Thursday, March 06, 2008
Juror's Talk: A Discussion with David Griffin
PHOTO 08 Juror, David Griffin, Director of Photography for National Geographic Magazine, spoke to a crowd of over 85 attendees the evening of Thursday, March 6th, 2008 about his experience choosing work for the Ellipse Art Center’s current exhibition, on display through Saturday April 12th.
When selecting work, it was first most important for the photograph’s subject matter to make an emotional connection with David. Second, he was impressed with works that were able to make ‘order out of chaos' and transcend what the average eye sees to discover patterns and rhythms in the world. Third, he choose work in which the photographic technique was ‘transparent,’ meaning that the photo processes the artist used did not distract him from viewing the work.
After these three main ideas, David went on to explain that there is a balance to this criteria and 100 other little things are considered when editing photographs. Moreover, since David’s background is in journalism, his eye is trained to edit for print publications. Thus he is not as concerned with framing and presentation issues.
Above: David’s favorite work in the show was Min Enghauser’s By the Light of the Moon. David was thrilled by how this image made him feel as though he could “see in the dark”. Min, who was present at the discussion explained how she was able to capture the stars in her seascape by exposing her film for 45 seconds.
Below: David talks about Andrew Katona's Tomato.
¶ 8:51 PM 
PHOTO 08 Juror, David Griffin, Director of Photography for National Geographic Magazine, spoke to a crowd of over 85 attendees the evening of Thursday, March 6th, 2008 about his experience choosing work for the Ellipse Art Center’s current exhibition, on display through Saturday April 12th.
When selecting work, it was first most important for the photograph’s subject matter to make an emotional connection with David. Second, he was impressed with works that were able to make ‘order out of chaos' and transcend what the average eye sees to discover patterns and rhythms in the world. Third, he choose work in which the photographic technique was ‘transparent,’ meaning that the photo processes the artist used did not distract him from viewing the work.After these three main ideas, David went on to explain that there is a balance to this criteria and 100 other little things are considered when editing photographs. Moreover, since David’s background is in journalism, his eye is trained to edit for print publications. Thus he is not as concerned with framing and presentation issues.
Above: David’s favorite work in the show was Min Enghauser’s By the Light of the Moon. David was thrilled by how this image made him feel as though he could “see in the dark”. Min, who was present at the discussion explained how she was able to capture the stars in her seascape by exposing her film for 45 seconds.Below: David talks about Andrew Katona's Tomato.
