“Building Stages” and the Importance of Art Photography
May 11th, 2016, by Nick Grieco
Over the last few years, I have had the pleasure of being a part of some really incredible events all around Boston. From rock shows to birthday parties to art openings, I’d say I’m generally a fan of bringing lots of people together so everyone can share one creative and entertaining experience, whether I’m hosting, planning, performing, assisting, or just enthusiastically attending. In my experience with these events, the most successful ones were unsurprisingly focused around music and/or visual art, and the ones that garnered the most attention after the fact were, also unsurprisingly, the ones with the best photographs to recount the event.
Back in January, Pretty Instant sponsored the opening reception for the newest installment of artists featured at the Fort Point Arts Community Gallery, located in the same building as our Boston office. While I don’t often get the opportunity to attend events that we shoot, the timing was right, the convenience was undeniable, and the wine flowed freely, so it was hard to say no. As if I really needed the arm-twisting, the basement-level space showcased the multi-dimensional multi-media works by the dynamic duo Robert Maloney (www.robert-maloney.com) and Chelsea Revelle (www.chelsearevelle.com) and after sneaking a peak during installation I knew I had to see it all up-close. Once I made the long, treacherous, 200-foot journey all the way down the stairs for the opening, I immediately noticed some things that made my inner party-planner quite happy.
First off, the gallery space. The intimate, modest room with soft lighting, just so happened to be the only lit room on the floor, directing people straight to it. With an assortment of snacks and the (unfortunately closed-for-the-day) cafe seating right outside the actual gallery space, there was a comfortable divide between those making their rounds within the gallery and those stepping out to socialize and eat/drink. Upon entering the gallery, the flow of traffic felt very natural, as the room was organized into a comfortable loop . Emily O’Neil, Executive Director of FPAC, and both of the artists were extremely welcoming to everyone who entered, and the artwork was all placed strategically so that both artists’ works were distributed evenly throughout the space. Nothing on the wall felt cluttered, and there was plenty of space to observe all the pieces comfortably. An especially tricky task was making sure the projection installation functioned in the small room, which required the lightning in that one corner to be much darker than the rest of the pieces.
As soon as you have any sort of visual element incorporated into your event, making sure you have a good photographer to capture that should be made a high priority. Now I know I represent team #NoSelfies so you can absolutely call out my bias here, but there is a lot of power and value in having a great photographer at an event. At an art opening specifically, the photographer and the photos taken serve multiple purposes.
The first, most obviously, is to get good shots of all of the artwork. Given the space has good lighting (like this space did), this should be a breeze. However, always be careful when using flash, because a lot of things can get in the way of balancing flash with photographing different art. With this exhibit in particular, most of the pieces by both artists were mixed-media 3-D, and the inevitable shadows can either make or break how the piece is captured on camera. Bracketing and making sure to get different angles is always a good idea when you’re shooting more than just a painting on a wall, and if you’re mindful of reflective surfaces your client will be grateful.
Having a notably social and engaging photographer at an art opening also has its merits, as they can contribute a lot to the social aspect of your event.
- Finding someone who is interested in a piece of art and asking them for a photo with it can often lead to a sale, or having guests pose with the artist can fuel networking, both during the event, and after via social tags.
- A photographer can usher the common awkward circle of new friends into group photos, sparking a more close and comfortable social environment.
- There are often sponsors for art openings that have much to benefit from seeing their client’s space filled with people, potentially eating/drinking their product or supporting the artist they sponsor, so photographic evidence of visible success at an event can be pretty valuable after it concludes.
- Artists can use the photos themselves to showcase their artwork on their websites. For this, making sure the the photographs are of utmost quality to best represent the works themselves is extremely important as it emulates professionalism for both parties.
All-in-all, whether you’re organizing the event, you’re an artist, or you’re the photographer, it’s easy to make sure the photos are utilized fully and effectively to simultaneously increase attention to your craft and bring people together. Don’t hesitate to take those steps either, because in the end, at the very least, it’s one more connection, and it could mean more money in the pockets of the people uplifting your local arts scene.
With that delightful opening long in the past, I can now strongly recommend the upcoming Fort Point Arts Community opening for “To Everything And Nothing” by Alexander Squier and Ingrid Sanchez, printmaking specialists who have collaborated for this show. Details are as follows:
- Thursday, May 12th; 5:30pm-7:30pm: Opening Reception
- Saturday, May 14th; 2–4pm: Artists’ Talk & Printmaking Demonstration
- On Display May 12th — June 9th, 2016
If you’re Boston based, go support your local art gallery, buy some art, and learn something about printmaking! And make sure you don’t let anyone take any selfies with any of the art. Or any at all, for that matter.
#NoSelfies
-@nickgeeko
