Ten freakin' years ago!!! Hard to believe, but true... A Puerto Rican in San Francisco via NYC teamed up with a bloke from Manchester, England named Mark Page (by the way, we could still pass each other on the street and not even know it, being that we've still never met) to form an online photography gallery/mag called Expiration Notice, whose aim was to provide exposure for "emerging photographers" who were still producing* serious, quality work, despite being overlooked and undervalued throughout their years.
Those were the artists we sought out- not the new, youngblood flavors of the month, not the already well established. We didn't know how long it would last, or how successful it would be; and despite that self imposed limitation, we could have continued monthly for three years (at the very least- instead of the three months we actually did) if we had had significantly greater access to all those we were so desperately trying to find and exhibit.
Word did get out, but not quite as far and wide as we had hoped or needed. Towards the end, we even tried to get some commercial backing, not for financial gain, but in our quest to feature long deserving photographers we knew were still out there beyond our reach. It was not to come, and we decided to close shop instead of decreasing the quality of "the product." Ultimately, I'm rather proud two guys from opposite sides of the pond (with no real connections in either the art world or the photo biz) were able to provide even a short lived venue for some very deserving photographers, not readily exhibited elsewhere. It was something definitely worth pursuing some... ten years ago; still-is-NOW!
*Not to mention those retired, or just plain forgotten...
*Not to mention those retired, or just plain forgotten...
35 and older, that's hot! We need more (not less) outlets like that for exposure! It's so disappointing to see an open call and you're reading through it and formulating in your mind what body of work you'd like to submit and you get to the end and it's for artists 25 and under.
ReplyDeleteI definitely see a niche for 25 and under- just as I see one for 35 and over...
ReplyDeleteThere's even more of a niche for that these days! Y'all should give it another go!
DeleteI can't speak for Mark; unfortunately, without a wider "data base" for a more expansive outreach, we would pretty much run the same fate (in the same amount of time)...
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