Photography Exhibit Archives

Category Archives: Photography Exhibit

Exhibiting Primary Colors

I am excited to announce my acceptance of the image Color in Profile (above) into the photography-digital category of the Exhibition of Primary Colors at Light Space and Time Online Gallery. The juror was seeking original work that included any combination of the three primary colors (red, yellow, and blue) from which all other colors are mixed.

Many great minds have theorized how colors form, mix and evoke human emotions. Surprisingly, not all theories came from artists, but also from scientists such as Sir Isaacs Newton (law of gravity) and literary figures like the acclaimed German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Newton experimented with shining white light through a prism against a wall. He discovered it break into a rainbow of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. On the other hand, Goethe’s treatise, Theory of Colours, focused on many personal color observations. Finally, this book and others were read with great enthusiasm by contemporary painters, particularly Georges Seurat and Vincent van Gogh, who put the theories into practice in their paintings.

The Black and White of Color

(c) Betty Butler, *Color in High Contrast,* Digital Collage, 2021

Some color theorists name white as the combination of all color and black as the absence of all color. As I was working on a collage with flowers from the same photo shoot, I had the impulse to void them of color. So, I changed them from their natural color to a high contrast of black and white with a Photoshop filter. At times I am visually attracted to high-contrast images with touches of color. Therefore, I digitally painted colors into a few of the flowers. I hope you find the effect intriguing.

Bold and Colorful

https://bettybutler.net — (c) Betty Butler *Fiery Winter*, Digital Collage, 2021

I am pleased to be among the artists accepted into the online exhibition Bold and Colorful, hosted by Exhibition Without Walls. The curator states that “with our world being so negative, we thought that we would like to brighten up things a little by having an exhibition that was upbeat in terms of images as well as audio. The title “Bold and Colorful” speaks to this as well.”

One of my accepted images is Fiery Winter (top.) I infused a snowy, hilly scene with glowing yellow, red and purple, while the trees remain a dark, bold black. One of my viewers commented that the yellow emanating from the houses gave her hope in a time of darkness.

Colorful Tulips

Soon, spring will be here, and like tulips blooming, I am feeling the hope of people coming together again…

I created a new digital collage with the concept of bold and colorful in mind. To do this, I blended pink tulips with a strong calligraphic-like line drawing. Soon, spring will be here, and like tulips blooming, I am feeling the hope of people coming together again, as more of us have access to the vaccine and COVID-19 rates go down.

Two crises collide, “I Can’t Breathe”

Ideas for I Can’t Breathe (above) came to me as I heard George Floyd’s last words, which echoed the words of seriously ill and dying COVID-19 patients. Visually, I envisioned unwarranted police violence, multiplying virus particles, facial masks, and a general sense of chaos.

In Minneapolis, MN, Memorial Day, May 25, 2020, four police officers snuffed out a black man’s life. Two days later, on May 27, the US reached a death toll of 100,000 persons from COVID-19. Concurrently, young people, black, white, and brown (mostly wearing masks), took to the streets protesting for justice. Finally, protests continued, until one, then the other three officers were charged with some degree of murder. The President could not help himself but make things worse. He ordered the United States military to tear gas a peaceful crowd of protesters in DC, so he could walk to a nearby church and hold up a bible (upside down) for a photo-op. The nation-wide and world-wide protests continue.

COVID-19 continues to spread

US states have reopened their businesses at different rates. Meanwhile, since Memorial Day, there has been a spike in virus spread and hospitalizations in some states. Let’s hope for a more unified approach to social distancing, mask-wearing, and testing in the future.

Exhibition in the Canary Islands, Spain

I was honored to have three of my prints juried into an international exhibition entitled Lost at Lacuna Festivals, Canary Islands, Spain. The theme could include lost culture, language, and traditions. My three chosen works referenced the Australian fires of 2019-2020, and the loss of life and environment. Then the curators informed the artists that the exhibition Lost was almost lost because of the pandemic. Soon, they found a solution and asked the artists for permission to show their work in an online festival.

The Lacuna Festivals will take place online from June 26 – July 31, 2020.

(c) Betty Butler, *Kangaroo Escape*, Digital Collage, 2020

January gladioli surprise

I started Winter Gladioli (above) with photographs taken last August 2019. Then, I brought these flowers straight into January of 2020 by overlaying them with bare trees and muting parts of their bright red-pink color to white and gray. Immediately, it appeared like the gladioli were part of a snowy scene. Similarly, our climate has been unrecognizable in many ways across the globe. From massive fires in Australia to continuing ice melts in the Arctic, 2019 alone has seen unprecedented climate changes. These are the kinds of surprises, I for one, do not like to see.

Yet, I do enjoy using gladioli as subject matter purely for its beauty. I appreciate the gladiolus for its bright colors and succession of organic shapes. Here are some interesting facts about them. For instance, because of their long, pointed shape, they are named after the Latin word “gladius,” meaning sword. In Rome, gladioli were associated with gladiators. Gladioli are related to the iris family and originated in South Africa, finally coming to America in the late 18^th century.

I appreciate the gladiolus for its bright colors and succession of organic shapes.

Berlin exhibition in March 2020

I am honored to be included in an exhibition this March in Berlin, Germany, entitled, i am. an immigrant. The exhibit was curated by Dorit Jordan Dotan, artist in resident, Institut fur Alles Mogliche (Institute for Everything.) The exhibit explores demographic changes that affect global and local politics, economies, and day to day life. History forewarns what can happen when hate and fear grows among people coming from different cultures, who now share the same space. This group exhibition is a place to explore these clashes of culture. More info will be forthcoming.

Print juried into Pennsylvania photography exhibit

Print juried into Pennsylvania Center for Photography exhibit — Throw Away Ocean, Digital Collage Art print, 2017

I am honored to have been juried into a photography exhibit at the Pennsylvania Center for Photography, in Doylestown PA, a suburb of Philadelphia. The exhibit, November 1 – 17, 2019, was entitled Transformations. Throwaway Ocean (above) was included in the section called “Unlimited Exhibition.” This means that an artist was allowed to employ any type of digital process imaginable.

Freaky Halloween snowstorm!

Print wins entry into photography exhibit — Betty Butler, Polar Vortex, Digital Collage, 2019

Halloween really was scary in Chicago this year, but not because the children were disguised as monsters and goblins. It was frightening to observe so few of the trick-or-treaters out and about due to an early snowstorm. The leaves still clung to their branches, even as white powder clung to them. By Veterans Day November 11, it snowed again, and Arctic cold surged as far south as Florida. Yes, our climate is changing, but on the other hand, not randomly.

A study in Nature Communications, March 13, 2018, reported that warm arctic episodes are linked with increased frequency of extreme winter weather in the United States. This happened last winter when, in late January 2019, a severe cold wave hit the Midwestern United States.

Polar Vortex (above) is part of my series that illustrates stronger climate events, such as floods, drought, and, blizzards. These, can bring havoc upon our way of life.