Cell phone photography on display at Southeastern art gallery
Contact: Rene Abadie
9/8/10
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Dale Newkirk, curator for Southeastern Louisiana University’s Contemporary Art Gallery, hangs cell phone images in the gallery for the show exhibiting photography collected from more than 350 submissions. The show, which is free and open to the public, runs through Sept. 25. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. with extended hours until 8 p.m. on Wednesday and 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. on Saturday.
HAMMOND – Nearly everyone today has a cell phone, and many use the device’s built-in camera to capture their environment.
That’s what artist Dale Newkirk of Southeastern Louisiana University observed at last year’s Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans. And it gave Newkirk, who is the curator for Southeastern’s Contemporary Art Gallery, an idea for an exhibit: Why not display some of those images in the art gallery?
Newkirk solicited submissions from artists, photographers and the general public and received more than 350 images from 200 people around the country. The National Cell Phone Photography Exhibition opens in the Contemporary Art Gallery Thursday (Sept. 9) and runs through Sept. 25.
“It’s interesting to see what people choose to shoot,” said Newkirk. “The most popular images that were submitted were people’s cats and sunsets.”
He said he was somewhat surprised by the quality of some of the photos submitted.
“The new phones today are amazing and can capture some great images,” Newkirk said.
The better shots came from photographers and artists, he explained, a natural outcome since they tend to have an eye for image and content.
Newkirk chose to arrange the photos in a random pattern and deliberately kept the display very minimalistic. “I wanted it to be in a very casual setting,” he said.
The exhibition will be displayed in the gallery, 100 East Stadium, next to Clark Hall. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. with extended hours until 8 p.m. on Wednesday and 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. on Saturday.
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