Rebekah Jacobs: Southern Photography is Hot!

Much to my chagrin, I almost missed this. But Rebekah Jacob, of the splendid Rebekah Jacob Gallery, in Charleston, proclaims, rightly, that "Bottom line:  Southern photography is HOT!"

So she invites us to "Look south of the Mason Dixon and east of the Mississippi to find the photographers celebrated in Rebekah Jacob’s spring show, “Somewhere in the South,” opening June 1, 2013 and up through July 15, 2013, to coincide with Charlestson's annual version of the Spoleto Festival.

Jacob announces, "From tintypes to digital, from suburbia to music halls, these diverse works celebrate the glorious range offered by photographers of the American south–just in time for Spoleto."

The show itself, curated by gallery owner Rebekah Jacob, will feature work from a list of Southern photographers familiar to readers of this blog, a list that includes William Christenberry, Jerry Siegel, Eliot Dudik, Kathleen Robbins, Richard Sexton, Anne Rowland, and Keliy Anderson-Staley.

Jacob has also opened up five spots in the exhibition for competition with an open call for submissions in photography and video.  Guidelines are posted at http://rebekahjacobgallery.com/blog. Submissions will be accepted through the month of May.

Jacob says, “Photography is a particular favorite of mine because it combines key elements—a timely moment, technical skills, the right light—to create an image that is immediate in its impact. I also like to keep an eye out for fresh new perspectives and continue to explore the cutting-edge and collectible medium of video art.

"These photographers deal with the human condition specifically as experienced in the southern region of the country, mining the beauty and tragedy evident in the vivid intersections of past and present, where hardscrabble rural throwbacks are mere hours from glittering urban transformations. 

"The images that capture this dichotomy have become “highly collectible,” explains Jacob, pointing to a variety of trends including a renewed interest in the Civil Rights movement with Obama’s election, the influx of high net worth individuals to the charming southern cities like Charleston, and the affordability of photography in comparison to other mediums."

This is clearly going to be a landmark show, one not to be missed, if your summer travels take you through Charleston.