DEUS EX MACHINA god from the machine
An International Competitive Exhibit of Photographic Art Revealing the Divine*
Deadline for Entry: August 20, 2012
Guest Curated by Dennis Kiel**
Chief Curator at The Light Factory in Charlotte, North Carolina
Scheduled in coordination with the Cincinnati city-wide FOTOFOCUS month-long event celebrating photography and lens-based art in 50+ venues, including the Midwest Society of Photographic Education's Regional Conference hosted at the Art Academy of Cincinnati at this time.
Manifest is proud to be a participating venue in the city-wide FOTOFOCUS celebration by offering four distinct projects centered on photography and lens-based art. Deus Ex Machina will be an exhibit assembled from international submissions considered on a competitive basis by a broad jury and curatorial process. Works are expected to represent how artists using photography and the camera/machine discover, document, and inspire experiences of the sublime (or the divine).
A popular story proving the mythical power of photography is the one which recounts indigenous natives' reactions to the process of having their image taken and reproduced on paper. They believed by taking their picture the camera was stealing people's souls. Of course modern society is numb to such apparent superstition. However, some truth may be at its core - the camera captures a unique transfer of light from the surface of the individual, and freezes it in a two-dimensional stasis, unmoving and unliving, a fragment of time and light. And we know we are beholden to the primary source of light in our lives, the sun, and whether we admit it or not it is an unquestionable deity, a giver of life, and a destroyer.
With this exhibit Manifest is eager to see how photography can not only capture divinity (using light), but also how it produces art objects that somehow replicate the living energy, the positive life-centered sublime and perhaps momentary experience, despite its non-living transitory nature as an art object.
*This call encourages a broad interpretation of the content, and certainly is not seeking merely dogmatic or cliche interpretations of 'the divine' although religious iconography is welcome. It is hoped that creativity leads to a wide variety of ways for representing 'sublime,' 'divine' and inspiring imagery. Ultimately Manifest's exhibits are open ended questions until the submissions arrive and a jury considers the pool of work.
We invite you to surprise and delight us with your photographic interpretations of this theme!
** Note that Manifest's selection process is two-phase, and includes a broad multi-person blind jury for the initial stage followed by a curatorial stage in which final works are chosen from among those approved by the jury.
Eligibility: Deus Ex Machina is open to everyone. Professionals as well as students are encouraged to enter. The only limitation is that entries must represent original works of art that are of very high creative and technical quality.
Media: Open to any and all traditional and non-traditional genre and photographic media, including digital, photo collage/montage, etc. VIDEO work is recommended to be submitted to the simultaneous project entitled PROJECTIONS here.
Jury and Curator: Manifest's selection process involves a complex two-part system. This exhibit will be juried by an anonymous 5-9 member panel of professional and academic advisors with a broad range of expertise. The jury will then pass along their recommendations to the exhibit curator (Dennis Kiel) who will make the final selections from the jury-approved pool.
Catalog: Manifest will produce a full-color catalog documenting the work selected for exhibit. Each exhibiting artist will receive one free copy of the catalog. Artists will receive their copy either in person when picking up work after the exhibit, or with the return shipment of their artwork. Additional copies can be purchased via the online bookstore. For examples of past catalogs visit Manifest Press.
Delivery and Return of Work: All work accepted for the exhibition must arrive ready to install. Works not gallery-ready, or not exhibiting good craftsmanship, may be omitted from the exhibit. Accepted work that differs significantly from the entry images or suffers from poor presentation, will be disqualified. Please note that professional-level presentation is a must. Work may be hand delivered or shipped. Shipped works must be sent in an easily reusable container/packaging with return shipping prepaid. Works will be returned in the same manner as delivered or via UPS/USPS. All work must arrive at Manifest by the specified date (see calendar below). Accepted work will remain on display for the duration of the exhibition. Works not claimed within 30 days of the end of the exhibit will become the property of Manifest. The artists are responsible for all shipping costs.
Calendar:
August 20
September 3
September 10
September 22
September 28
October 26
October 27 - Nov. 2
October 31
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Deadline for receipt of entries
Notifications sent by email to all entrants
sometime this week
Hi-res images needed for catalog and PR
Artwork due to Manifest by this date
Opening reception
Final Day of Exhibition
Pick-up hand-delivered work
Schedule shipped artwork for pickup (arranged by artist)
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Insurance: Works will be insured while on gallery premises. Insurance covers theft, vandalism, damage caused by gallery patrons or staff (in accordance with insurance policy). PLEASE NOTE: Insurance does not cover damage caused during shipping due to any reason, including mishandling by carrier or failure of packaging to protect works in transit. Also not covered is damage caused to work by failure of the work itself, its mounting systems installed by the artist, or disintegration/degradation due to the nature/quality of materials or craftsmanship.
