For Syracuse University’s art photography students, the work doesn’t stop once the shutter has snapped. Printing, framing and mounting images for exhibitions are critical skills, as color, texture and choice of paper can influence the way an image is perceived.

The 2018 Transmedia Photography Annual opened Tuesday at Light Work Hallway Gallery. Throughout the fall semester, SU art photography seniors in the College of Visual and Performing Arts worked with Light Work to prepare a select number of pieces for the exhibition.

Lashelle Ramirez won “Best of Show” for their photograph “Quarry Locs” on Saturday, Dec. 16. The image captures an anonymous subject “awash in brown color variations and compositional movement,” as described by Paula Tognarelli, juror of the exhibition, in her judge’s statement.

Ramirez’s winning photograph is part of their senior thesis, which is centered around gender identity. As someone who identifies as nonbinary, Ramirez said gender identity has always been a significant part of their life.

“A lot of people think labels are bad, but sometimes they’re not, and that’s what inspired my work — me embracing that this is the label that fits me,” said Ramirez.

Ericka Lynne Jones-Craven, Danielle A. Brown and Nora Alexandra-Young were awarded “Honorable Mentions” for their photography.

Alexandra-Young’s image “Horse” shows her younger sister with a horse in a grassy field. The photographer’s close relationship with her sister and interest in researching adolescence inspired this image.

“I raised her in a way, so I see a lot of me in her,” Alexandra-Young said . “I don’t want to do self-portraits, so she’s kind of the closest thing I have to myself.”

Tognarelli was particularly drawn to Alexandra-Young’s photo because of the compassion and connection it conveys through the “exhilarating gesture” of the girl’s hand on the horse’s heart as she gazes off into the distance.

As a museum curator at the Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester, Massachusetts, Tognarelli said she has “learned to appreciate a lot of styles.” While judging the photos in this year’s exhibition, she observed a common theme.

“The ones that I picked tended to have a focus on identity and examination of self,” said Tognarelli. “There definitely is a narrative going on in each one of those images, and it’s really up to the viewer to figure out that narrative, since you don’t have the artist available to tell you what their intent was.”

The Transmedia Photography Annual is designed to give art photography students an opportunity to develop the skills needed to prepare their work for an exhibition. Students collaborated with the Light Work staff to print, frame and mount their pieces.

“An image is really different when it’s on a screen and when it’s printed on the wall,” said Susannah Sayler, an associate professor in the department of transmedia. “That kind of experience is really good for them to see how important it is to get that level of presentation to the highest level in terms of printing and framing.”

The editing process, when photographers select their best images, can be challenging for photographers of any level, Sayler said. The art photography program encourages students to develop relationships with their peers so they can edit and critique each other’s work beyond the classroom.

For Alexandra-Young, feedback from her peers has been beneficial throughout her time at SU.

“I’m constantly asking the people in my class and people I trust about my work, and they’ve always been really supportive,” she said. “I think that it’s really important to have somebody that can judge your work and also knows where you’re coming from.”

The Transmedia Photo Annual will be on display until March 2, 2018. Toward the end of the semester, seniors will have the opportunity to showcase more of their work in a solo exhibition.

Published on January 17, 2018 at 9:08 pm

Contact Haley: hrober03@syr.edu