For our annual issue of Aint–Bad Magazine, we have teamed up with an amazing selection of curators, editors, gallerists, educators, and publishers to offer a chance to have your work seen by some of the best names in the industry. All of our guest curators have trained eyes and know what they are looking for in a photograph. The goal of issue No.13 is to put your work directly in front of eyes of these curators. Lara Orawski recently had the chance to ask Anna Walker Skillman a few questions concerning photography and her thoughts on the medium. Learn more about what motivates Anna Walker Skillman and what she is thinking about today!

Lara Orawski: As Director of Jackson Fine Art in Atlanta, your organization bridges the gap between contemporary artists and collectors, the nature of which is to commoditize the work of these artists. How do you find the market is responding to artist experimentation with new technologies versus traditional photographic methods?

Anna Walker Skillman: You are exactly right. Jackson Fine Art’s mission is to connect artists with collectors but also to cultivate strong relationships and nurture experiences surrounding the artwork itself. It is less about what the market is responding to and more about what contemporary artists are inspired by in the world around them. The market watches closely and responds to what is happening and the artists drive that vision. A trend in contemporary photography at the moment is “the abstract” but using traditional photographic processes of making work, you can see this in the work of John Chiara, Matthew Brandt, and Meghann Riepenhoff to name a few. It appears that artists are pausing for a moment and honoring those that came before them.

Of course with the iPhone, everyone is a photographer, everyday all day. When will we tire of these insistent images that bombard our daily lives?

Photography is the only art medium that the world has access to from the time you are two years old if not younger. How does the collector and artist alike navigate the constant visual noise that the digital
photographic image presents? Good question and hard to avoid.

My advice, work more and spend less time posting. Be present in your work-life balance and curate. The use of digital is here to stay but its use for the artist is changing. Artists are slowing down, taking note of the medium in a serious way and photography is not only used by the purist, the fine art photographer, but photography continues to play a large role in contemporary art as a whole. Photography has seeped it’s way into the studios of artists that work in ALL mediums as well as the top contemporary commercial art galleries.

LO: As a gallerist, what excites you most in selecting and curating a collection? And how can the artist help facilitate?

AWS: The curation process is collaborative for the artist and curator, always. I want their show to be their vision and am always open to ideas around installation.

What excites me the most is watching a collector and his or her space become transformed by the process of collecting. When a collector truly commits, the steps that follow from learning what inspires to watching the sheer enthusiasm from a newly hung piece, the glimmer in that collectors eye and how proud they are, almost feels like you are watching the creative process itself. As the collection evolves the collector evolves. It is amazing when you look back on a collection and it becomes a portrait of the collector and his or her own vision. That is the most rewarding.

LO: Do you have any advice to offer to young photographers seeking gallery representation?

AWS: My advice would be to know how to market your work and know your market. Be humble yet assertive and persistent. Know the history and the artists that came before you and have vision of the ones that will come after. Work every day and build a business and network around your artwork whatever that might look like either via instagram or gallery representation.

Today with technology, the world of selling art is more compelling and competitive than ever. Everyone is a photographer, everyone is an artist or in a creative field. How are you unique? The art world will not show up at your doorstep. You have to be innovative put yourself out in the world better and louder than others.

Lastly and ultimately, you have to make good solid work, meaning quality and craftsmanship. Your work has to feel like it was born by you and no one else and the execution and presentation is equally as important at the idea and image itself.

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ISSUE NO.13 – CALL FOR ENTRY

 

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For our annual issue of Aint–Bad Magazine, we have teamed up with an amazing selection of curators, editors, gallerists, educators, and publishers to offer a chance to have your work seen by some of the best names in the industry. All of our guest curators have trained eyes and know what they are looking for in a photograph. The goal of issue No.13 is to put your work directly in front of eyes of these curators.

While there is no specific theme for this call for entry, we are asking to see your best work! Take a look at the list of curators working with us on this publication. Look into their practice, see what they like. Take a look at the Aint–Bad Archives to get a sense of the imagery that we have been publishing over the last few years both online and in print. Does your work have what it takes to be selected as a printed artist in issue No. 13? Show us! Submit today! This call for entry will end on August 1st, so while you are enjoying this hot summer weather, be sure to dig through your hard drives and select work that will impress the curators, and the world!

Each curator will select two photographers from the submissions to feature and interview for the printed publication. Fifteen curators. Thirty photographers. This issue is collaboration at it’s finest. The final result will be a beautiful, hand-curated issue of the best contemporary photography in existence today. In addition to all of the above, we hope to partner with the curators further to exhibit work from the issue in various galleries and institutions around the world.

Please let us know if you have any questions. First, take a look at our FAQs at the bottom of this page.

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Submission Deadline
August 10th, 2018

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Meet the Curators

 

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FAQ :

How much does it cost to submit?
You can submit up to twenty photographs for $25.

Why is there a fee to submit to this call?
We are asking each photographer to pay a submission fee in order to help with the costs of printing this publication. Printing aint cheap! Aint–Bad strives to use the best materials available to create a publication that is a work of art in itself. All funds collected from submission fees will be used to produce this issue of Aint–Bad Magazine.

Can I submit more than one project?
Yes! However, each submission fee is valid for ONE body of work. We want to see your strongest body of work. If you feel that you need to submit a second body of work, you may do so by paying another submission fee and submitting a different project.

When will I be notified if I am selected for this issue?
All selected artists will be notified by mid-August. Photographers that are chosen for this issue will be required to answer interview questions from the guest curators.

What happens if I am not chosen for print?
If you are not selected by our guest curators for print, your work will be passed to the Aint–Bad Editors, and will have an opportunity to be published on our website as an article or interview. You will be notified via email if your work is chosen for an online feature.

Can I submit a collaborative project?
Yes, you can submit a project that has been created by yourself and other artists. Please submit under the name that you would like to appear in print if you are selected.