Waterloo Arts’ annual Juried Exhibition draws submissions from around the US and Canada, and offers prizes including a $500 Best of Show award. Last year’s top prize went to Cannon Beach, Oregon, a montage of Polaroid photos by Stephanie Spyker. She took a few minutes to answer questions about the piece and her work.

CAN: How did you choose to represent these landscapes with multiple shots, rather than one sweeping image?

Stephanie Spyker: The beginning of these Polaroid montages stemmed from wanting more of a dialogue with the images I take when I have the opportunity to travel. I have many rolls of film that seemed to be piling up and I wanted to be able to spend more time with them, rather than just scan, print, and move on. I had this idea of monotonous or repeating Polaroids, but I wasn’t quite sure what the subject would be or how I would pull it off. Because these montages take a lot of time and preparation, it lets me slow down and enjoy the photograph more, as I hope it does with other viewers as well.

CAN: What does it mean to you that the image is made from dozens of individual shots?

SS: To me, breaking up the images resonates well with film grain, or with digital pixels. Obviously, these are much larger than a pixel, but it’s mimicking it on a much larger scale. It’s interesting because most people are used to seeing just one continuous image, so it catches the viewers’ attention when they have to visually piece it back together themselves.

CAN: Do you have other upcoming shows?

SS: At the moment, no. I actually had a show this past winter at the Harris Stanton Gallery in Akron featuring four more of these Polaroid pieces. I’m finishing up my first year of grad school at Ohio University, so I’ve been focusing more on my classes this semester. But I have entered a couple juried shows that are during the summer, and am waiting to hear back!

CAN: Will you enter the WAF show this year?

SS: Yes! I have entered three pieces this year, although they are quite different than my Polaroid montages. Looking forward to seeing the show this year!

 

Waterloo Arts’ annual Juried Exhibition opens June 7 with a reception from 6:00–9:00pm, and will be open through the Waterloo Arts Fest on June 29 at multiple venues: Waterloo Arts gallery, Praxis Fiber Workshop, and Brick Ceramic + Design Studio. The 2019 juror is Anthony Mastromatteo. In addition to Best of Show, prizes include second place, honorable mention CAN Journal Prize, and media-specific prizes in fiber, wearable art, printmaking, sculpture, and work in paper. All accepted artists receive a $25 honorarium.

 

WALK ALL OVER WATERLOO | JUNE 7, JULY 5, AUGUST 2

WATERLOO ARTS JURIED EXHIBITION | JUNE 7–29
Reception 6–9pm Friday, June 7

WATERLOO ARTS FESTIVAL | NOON–7PM SATURDAY, JUNE 29

Waterloo Arts

15605 Waterloo Road

Cleveland, Ohio 44110

waterlooarts.org