DISPATCH - JUNE 6, 2013 (9:05 a.m.)
SAG HARBOR, NY-
Bragging is tacky, I know, but here it goes anyway. My artist profile on Nicholas Weber won a writing award from the Society of Professional Journalist's Press Club of Long Island. "Nicholas Weber: Mixing Mystery with an Intimate State of Being" took third place in the Narrative: Arts category for journalism.
The contest considered works by Long Island journalists and subjects about Long Island published by Long Island-based media outlets in print, online and broadcast journalism. Writing was judged by journalists from other branches of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), located around the United States.
Media outlets included in the competition included Newsday, News 12 Long Island, Long Island Press, Hamptons.com, The Southampton Press, Riverhead News-Review and more.
Winning this year's award feels especially meaningful as my story competed against narrative writing published in various formats. This includes print (newspapers, magazines) and online publications and blogs. By doing away with publication subsets while keeping categories of journalism (arts, breaking news, politics, business, etc), I believe it levels the playing field and encourages excellence in writing and reporting, no matter how it's presented.
Even without the bonus of winning an award, last night's SPJ Media Awards Dinner reconjured the pride I feel to be a reporter. It is a privilege to play a part in the journalistic tradition of presenting information to the public so individuals can make up their own minds about things that matter to them.
Thank you to SPJ and to readers of my work. If no one was reading, it makes it tough for information to get around!
Following are excerpts of my last two artists profiles that won awards from SPJ's Long Island Press Club. Full stories can be found by clicking through the respective links.
WINNER OF 2013 Media Awards, Narrative: Arts (Third Place):
"Nicholas Weber: Mixing Mystery with an Intimate State of Being" by Pat Rogers. Published Dec 27, 2012.
When Nicholas Weber paints portraits, art history combines with acting theory to create artworks that intrigue, soothe and coax wonderment. There’s mystery in the unfettered gaze, which is implied more often than presented openly. Mood is prominent—darkness envelops and conspires with confident brush strokes to transport the subject from ordinary life into the metaphysical. This is true whether the subjects sit willingly for the sake of art or are gleaned from pornographic scenes broadcast through Internet videos.
What the two distinct bodies of work share is Weber’s philosophy of portraying people. He strives to imbue his paintings with two directives: Create compositions with meaningful intersections of objects within space and capture the essence of what it’s like to be in the moment when no one is watching.
[To continue reading, click here]
"Alex on bed" by Nick Weber, 1995-2004. Oil on canvas, 24 x 18 inches.
WINNER OF 2012 Media Awards, Arts Online: (Third Place)
"Tiny Constructions - Playful and Poignant" by Pat Rogers. Published July 5, 2011.
Craig Kane makes the smallest artworks you’ll probably ever see. From afar, his “CONSTRUCTS” installation at Art Sites gives the impression of smudges or tangles of material on an otherwise white wall. Everything changes after getting up close: When you’re near enough to zero in on his art, it’s difficult to look away.
"CONSTRUCTS” is a series of tiny artworks arranged in a single horizontal line in a large room at Art Sites gallery. There are 88 works in the show. Each piece in the installation was made on site.
This is Kane’s preferred way of working: “I really respond to the place where I’m working,” he said in a phone interview on Father’s Day. “My ideal is to make art pieces in the space they’re exhibited.”
[To continue reading, click here.]
Winner of 2011 Media Awards, Weekly Arts (2nd Place):
"Ceramics Crossing over to Fine Art" by Pat Rogers. Published in The Press News Group. Link is unavailable.
______________________________________
Want to know what’s happening in the Hamptons art community? How about the North Fork or NYC? Visit HamptonsArtHub.com to find out.
There’s plenty of art news, art reviews, art fair coverage and artists with a Hamptons / North Fork connection.
Hamptons Art Hub. Art Unrestricted.
________________________________________
© 2013 Hamptons Art Hub LLC. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. This includes all photographs and images. Text excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to HamptonsArtHub.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Congratulations! Well deserved.
no- it isn’t tacky!…sharing good news is a wonderful thing
Congratulations!
Bravo. You are doing a great job in such a broad arena, but you manage to focus in each new article and review-
Congrats on the writing award. Well deserved and many more/