(Above: Light Rising, by Carl Chiarenza)
By Paul Carter
If you care about photography, now is the time to head over to Dot Dotson’s on Willamette Street in Eugene. Buy a roll of film and spend some time in the store’s niche gallery.
Featured there and until May 9 is the annual Photography at Oregon auction show. It’s a lot of work for such a small space, so it is displayed in two showings. The first group of prints is up now through April 11. The second group goes up April 12.
This is always one of the most ambitious and eclectic photography shows anywhere in the country, and it has been an Oregon tradition since 1966. It was inspired by the University of Oregon’s legendary professor of fine arts, Bernie Freemesser. He helped found the PAO Gallery at the UO Art Museum. Freemesser was a pivotal figure in making Oregon and the Northwest a center of serious photography.
On show is the work of some heavy hitters in the world of American fine art photography. The work of artists such as George Tice, Wynn Bullock, Stu Levy, Barbara Crane, and Carl Chiarenza are featured along with images by working professionals and talented amateurs. (Full disclosure: I have submitted a photograph.) This show offers collectors and casual aficionados an easy way to buy superb art at reasonable prices.
The work this year spans the genres of fine art photography. There is straight black-and-white landscape work such as Bruce Barnbaum’s study of dunes in Death Valley. There is color work by local wildlife photographer Greg Giesy. This is an ethereal large format print by Roseanne Olson. And those are just three examples. You will also see documentary, still life and abstract photographs for a show that satisfies all the ways we still are challenged and delighted by the still image.
Today, Photography at Oregon is the passion of a small group of volunteers guided largely by Susie Morrill, the former Lane Community College instructor. The money raised in the online auction funds a year of exhibits, lectures, classes, workshops, and fine art photography movie nights.
Up until a few years ago, the auction was a live event in the lounge at Gerlinger Hall on the UO campus. Now it’s online and the bidding is ongoing. To see all the work and bid, go to http://ACCELEVENTS.COM/E/PAO2019
