Lately, it has been deeply discouraging to absorb this constant feed of suffering. War, hunger, tsunamis, hurricanes, religious fighting, bird flu, AIDS, wildfires, corruption, terrorism, the list goes on. The issues our world is facing are very real and deeply affecting. They deserve and demand our urgent attention. These issues, and more, require us to act with both our heads and our hearts. It is clearly evident that the troubles of the world cannot be lifted without the works of the competent, and yet I believe the greatest hope lies in the works of the compassionate. More than anything, I believe in and give full body to not only the darkness of man, but also our light. I believe only through compassion, generosity, understanding, forgiveness, and restraint can we fully realize the beauty of our potential and peace for the suffering.
In this vein I am honored to be able to share my humble photography in this show. For a brief moment in time in this small, humble space and community I wish for us to be able to put aside the weight of this world. I wish for us to truly look at the faces of those pictured here, both familiar and strange, and celebrate our differences and our joys. Let us celebrate the differences in our age, color, and vocation and be reminded of the joy that seemingly mundane moments and actions can bring. Is there something special to be seen and experienced in a cartwheel? A water balloon? What about a casual dinner? What about the homeless? Do we walk away or can we look into their eyes? Relishing in our variations, perhaps we will discover that we are not all that different on many levels. I believe the languages of happiness, desire, sadness, suffering, and love are universal.
Likewise, let us be mindful of the natural world around us, even a beautiful light passing through a simple glass. Let us be reminded that we are the guardians of our world and as such do our best to not only enjoy it, but to care for it. It is my hope that we can reflect on the fact that our world is indeed beautiful and intricate in all its glorious details, and that it is very much worth protecting and finding pleasure with. As a Christian, I believe that we and the world around us are the light of our creator’s eyes and as such we should strive to shine brightly indeed.
Andrew M. Huth
4 comments in “My First Gallery Show”
August 17th, 2006 at 11:01
hey andrew,
i thought this might be your excuse for the few postings this week! i’m just sorry i can’t come to your show…
congratulations =)
August 17th, 2006 at 13:07
If they believe, as I do, that your statement is powerful and moving,just wait until they see your photos at the Gallery! I have been looking forward to this weekend for a long time and I am so proud of you, Andrew! I’ve given all of the info-postcards away (along with your blogspot address!) and many of the recipients have said that they plan on checking it out sometime within the next few weekends! Some have even said that your photo of the little girl on the postcard itself is National Geographic quality! I wholeheartedly (and quite proudly!) agreed with them! See you two this weekend!
August 21st, 2006 at 11:09
Hi Andrew! I thought I’d pay you a visit
I trust your gallery show went well! Your artist statement is extremely inspiring. I haven’t been interested in taking good pictures in the past, however, this summer.. I finally read the manual to my old Nikon E995. Up until recently, I’ve just been pointing and shooting in Auto mode (which I’m sure makes a photographer like you cringe!). So now I am all of a sudden interested in improving my photos. It’s nice to see work such as yours for inspiration! Beautiful picture of the girl.
August 22nd, 2006 at 21:43
Hey Erin. Thanks for visiting my site. I am also starting the process of looking at your site. I am so glad to hear that you are getting to know better the full functionality of your Nikon. I am always happy to hear people exploring their cameras. The whole auto thing is very common and believe me I have seen some great photos come from people who had it all on auto. Nonetheless, it is fun and freeing to set the camera in manual and take control over the image making process beyond composition only. I hope you will post some pictures during your experimental process. I look forward to seeing them.
Thanks again Erin for taking the time to write.
Andrew
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