The Alaska State Museum’s biennial photo exhibit, Alaska Positive, now in its 46th year, opened Nov. 4 with 35 images from 28 photographers around the state.
There were murmurs of appreciation and laughter as the crowd filed in to see the show, the museum’s first First Friday exhibit opening in the new Andrew P. Kashevaroff building.
“It’s a great program,” said Addison Field, chief curator for the museum, “and we collect pieces from (it) every year.”
Those pieces were on display in the next room as part of the Alaska Positive retrospective, adding a deep sense of continuity to the juried photo show’s mission of encouraging photography as an art form in Alaska.
“I’ve been a fan of Alaska Positive for a long time,” said Susan Bell as she perused the new entries. “Over time, I’ve come to know some of the photographers, so that’s always fun to see who’s in the show.” She also enjoys becoming acquainted with the work of new photographers, she said.
Overall, 248 photos were submitted for the 2016 show and the final selection was made by juror Larry McNeil. McNeil, from the Killer Whale Fin House in Klukwan, has won numerous fellowships and awards for his photography work, which has been featured at shows around the world. His artwork is in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, the National Museum of Scotland, and closer to home at Sealaska and the Museum of the North. He currently teaches photography at Boise State in Idaho.
In his juror lecture on Oct. 21, McNeil praised the quality and variety of work submitted for the exhibition.
“Even the photographers who were not included in this show, that was fantastic work too,” he said. “That’s just the nature of these exhibitions, there’s enough room for 36 prints and if there was enough for a hundred, I would have put in a hundred because they were that good.”
McNeil’s work frequently involves composite images, containing multiple photos or graphic elements, words and even invisible ink and butcher paper backgrounds. Much of it deals with identity and being Native American in 21st century America, often with a bit of “twisted humor,” as he calls it.
Asked if his own style influenced his selections for Alaska Positive, McNeil mentioned his formal education in photography and the wide variety of styles practiced by his friends, which help him to “evaluate what a stunning landscape photograph is, what makes it transcend the ordinary” or appreciate people photography that is “way better than anything I could do.”
“There is artistry in a lot of the different genres,” he said, but admitted personal preference couldn’t be ruled out. “I like work that has humor and irony in it, too. So maybe another juror may not have selected some of the ones I did.”
Ones like “Free Room Motel” by Juneau filmmaker and photographer Joel Bennett (see page 36) which garnered many of the laughs at the opening. It features a neon sign for the Siesta Motel in Durango, Colorado reading “Free Rooms Just Kidding.”
“I’m sure that photo would have been passed over in a second if it wasn’t for what was written on it,” Bennett said.
Bennett, who has been featured in Alaska Positive exhibits past and has two photos in the 2016 show said, “I really thought this year was exceptionally good.”
Anchorage photographers had the biggest showing this year. A dozen of them had 17 photos in the exhibit, and they received most of the awards: four honorable mentions and two awards of recognition.
But Juneau photographer Chris Miller took home the big prize, the Juror’s Choice Award, with “Mendenhall Moulin.” (See page 5) The image shows Miller himself in the Mendenhall Glacier ice caves, looking up through a moulin.
He doesn’t usually star in his own photographs, but this proved to be an exception. He had hiked to the glacier with a friend “with the intention of shooting inside the cave for a while,” he said. “So I brought rain gear. It was a beautiful, sunny day, so he hadn’t brought rain gear. He was thinking we’d go in for a little bit and then we’d leave.”
But photography — the preservation of an instant in time — can be a long process. By the time Miller had finally set up the shot he wanted, his friend had left, so he set the camera’s timer and posed himself.
“I think … without an individual, it would be a strong image by itself,” he said, but it adds “that gravity and that weight to it.”
Miller received $300 from the Friends of the State Library, Archives and Museum for being the Juror’s Choice. Honorable mentions received $150.
“(It’s) a huge honor to be selected amongst a list of very prominent photographers and very talented photographers throughout the state,” Miller said.
In all, four Juneau photographers with seven photos between them made the show, as did three photographers from Soldotna and a photographer each from Haines, Kodiak, Wasilla, Fairbanks and Ester.
The exhibit will be at the state museum in Juneau through Jan. 21, after which it travels to the Sheldon Jackson Museum in Sitka, opening on Feb. 11. From there, it will travel around the state.
Events to come
While the exhibit is in Juneau, the Friends of the State Library, Archives and Museum have planned a lecture series to accompany it.
On Friday, Nov. 18, guest artists Brian and Ash Adams will give a lecture at 5:30 p.m. at the state museum. On Saturday, Nov. 19, they will hold a photography workshop called “Chasing Alaska” for middle and high school students. (See page 6).
On Thursday, Dec. 15, Miller will give a lecture about his own work photographing commercial fisheries and on Friday, Jan. 20, Ben Huff will talk about his recent work on the island of Adak (See page 21.)
Visitors look at photos during the opening of the 2016 Alaska Positive exhibit at the state museum on Nov. 4.
