After Ken and Aaron made the decision about being open to host other non-M.A.R.S. shows occasionally, they announced the protocol for submissions as being a proposal based format, and in almost no time at all, they were already receiving proposals. The very first proposal, was from emerging artist, Joseph R. Reeves. It was a lengthy 8 page proposal, outlining the concept, and over-all implementation of his idea for a cell phone photo gallery.
Extensive writing about the concept, and implementation of the show, can be found at the artists personal blog, www.josephREEVES.blogspot.com
Here is a short excerpt of some of Reeves writing concerning the show, as well as documentation of the exhibition. For more, check out the link to Reeves' blog listed above.
...This is a gallery opportunity for the everyday American who ALMOST DEFINITELY has a phone with a camera on it- even my mom has one. By relieving this curatorial power from the hands of the gallery, we can see for once, an honest show of photography that reveals not only what the average person wants to see in a gallery, but the converse agenda of contributors who expose photos anonymously, in an unintentional effect of revealing exactly how else camera phones are being used. No matter what variation of personal meaning the unproclaimed 'artists' actually have when contributing their photos, the literal treatment of these works in a serious gallery context- and while among clusters of many, many other cell phone photos- strangely transforms these beautiful, odd, humorous, and always interesting photographs into something you might find in a fine art photo show normally. This effect also leads to a beautiful, and transformative reality for the everyday american, in understanding that art is anything, and anywhere; and the term "artist", is really just an umbrella term...
Using social networking devices such as text messaging, and Facebook, I was able to generate allot of interest in the show, and even more importantly, I was able to boost the number of submissions a bit. The main efforts we put forth with our highly modest budget, were in pounding the pavement, hitting the street, and littering Milwaukee with fliers requesting that people submit us their favorite cell phone photos for the gallery. An important aspect of my approach, was that all the photographs would remain entirely anonymous, and pretty much anything was acceptable as content.
...Opening these subversive possibilities up to complete strangers, was intriguing to me, because in a sense, it gives a very broad audience, a certain amount of control over the content as a whole. In this way, my role as "curator," is both loose, and debatable. To this extent, I believe I am working towards the idea of using curating, as a medium in itself.
I collected over 600 pictures for The Cell Phone Photo Gallery, and I see this project, as one that will continue to develop through the years. As I continue to travel, I am beginning to flirt with the notion of collecting photos regionally, but like usual, I will make those decisions as they come.
The idea of representing the photos eventually in a book, is also a possibility, and if you're interested in providing me with space for a show, or are interested in the possibilities of seeing this idea in print, e mail JOSEPHREEVESART@YAHOO.COM
I could sit here and elaborate on this exhibition till the cows come home, but to a certain extent, I feel like doing so, would limit the convenient elbow room I left you for contemplation- so, UN-like a curator, I am going to shut the hell up, and let you do some inventing. No short cuts to thinking around here folks, sorry…
Taken from: www.josephREEVES.blogspot.com
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