Charles Calleja
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
ISSUE 76 The official MIPP Newsletter www.mipp-malta.com 2018 MAY | JUNE Photography by Martin Agius Photograph by Kevin Casha President’s Viewpoint CLASSIC vs CONTEMPORARY With all due respect to all ‘real’ conceptual and contemporary artists, I have had enough of most of these ‘contemporary conceptual’ projects disguised as high or fine art… Yes, I love concepts and, as an example and to illustrate my opinion, I mention works by Maltese photographer Alex Attard. His interpretation of the Falzon petrol station (totally unlike the snapshots done by the celebrated Edward Rusha!) and Alex’s fantastic exhibition on the Renzo Piano project; when it was still a skeleton. Both these examples contained CONCEPT, AESTHETICS, STUDIED LIGHTING, COMPOSITIONAL SENSE, TECHNIQUE, DESIGN and PRESENTATION… and much more. In my opinion, that is what art is about and not what we are currently presented with in an ever increasing number of pitiful cases. Let me throw another thread…. In a world so full of trouble, stress, problems and injustice, why is BEAUTIFUL visual art being given the cold shoulder by most of the academics and many ‘artists’… is it because they do not know how to produce it??? Is it because most armchair critics and academics cannot produce any valid art themselves and devaluate classical and realistic genres of art because they have a strong voice or a say in art circles? How much of today’s contemporary art gives you a fraction of the emotions and feelings that the Pre-Raphaelites, Caravaggio, Raffaello, Dali did? Or the like of photographers such as Helmut Newton, Christophe Gilbert, Herb Ritts, Cartier Bresson, Ansel Adams or Guy Bourdain? Not only that, but the work of such artists remains very valid and continues to provoke feelings, debate and emotions… 2 | The official MIPP Newsletter In our Academic institutions, one is often even looked down upon and discouraged if one has a tendency towards being a conventional artist who tries to combine the afore mentioned artistic values! It needs to be a brave person to go against the flow and attempt to counter this situation. Naturally, one cannot generalize – as all art is subjective and depends also on the conditioning of the viewer… and thankfully there are some beacons of hope such as the conceptual art of Ai Wei Wei and others. Yet I fear that the way the word “art” is being abused of is not going to leave future generations with so much to admire and be inspired. I do hope we can have a resurgence of ‘Beautiful Art’. Kevin Casha Kevin Casha President MIPP Editor: Design: Articles: Proof Reading: Kevin Casha Sita Azzopardi Various contributors Louisa Tonna If you want your photos featured on the newsletter’s front page just send the images to: [email protected] Your contributions are always welcome 3 | The official MIPP Newsletter Contents MIPP ANNUAL REPORT 2017 pg 05 DUNCAN CAUCHI- New FMIPP Qualified Member pg 07 Photography vs Photoshop by TOM LEE pg 13 Collaboration with the Gozo Photography Group pg 15 CHARLES CALLEJA by Daniel Vassallo pg 16 The MIPP Still Image Award behind the scenes pg 21 Floriana Photowalk pg 22 DELICATA Winery visit pg 24 MIPP benefits of being a member pg 26 MIPP Calendar pg 28/29 Membership renewal and newcomers pg 30 MIPP Sponsors pg 34 19 08 16 19 10 21 4 | The official MIPP Newsletter MIPP ANNUAL REPORT 2017/2018 23 JANUARY 2018 The 21st year of the MIPP saw many changes finally coming to fruition which, for some time, had previously been in the pipeline. The Qualifications structure was altered and now accepts LMIPP panels in digital format. This decision was resisted in the past however nowadays that we are living in a digital era and submitting most of our work digitally, the MIPP committee adapted to the changing situation. Furthermore, the Qualifications were also held twice this year, one in July, with 3 successful L panels and a successful A panel and another session in November, where we had a successful panel at each level. Reciprocal Qualifications were also revised and now, instead of an automatic reciprocal qualification with the Societies alone, the committee decided to accept applications for reciprocal from the PSA, BIPP, MPA, RPS, QEP and the Societies. This has been implemented since the MIPP qualifications structure is based on similar criteria with the mentioned organisations and we have many times used qualified members from these organisations to judge our panels. As one can understand, we have a limited pool of judges and thus we hope this move will help. We have also approached the ideas of conducting photo walks which are proving to be successful. Each organised photo walk has been given a theme and is not just a shooting opportunity but an opportunity to learn. Themes in the pipeline include