Holly Andres

© Holly Andres

Multidisciplinary artist Holly Andres has a new show that recently opened at Robert Mann Gallery called Sparrow Lane. These gorgeous and almost suspicious photos kind of dare the viewer to come in.

© Holly Andres

© Holly Andres

According to Andres website, “Sparrow Lane is an elliptical narrative exploring adolescent girls on the cusp of acquiring forbidden knowledge – a metaphor for the precarious transition from girl to woman."

© Holly Andres

© Holly Andres

In Sparrow Lane Andres uses fairytale-esque scenes to draw us into an unfolding story. In well thought-out posed and propped images, she piques our curiosity about a time and place that continues to mystify us all – the transient time in our lives called adolescence. Through fiction Sparrow Lane captures a human experience all too familiar and often completely misunderstood. On a personal level Sparrow Lane conjures up all kinds of interesting recollections for me – particularly from books and film. The story of Alice & Wonderland or something out of Nancy Drew… and movies like "The Watcher in the Woods", “Heavenly Creatures” and “Pan’s Labyrinth” – each playing with mystery, journey and suspense.

© Holly Andres

Sparrow Lane can be seen at Robert Mann Gallery through December 6th.

Andres has an M.F.A. from Portland State University in Oregon and a B.F.A. from The University of Montana in Missoula. For more information on Holly Andres visit her website at www.hollyandres.com

FOTO WEEK

Another fantastic contest opportunity!! Good luck everyone!

Did you take a great picture on vacation this summer? Or have you taken a wonderful portrait of your grandmother? What about that amazing action shot from your brother’s soccer game or those striking patterns made by winter tree branches? Or let us inspire you to go out with your camera and see the world in a different way. FotoWeek DC and The Washington Post are putting out the call to all young shutterbugs to enter the Youth Photo Contest, open to all students, K through 12th grade, in DC, Maryland, and Virginia.

• Prizes – cash and camera equipment!
• Publication in and awards at The Washington Post!
• Exhibition at FotoWeek DC Central in Georgetown

For more information: http://www.fotoweekdc.org/youth/index.asp

JESSICA TODD HARPER

© Jessica Todd Harper

I think you girls are really going to like this one. Jessica Todd Harper is a fantastic example of how the personal issues in our day to day lives can be explored behind the camera AND have the ability to inspire new projects.


From Jessica's website: Jessica Todd Harper began in 2000 with large format color photo portraits of family and friends, following a project begun when she was still at high school and began losing her grandmother to Alzheimer's disease. Observing her grandmother's increasingly brief periods of lucidity, her increasingly weak awareness of the domestic environment, of people dear to her and everyday objects, Harper carried out a work of deep reflection on the functioning of memory and the meaning of the private sphere in the individual. This gave rise to the shots that portray chiefly the female members of her family, images of herself, relations present and past, the latter immortalized in period photos and old paintings.

© Jessica Todd Harper

© Jessica Todd Harper

© Jessica Todd Harper

Jessica uses natural light to highlight her subject's emotion. In many of her images natural light pours in onto the scene and draws our attention directly to the heart of the moment. I also love the intimacy that happens in her photos. It is as if the photographer (Jessica) belongs there rather than a stranger being invited in to observe, which would undoubtedly change the mood and tone of the household.

I think Jessica's project Interior Exposure poses a wonderful challenge for you guys. Use your camera to explore an experience something happening in your life - either to you or around you. Photograph an intimate situation close to you. Try and capture what you and the people and the environment around you are experiencing. Don't just observe. Instead use the camera to bring yourself closer to understanding it.

For more information visit: http://www.jessicatoddharper.com/

For those of you in the NYC area: Jessica will be speaking about her new monograph at the Aperture Gallery, Tuesday, Oct. 7th, at 6:30 PM, as a guest of the Aperture Foundation and the Photography Program at Parsons, the New School for Design. The Aperture Gallery is located at 547 West 27th Street, 4th floor. Call (212) 505-5555 for details.

PDN Contest for Students

Another TGP recommended contest for you -


I think this is a great opportunity for those of you enrolled in a high-school photography class. Check it out. http://contest.pdnedu.com/

Grand prize winners get a new digital camera and are featured on PDNedu.com

Who can participate?
ALL submissions must be made by students currently enrolled in photography classes in college or high school. Winners will be required to submit a copy of a valid student ID and the name of their school and instructor before claiming their prize.

GO FOR IT!!