- CONTRIBUTED
'Caribbean Flava' - Patasha McLean, bronze medal.Sana Rose, Contributor
AS THE number of entrants increase each year, members of various groups including schools and photo clubs across the island have performed very well in the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) National Visual Arts Competition.
While individual achievement in the competition is rewarded with national medals and certificates, it was felt that the groups they represent should also receive prizes. Schools and clubs in particular have contributed to the growth and development of artists and by extension to the expansion of the competition. In this year alone, information captured on the entry form revealed that many of the 204 awardees are members of 35 different groups represented in the Awards Exhibition.
These groups vied for the Summit Prizes, two of 14 sectional prizes that were awarded recently. The prizes, sponsored by the National Commercial Bank, consist of a trophy and $50,000 cash for the top photography club and top art group in the competition with the richest award tallies.
The richest award tally is determined by the sum of the value of each award received by the organisation's members. Gold medals are allotted eight points, silver medals five points, bronze medals three points and merit certificates two points. The winners of this year's inaugural Summit Prizes are the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts and the University of the West Indies (UWI) Camera Club.
EDNA MANLEY
Founded in 1976 as the Cultural Training Centre and renamed in 1995 as the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, the institution was formed to provide tertiary level training to budding artists and professionals alike in art, dance, music and drama. Today, the College boasts the Bachelor of Fine Art and Art Education Degrees as well as diploma and certificate courses. Its degree status was granted last year. With 10 students and a total of 70 points, the College copped the Studio 7 Summit Prize, winning awards in five of the seven categories - Collage, Drawing, Fibre Arts, Painting and Printmaking. The students earned a total three silver medals, nine bronzes and 14 merits. Interestingly, most of the members representing the College are first-time entrants from the School of Visual Arts. The group is comprised of Christelle Bernard, Camille Chedda, Alicia Davis, Raymond Graham, Russell Gunning, Deborah Jones, Sheldon Leslie, Patasha McLean, Carol Campbell and Mark-Anthony Williams. Chedda, Gunning and Jones are photographers who received bronze medals and merits while Carol Campbell is a lecturer at the College and the sole professional entrant in the group.
MULTI-PANELLED IMAGES
Camille Chedda shows a penchant for multi-panelled images. Her diptych, 'You Don't See Me', a self-portrait in the Manipulated Print category for which she received the bronze medal, is comprised of superimposed geometric shapes that partly camouflage her face. Chedda shows a distinct ability to infuse content in her work and the willingness to experiment.
Deborah Jones adds to the exhibition two striking black and white images of children that are full of life and tell a story while Russell Gunning's bronze Abstract/Creative entry 'The Portal' conjures up a number of associations. A professional jeweller, this is Carol Campbell's first entry in the Competition. Her sole entry, 'She used to be a Butterfly' copped a silver medal in the Professional Collage category and incorporates jewellery as part of the piece.
Mark-Anthony Williams and Raymond Graham show great talent for the field of printmaking with their bold and engaging images. Of the group first-time competitor and first year student, Patasha McLean represented the College very well winning two bronze medals and five merits across the categories of Fibre Arts, Drawing, Printmaking and Painting showing versatility with her bold images.
THE UWI CAMERA CLUB
Many of the members of UWI Camera Club have become regular participants in the National Visual Arts Competition.
Founded in 1948, the club is one of the oldest organisations on the University of the West Indies Mona campus and has contributed to the growth of photography as an art form. Its primary focus is black and white photography although some of its members have won awards for their colour prints. The club is represented this year by 12 members: Varun Baker, Arlene Brown, Philip Chung, Kimberly Clarke, Pamela Giraudel, Carie Hutchinson, Trevor McCain, Emma Ranston, Theresa Rodriguez, Tanya Webster, Tricia Williamson and Winston A. Young. Together, the members received 174 points from eight silver medals, 12 bronzes and 49 merits.
Trevor McCain, one of the most seasoned competitors in the group continues to show his versatility with colour photography and slides especially in themes of Sports/Games, Figure Study and Architecture/Engineering. He won a total of nine awards, among them a silver medal for 'Pure Speed', an image of an athlete in motion. Tanya Webster, who took home the Pugh's Colour Lab Best Black & White Print Prize, joined the Club and made her first entry in the Competition in 2003. Last year, her figure studies won two gold medals and this year she takes home a bronze medal for the same category. But it is for her outstanding still life composition, 'Recital' that she received a silver medal. Philip Chung was also a gold medallist in last year's Competition and has been slowly distinguishing himself in the Flora/Fauna theme. This year, however he was most outstanding in Architecture/Engineering with 'Masjid', winning second place silver medal in the category.
Emma Ranston has performed very well this year earning two silver medals and four merits. Her most outstanding images 'Before Ivan' and 'Survival of the Fittest' attest to her growth in the colour medium. Both images are well composed with strong lines and rich colour. Past President Tricia Williamson refers to the Club as a family that has fostered her development as a photographer. While she adds bronzes and merits to her collection of awards, Tricia's silver-medal winning adult portrait, 'Diablo's Angelique' is particularly engaging with its strong mood and creative use of space and form.
Arlene Brown continues to move from strength to strength in her photography widening her thematic interests over time and infusing creativity with simple and popular subjects. In her figure study, 'Hill and Gully' she made strides to rethink the presentation of the body and in the end creates a strong interplay of light, shadow and form and recontextualises the body as a landscape. Winston A. Young also tries to make the most of simple and well-used imagery in his 'Fork and Shadow' that received a second place silver medal in the Still Life/Tabletop category while his bronze medal winning seascape, 'Water Edge' shows thought and sensitivity to mood.
The public is invited to visit the National Visual Arts Exhibition at the Shortwood Teachers' College at 77 Shortwood Road, Kingston 8 to the see among many others, the outstanding artists of the Edna Manley College and the UWI Camera Club. Viewing hours are Mondays to Saturdays 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Some pieces as well as a full-colour catalogue are available for sale. The exhibition continues until Independence Day, August 6.
Sana Rose is the Visual Arts Administrator at the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission.