also astrophotography. World Photography Day was held at Hilltop with a talk from Kevin Casha which was transmitted live on social media in collaboration with Avantech. This was a first for both organisations. As regards to accredited courses, the MIPP has now two more approved Level 4 courses to complement the Still Image Award (level 3). These courses have been approved by the NCFHE. The Still Image Award continues to be held at least once every year whilst one of the Level 4 courses has also been launched. The NCFHE is imposing an audit for all organisations running courses. The MIPP has started this process and an audit was held on the 17th November where tutors and students were interviewed by a panel from the NCFHE. We are still awaiting the outcome and suggestions from NCFHE; however we had very positive feedback from their panel. This audit is to be conducted every 5 years. Although we were at first asked to pay the audit fees (amounting to over €3000), after our appeals, this fee was waived. The PTYA was again held this year and saw 14 contestants participate in this competition. Finally, we had 3 members who exceeded the minimum required points. The final result was indeed close. China Photographers Association; Discussions and plans for an exhibition and exchange visit were completed however due to the elections in Malta, it was decided to hopefully plan these activities for 2018. The help of the MTA was requested to accommodate the Chinese delegation. 5 | The official MIPP Newsletter The international convention was not organised as in previous years. This year saw the introduction of several specified one-day workshops as replacement to the Convention. This seems to have been well received and plans are to continue with a similar structure for 2018. Our 3 Sponsors, namely iLab, Intervisions and Avantech had all renewed their support to the MIPP. Hilltop Gardens and Continental Cars have also helped the MIPP in various ways. The suggested 3-year membership fee was positively accepted with many members choosing to opt for this. This scheme helped us to supplement our accounts due to the expenses incurred with the new premises. A new structured website is now up and running. This is being updated and maintained by a Committee member and a qualified external delegated person. Le Meridien arrangements had to be revised and the hotel, which is now under new management, has increased prices and has removed some of our benefits. Thus meetings here have been scaled down. Through our President, we are however in good contact with Hilltop Gardens, where we can still make use of their facilities. Of course, this brings up the issue of the new MIPP premises. Kevin Casha has been running after authorities for countless years, with promises of aid from the government in such respect never materialising and vanishing in thin air. Thus another avenue had to be pursued. The fact that over the past 20 years we had painstakingly gathered a substantial amount of money with the intention of purchasing our own humble premises, at last enabled this dream to materialise. As one can understand, the premises took up a lot of energy and resources to be sourced out, negotiated on, permits issued and finalised as you now see it. As one can understand, purchasing this premises had many more implications than purchasing a domestic apartment, with MEPA applications and other legal problems we encountered. Many thanks goto all the helpers outside the committee with a special mention to Elton Barbara who did all the plumbing and electricity plus donated the materials for it, to Martin Agius, Sita Azzopardi and Keith Ellul for their constant presence and manual help during this process. However, I believe we owe this great step to the persistence and sheer hard work of our President who had believed and worked towards this end from day one of the MIPP’s inception. As from January 2018, the MIPP premises will be open every Tuesday for members, where talks, films and informal meetings will be organised. Of course, the idea is to have members socialise, and coffee and water will be supplied for free. This will be kept up if we see that members are participating in these meetings. Also, the premises is for all MIPP members and should one wish to hire the venue as a studio or conduct any lecture on a personal basis, one is to contact the committee where this may be arranged. Looking forward to a successful 2018 with the MIPP. Charles Calleja Hon. Secretary General 6 | The official MIPP Newsletter DUNCAN CAUCHI FMIPP A recent addition to our Fellows is Duncan Cauchi. He recently gained his Fellowship with the Societies of Great Britain. The panel was named THE MALTESE ISLANDS IN LONG EXPOSURE and not only gained him this coveted Qualification, but also served as a pictorial promotion of our island’s coast.