PROFESSIONAL PRACTICES

Mary Virginia Swanson: Getting Your Work Out

BY THOMAS GEARTY
Published WINTER 2004

Full text from interview with Mary Virginia Swanson

TP: What's the first thing you tell a fine-art photographer who is just starting out?
MVS: I am a real strong believer that juried shows are a terrific way to begin to get your work out and to begin to build relationships with people who could help to move your career further. It's a little overwhelming to know which shows make sense—they're expensive to enter, it's expensive to buy the shipping cases, and all those things. But there are a couple of bits of advice that I share with artists all the time when trying to figure out what makes sense for them.

The first thing is: Who's the juror? And I think it's really important to look at who the juror of this thing might be. If it's someone who you wish to be in his or her gallery someday or if it's a museum that you'd like to be in the collection of or a photo editor that you respect, it's a terrific way to begin to get your work in front of them. Follow up with them, whether or not you were accepted! Include an image that they would have just seen. Add them to your mailing list. But begin to open the doors between the two of you.

Another thing that might help photographers decide whether or not to invest in a juried show is whether they are going to publish a catalog or not. A lot of young people haven't had the chance to get published, and this can help build that part of your résumé. So look to see if they are actually going to publish a catalog.

And to that same end, the third thing is to consider awards. In addition to cash awards, are there purchase awards? Because if you don't have any collections yet on your résumé, juried shows that offer a purchase award—in other words, they are going to buy in the prints to the collection—are a great way for emerging artists to build their collections list as well.

TP: Are you talking about the "Call for Entries" notices that one sees everywhere?
MVS: Exactly. And I'll also say, as someone who has juried a lot of the shows, if they give you the option to submit slides or prints, I strongly encourage prints. Obviously, you have to pack and care for them well, so they get there in perfect shape so that the juror is seeing you put your best foot forward.

But the reality is that if you're entering a show that has hundreds and hundreds of applications, you may not know for sure if your slides are going to be projected. Submit prints whenever you have the chance. It's the best way for you to get your work in front of a juror the way you want it to be seen.

If the jury show allows you to submit one to three images, I always prefer to see the full three. I like to get a sense of a body of work. If somebody has the chance to submit three slides or prints and submits a landscape, a portrait, and a still life, I really don't learn much about that photographer. I'd rather see three images from a body of work. Give me the sense that you are working on something with a little more depth.

TP: Do you think it's worth the investment if a show has the option to pay an additional fee to submit more slides? For example, the entry fee is $25 for three slides, but for $5 more you can send in an additional slide.
MVS: Well, I have a personal pet peeve against those shows that say if you pay a little more you get a little more exposure. But I think that if the body of work holds together with five slides, great. But if you are going to do three of one project and two of another, I don't know that you are putting your best foot forward.

Always show the tightest body of work you can. And it's a personal decision whether or not you enter the shows where you can buy yourself some extra exposure.

I think the appropriate juried shows—and again it's the match of the theme of the show, the juror, all those components—the right juried show can be a terrific opportunity. You get published, you get your work collected.

There's a deadline tomorrow, for instance, for a show juried by Bill Hunt of Rico Moresca Gallery at Photo Review. It's bound to be a fascinating exhibition. Bill Hunt is tough to get to see in his gallery, but there he is, jurying a show in the region.

TP: What else do you recommend?
MVS: In addition to juried shows, the next thing I recommend to all photographers are the portfolio review events, whether you are a seasoned photographer with a brand new body of work or you are just starting out with your first body of work to show colleagues in the field.

TP: You're talking about events like Houston's FotoFest?
MVS: Exactly. FotoFest is the oldest in the country. They're sort of the granddaddy of them all. Their Web site is www.fotofest.org. And FotoFest happens in Houston, Texas in March of every other even-numbered year.

The review component within the whole of the FotoFest activities is called The Meeting Place. The Meeting Place applications were available last summer; they became available on June 15 and were due in Houston on July 10. So if you wanted to participate for March 2004, you had to be completely on top of things 6 months ahead of time.

TP: Have you been a juror at FotoFest?
MVS: Yes. I am a frequent portfolio reviewer.