Maris Rusis: Original Photographs

[Maris Rusis]

Years ago I said I'd never do another public exhibition. Exhibitions are a distraction from on-going creative work. They consume time and expensive resources and furnish but passing entertainment for mildly interested gallery goers.

But there's an upside too in the cleansing discipline of putting together a show. Sure, you make 'em, hang 'em, look at 'em, take 'em down, and put 'em away but the journey also involves an essential editing, clarifying, simplifying, and confirmatory mental process. One might become a better photograph maker or perhaps a more cunning one.

I also do the framing, mounting, matting which feels like work. But I'm not in photography to dodge work but to be uplifted by it. And the signage, titles, and explanatory text is more work too. If it's all done as good as I can do at the time then its worth, grand or paltry, is validated. And maybe I get validated as well; just a bit.

My good mate Ian Poole is director at Foto Frenzy gallery. He is also urbane, articulate, persistent, and persuasive enough to summon me out of the workshop and studio with photographs to put on a wall.

The result is: Maris Rusis: Original Photographs which runs at Foto Frenzy from 3 February - 20 February 2014.

Here are a couple of links:
http://www.fotofrenzy.com.au/events/...am/maris-rusis
http://www.fotofrenzy.com.au/events/exhibition-program

[Nathan Potter]

Maris, i'm glad to hear this. Your work deserves showing and this appears to be a good show room. Actually I'll be in Melbourne during some of February so maybe I can squeeze time for a visit. After all, it's just around the corner from Melbourne. In Texas speak a thousand miles barely gets you out of the state. Let's see at 120 MPH that's maybe a 10 hr. ride with a stop for lunch and a few snapshots.

Nate Potter, Austin TX.

[Maris Rusis]

Melbourne to Brisbane is two days of hard driving. Apart from a few cities and small towns it's kilometre after kilometre of skull-numbing Australian emptiness.

Which brings into sharp focus the relevance, in this day and age, of physical photographic exhibitions. The pictures one can view on a good LCD monitor bear a good resemblance to original material in tone and content if not size and detail. Maybe the internet is the primary showcase for photographic images and the era of the photographic gallery is well and truly past. Maybe the allure of the singular hand-made original still pertains. I guess I'll find out.

[Andrew O'Neill]

They consume time and expensive resources and furnish but passing entertainment for mildly interested gallery goers.

Splice in the word free between passing and entertainment. But I do believe if one makes images, then one should show them every now and then. Otherwise, what's the point?
Congrats Maris. It would be really nice if someone buys a print or two as well!

[Vaughn]

Melbourne to Brisbane is two days of hard driving. Apart from a few cities and small towns it's kilometre after kilometre of skull-numbing Australian emptiness...

Funny -- that's how I feel after viewing of a couple of websites (and after about 4 or 5 galleries)! I picked up a couple of hitch hikers at the Grand Canyon and drove them to the southern part of Arizona. The fellow was from Germany and was said he was totally bored with the landscape -- just as I was thinking to myself how incredible it was. To each their own!

I like a show occasionally -- it is a good excuse to actually mat and frame up a piece. Otherwise they tend to just sit in a box. Congrats on getting your work up in front of people who can take the time to really enjoy them!

[Bill Burk]

Maris Rusis,

Congratulations on your upcoming show, enjoy. Wish I could be there in person.

[Jim Galli]

Cangrats on the show Maris. That sense of accomplishment and beauty and style when you see it all on the walls is definitely a rush. Worth it? Dunno. I doubt I'll do another at this point.

[Nathan Potter]

Maris, driving through parts of Texas can also be a skull-numbing experience. But those who look carefully will find that God has minimized what is there so that we can better see what little there is.

I don't like the thought, but I suspect that the general unknowing public will say ho-hum to fine wall mounted silver prints; mainly because of web image fatigue. I see this more and more in Austin when visiting quality photo exhibitions. But a smaller coterie of informed viewers will find hidden treasures in the content (especially yours), so I think that makes the whole exercise worth while.

Hope you have a positive experience with this.

Nate Potter, Austin TX.

[alexn]

Hi Maris. I hope to get to the exhibition this week. I'm working long hours in noosa so it might be a struggle but is like to go down, have a look and catch up with Ian. Are you down at the gallery while the show is on?

[SMBooth]

Hope its going well, but won't be up that way.