Artistic Reality: Booth Photography Guild

The Booth Photography Guild was founded in 2010 by members of the Booth Western Art Museum, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution.  The BPG is dedicated to increase awareness and appreciation of digital photography as an art form.  Juried by John Mariana and Lynn Henderson, members of the BPG, this exhibition, Artistic Reality, features a glimpse of the guild’s finest work.

The inspiration for Artistic Reality, originated from the idea that digital photography, a medium often challenged in the world of Fine Art, is much like painting.  Mariana states, “The paint brush is only a tool used to apply the paint, the artist creates the painting, much like the process of digital photography; a camera is only the tool a photographer uses to create an image.”  Digital photography is just one of many types of photography, but takes its unique form within a computer.  All of the photographs in this exhibition are composed, meaning the artist in some way or another, has demonstrated not only their technical skills, but have exercised their aesthetic right as an artist to create something from reality.  Is reality not the starting point for every artist?  Indeed, a popular trend for nineteenth century, romantic, landscape painters was to compose their landscapes with elements not necessarily found together in nature, but look and feel good in a painting.  “When you see the work of a photographer, you not only see what he saw, but you feel what he felt…” says Mariana.  This is true in the realm of photography as a fine art, whether it be film, photojournalism, or digital photography.

Artistic Reality captures the world through the lens of eighteen Booth Photography Guild members, and features works of art that will challenge your idea of photography in this modern era of technological and photographic innovation.

Featured Artists of the Booth Photography Guild:

Arnie Abelman

Michael Belk

Jerry Black

Roy Gordon

Lynn Henderson

Seith Hopkins

John Mariana

Spears McAllester

Burchett Phyllis

Darcy Pino

Pam Randolph

Stennis Shotts

Janice Smith

Hal Smith

Pat Stephenson

Gerard Verzaal

Clara Williams

Pam Wilson