Entry Fee: Each work submitted must be accompanied by a $10 non-refundable entry fee. Number of entries is unlimited. Entry fee must be paid by U.S. check or U.S. or International money order made payable to MANIFEST, or by credit card via PayPal. (If paying by PayPal PLEASE use the paypal link provided on the page that follows the submission of the online entry form.) Detail images should only be included if truly necessary for understanding the nature or quality of the artwork.
How many works should I submit?
The average number of works submitted to typical Manifest calls is 3. Some artists like to submit several more, especially if they have a couple different bodies of work which they'd like our jury to consider, or if they have a suite of works that are interrelated. While we have absolutely no minimum number required (other than one), nor do we give an advantage to those who submit more, it is helpful to have a few options to select from. Our jury often gains insight into one work by seeing it in context with a few others by the same artist. And we do routinely accept pairs or sets of work by artists once they are determined to be a finalist.
Sale of Work: All work, unless indicated as not for sale (NFS), will be available for sale during exhibit. Manifest Gallery will retain a commission of 30% on all artwork sold during the exhibition.
Submission Images: Manifest accepts only digital images/files for consideration. See specifications below. The Gallery will retain the submitted images of accepted artwork and reserves the right to use the images in publications and gallery publicity. CD's of works not selected will only be returned if accompanied by a SASE.
(emailed entries submission preferred, online entry form required)
Digital Format: Digital images can be submitted on CD or by e-mail (send to: show@manifestgallery.org). The email and online submission process is HIGHLY PREFERRED because it makes our process more efficient and saves postage and materials for the artists. Hi-Res, print-quality images will be requested for accepted works upon conclusion of the jury process. If suitable images are not provided, the work may not be included in the catalog.
To send via email: (send to: show@manifestgallery.org). The email should include the artist's full name as subject along with 'DEUS EX MACHINA submission.' The images must meet the following specifications:
FILE NAMING:
All entry files (regardless of type or media) must be named with artist's last name (underscore) first name, followed by the entry number as noted on the entry form (i.e. Jones_Mike_1.jpg). Please DO NOT include any other information in the file name, such as title of work, etc.
Detail, installation, or alternate view images must include the word 'detail' in the filename (i.e.Jones_Mike_1detail1.jpg). If you do NOT include the term DETAIL as part of the filename for any additional, extra, installation, or closeup images supporting your entry these will be counted as additional separate entries and our system will expect a corresponding fee for them.
EXAMPLE:
Information for detail images should NOT be included on the entry form. The image files should be in HIGH QUALITY JPEG format, images should be no smaller than 1000 pixels in any direction (about 13”) and72dpi. This should result in most image files ranging from 700kb to 2mb in file size.
Be ABSOLUTELY sure you are sending files at the correct size AND that your email app. does not automatically downsize the attached images when sending. Apple Mail, for example, provides a setting for resizing attachments in the new message composition window (lower right corner).
Images must be oriented properly (i.e. top of image is top of artwork) and should not include text info or borders that are not part of the actual work. Video work should be sent with similar naming conventions in a quicktime compatible format file (preferably not DVD format for the jury process). If selected, a DVD copy will be requested for gallery presentation. Videos must be submitted as a complete file, not a link, and can be sent using Dropbox.com or similar transfer service.
When emailing images, it is preferred that you do not include messages in the body of the email, nor attach anything other than the entry images to the email (no resume, bio, receipts, signature image, or statement). Our system automatically files the attachments of each message without reading notes. If you wish to comment or ask a question you may send a follow up email with no attachments. Any essential information regarding the nature of entries should be included in the notes section for each work on the entry form.
If for any reason you submit your entry form more than once, only the most recent form will be retained in our system. All previous forms will be deleted. If you decide to submit additional work later, you’ll need to submit a new form containing ALL the works for the exhibit.
Entry Checklist:
If sending through the USPS, mail materials to:
(the online/email submission process is preferred)
Manifest Creative Research Gallery and Drawing Center
DEUS EX MACHINA
P.O. Box 6218
Cincinnati, OH 45206
(PLEASE feel free to print, share, or forward this information. The success of this exhibit will rely largely on word-of-mouth publicity.)
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