Artbeat

Brief sketches of what's happening in the Denver art scene.

A A A Comments By Michael Paglia Thursday, Feb 7 2002

Every year, the Colorado Photographic Arts Center (1513 Boulder Street, 303-455-8999) confers awards and presents an exhibit devoted to the winners. The latest version, 2001 Member Awards, is on view right now.

More About

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Arts and Theater Newsletter: Weekly information keeping you in the know when it comes to the art and theater scene. Find out about upcoming performances, exhibitions, openings and special events.

The jury who chose the award recipients was made up of the City of Denver's art administrator and photography expert, John Grant, and two photographer-educators, Jim Cannata and Greg Watts. They chose experimental photographer David Sharpe for the big prize, the CPAC Project Grant.

Sharpe's photos are landscapes, such as "Eastern Plains Suite, 1.6" (seen above), that begin with a pinhole photograph taken with a homemade primitive camera and standard film. Sharpe then employs an enlarger to turn the small pinhole photos into large photomurals. The resulting pieces are displayed unframed, and they curl at the tops and bottoms. This is either a strength or a shortcoming, I'm not sure which.

Works by the other two CPAC award winners, Paul Rose and Amanda Revell, are also seen in the show; each photographer received a Personal Vision Award. Rose's subject is the Scottish countryside, both sweeping landscapes and still-life close-ups. His photos are paired with handwritten text that describes his subjects. Revell does cyanotypes -- blueprints -- of women and water.

The exhibit stays up through February 16.

Get the Arts and Theater Newsletter

Weekly information keeping you in the know when it comes to the art and theater scene. Find out about upcoming performances, exhibitions, openings and special events.