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| EDITORS NOTES Art & Antiques Magazine February, 2006 If happiness is found in the present, then photographers must be the most optimistic people on earth. Their focus, literally and figuratively, is on the moment. Results of that camera click can be more or less manipulated, or simply serendipity, but the moment is memorialized. Photography as a collectible art form is becoming more and more popular. Auction prices have risen consistently, and more galleries are stocking photography as part of their regular inventory. Whether the image records historic happenings, fun and frivolity, or artistic abstraction, we all can identify with this medium. Art & Antiques’ annual photography contest is a popular forum for both amateurs and professionals. This year’s winning images (page 51) were not the result of expensive equipment and fancy machinations. The humble pinhole camera created half of the winners! Simplicity ruled the day, with one entrant stating as her technique: “Nothing beyond focusing and shooting.” Other February issue delights include a fascinating look at some contemporary artists who explore the portrait in unique ways (page 62). Art critic Edward M. Gomez chooses six artists to make his points. From the almost confrontational full-faced views of Richard Piloco to the psychological studies of Teun Hocks, these people portraits are impossible to ignore. Pet portraits appear also (page 86). Then & Now presents both antique and contemporary versions of this muchloved genre. Serious art collectors don’t have to have a serious setting for their art. Debbie and Mitchell Rechler have a delightfully comfortable home for their surprising mix of the latest in art with the most sedate of antiques. Skillful interior designer Irwin Weiner devised a Love the Moment formal, traditional interior with minimalist furnishings to showcase the fine quality of both art and antiques. This creative team brings a new respect to the oftused and misused term “eclectic.” The reflective image on this page is by professional photographer John Duckworth, one of his “Landscape Abstracts” series. The judges were enamored of his entry in our photo contest, but the winners edged him out in the final minutes of deliberation. His technique is interesting: He “paints” with his camera, moving it as he would a paintbrush. He’s also a painter, by the way. The result, as he describes it, “straddles Realism, Abstraction and Impressionism, and reflects an appreciation of the natural beauty of the landscape, cityscapes and human interaction within these environments.” His fusion of camera, computer and paintbrush achieves his intent, which, he says, “is to blur the lines between photography and painting.” One of the recommendations that BusinessWeek Online journalist Thane Peterson cites in a recent article on “The Art of Buying Art” is to buy photography. Though his tip is based on value considerations, you can never miss if you buy for love, not money. EDITOR’S NOTES “Folly Beach 19509, early spring,” by John Duckworth, was an almostwinner in our annual photography contest and a personal favorite. Barbara Tapp Editor Art & Antiques |
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