Chapter 9 | The Recognition
Chapter 9 | The Recognition
There have been a number of events, which have taken place over the years, which have been simply amazing. I’d like to take a few of these and expound on them a little. I don’t do this to pump myself up, I’m way past that point, but instead I hope that it might lend a new artist some perspective on such things.
Sales Marketing plays a huge role through award recognition. By that I mean to say awards help you sell your work. After all most folks don’t know what is worth ‘this’ or ‘that’. Awards help define or validate an artists trajectory, but only up to a point. For years many folks have said to me, ‘if you were a stock I’d like to buy as much of you as possible’. Now I’ve got to admit that’s a pretty nice thing to hear. And if anyone has been watching we are still on a rocket ships trajectory. Hard to imagine it would come to this back in 1995 when we caravanned across America to begin the adventure of a lifetime! But here we are, still with our heads pressed back on the headrest of a Shelby Cobra with the throttle pressed to the floor. What a rush.
“but only up to a point” means that when you’ve reached the pinnacle, there is nowhere else to go and so at that point one doesn’t really need to put themselves out there any longer. Think about it, would the Ansel Adams Gallery submit his work for completion today? Heck No! Why? Because he’s already reached the top of the peak, that’s why. Others have too and none of them needs to prove themselves further. That’s how I feel kind of feel at this point – I just don’t know what else there is to prove, at least where my wilderness collection of images is concerned.
An artist can stand the test of time two ways in my mind. One is though infamy and the other through demonstrating they are not bound within their own singular line of thinking what art ‘is’. By that I mean a photographer that does only one thing can become famous for that one thing, but to become ‘immortal’, so to speak, they must do something really wrong, or something amazingly right. I’ll share with you later what I think ‘really right’ means for me moving forward. I’ve done just about all I can do in the world of Wilderness Landscape Photography. The pinnacle has been reached and to become a time honored name I must do something new that has never been done, so as to prove my artistic self worth for generations to come.
However there have been a few things happen over the years that are more than just superficial. Let’s take a dive into some of those for a moment.
Chapter 9 | The Recognition | United Nations Certificate of Appreciation
The Pier39 gallery was fully operational during the United Nations World Environment Days in San Francisco. My gallery was host to a number of events. The United Nations even asked me to create of a number of awards that were to be given out to individuals and businesses during the events scheduled. What a gigantic honor. The events and award ceremonies went splendidly. I was honored with a Certificate of Appreciation from the United Nations for my work during the World Environment Days. It is one of my precious and prized awards and hangs to this day in my office. None of this would have been possible save it was for the work of my gallery director and her assistant gallery director. Without them the United Nations would probably never even know who I was. But now they know. Thank you Rachael & Vivian!
Chapter 9 | The Recognition | Museums
Over the years I have been invited to be part of and have had placed in permanent collections of some of this countries most prestigious museums. Here is but a very short list.
The National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian in Washington DC.
In 2007 my image titled "Worldly Wonder" won in the prestigious Landscape category of the Nature's Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International Awards competition and could be seen in the museum during the fall of 2007 thru the fall of 2008. After which it became the first of my images to become part of the Smithsonian's permanent collection. Since that time two more have become part of this prestigious collection.
Prior to winning the Nature Category of the 2007 Windland Smith Rice International Awards (arguably one of the best and most difficult competitions in the World), I had previously already won a number of prestigious awards. Though this would be the beginning of something far greater than I could have ever imagined. To date there are a total of three images which are now part of the Smithsonian’s permanent collection.
“Worldly Wonder”, is the first to enter the Smithsonian’s permanent collection. By winning and having this masterful image displayed in the Museum puts me in a very small and elite group of artists. To put it into perspective, there were only 14 category winners that year, which drew in over 52,000 images entered by photographers from all over the world and from some 50+ countries. The winners in each category partner with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History who, along with a small selection of images from the Windland Smith Rice International Awards, were chosen to be displayed for literally millions of viewers during the annual exhibition during 2007.
“Swan Lake”, is the second to enter the Smithsonian’s permanent collection. September 2014 marked a historic event in Wilderness Preservation. In 1964, then President Lyndon B. Johnson, enacted the Wilderness Act. It is one of America's most successful and enduring pieces of conservation legislation and hailed as a triumph for all who enjoy the open landscapes of America. To mark the occasion and celebrate this historic milestone the Smithsonian held a juried competition. My image "Swan Lake" was selected as the Grand Prize winner from over 5,000 worldwide public entries depicting images from Wilderness Areas in the United States. Beginning in September 2014 and running through 2015 the image was on display at the “Wilderness Forever” Exhibition in the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian in Washington DC.
“Half Dome at Twilight”, is the third to enter the Smithsonian’s permanent collection. In 2015 this image was selected as a highly honored winner in the Nature's Best Photography Windland Smith Rice International Awards competition and was available to be seen in the museum during the fall of 2015 thru the fall of 2016.
Out of all of the images in the Smithsonian’s collection it is “Swan Lake” which holds the most meaning for me. Being know specifically for my Wilderness work, it is an honor and privilege to be recognized in this way by the Museum. To be known as a Wilderness landscape artist and to win the most significant competition recognizing, and in conjunction with, the signing of the 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act by Congress is a clarifying moment made sure for me. I know what it is I was called to do and this award says I’m right. To love what I do with such passion, and be recognized by this award, is for me the pin in my cap. No literally, I have a special pin in my cap…I really do.
A few other museums worth a mention: Boca Raton, St. George, International Museum of Photography. There are a few others but I’ve lost track of them all.
Chapter 9 | The Recognition | Citations
Over the years there have been more than a couple uppity awards and citations given. For example there was a citation from the United States Senate in Washington DC (it had nothing to do with the Smithsonian), another from the city of San Francisco in California, then another from the city of Las Vegas in Nevada (which had nothing to do with the LEEDS). Heck we even got a LEEDS plaque for building the only environmentally sound gallery in all of Nevada.
Beyond these were the hundred on hundred of awards from some of the most difficult photographic competitions throughout the world. There are far more than I could ever, or you’d ever, want to see listed here.
But you know what brings the nicest feeling of all? It is the thousands upon thousands of collectors from across the entire globe. We have an army of worldwide collectors.
If you really want to know my secret, I will tell you now. For whatever reason, what I seem to like a whole lot of other people seem to like. That’s my secret. I’ve been blessed with this talent and I am doing my best to share it for the betterment of all humankind.