Honorable Mention Artist: Jackie Weisberg
Smoke and smokestacks Czech Republic, Europe
Statement:
For many years I have been inspired by the work of precisionist painters and photographers such as Charles Sheeler, Edward Hopper, Ralston Cranford, Paul Strand and others who experimented with a highly controlled approach to technique and form, particularly as it related to the industrial revolution. Their sense of logic, geometric shape and purity has informed my own work.
Over the years I have traveled by train throughout the countryside both domestically and abroad. The images I make while traveling by rail, titled Views From the Train, began in Spain, in 2006 while traveling from Barcelona to Valencia. At first I thought my images might be impaired by a too slow shutter speed and the reflections in the train windows, but I quickly decided to use those problems to my advantage. The blurring of objects in the foreground gives way to sharp objects in the mid-range, as the train speeds by the countryside. Consideration of depth of field, made quickly as the landscape flies by, forces me to be both intuitive and technically proficient. The landscape around me affords views of forests, industry, houses, and oceans, all moving fast so that I often have only a quick glimpse of what is fleeting by. The photos I make as I travel clearly indicate movement, low light, and reflections; qualities that mirror both the literal and metaphorical aspects of the countries I travel through.
Bio:
Returning to photography after a decade long hiatus during which time she raised a family, Jackie Weisberg has had her work exhibited in over twenty-five group shows, two two-person shows and has received multiple awards, including The International Color Awards second place Photographer of the Year Award in 2006, and, in 2012, third place award in PWP’s International Call, in the “Our Earth” category, curated by Mary Ellen Mark, for View from the Train No. 9. In between those years, she garnered over a dozen awards including an Honorable Mention in the Julia Margaret Cameron Awards for her series,Gowanus Impressions. In October 2011, her image, Smith Street Station, from the Gowanus Impressions series, was published in Abrams Books’ critically acclaimed book, New York in Color, curated by Bob Shamis. Seventeen of her images from Gowanus Impressions are in the permanent collection of the Brooklyn Historical Society. Her work has appeared on book jackets, magazines, magazine covers and textbooks; most recently on the cover of the online magazine Imprints, curated by Harvey Stein. She is affiliated with ASMP, PWP, NAPP and APAG. Jackie has taken numerous photography classes over the years at ICP, Parsons School of Design, Maine Media Workshops and at the Center for Photography at Woodstock. She continues to produce portraits for her business, Jackie Weisberg Photography, while working on her personal projects, including Lovely as a Tree, Gowanus Impressions and Views from the Train.