Hartwick College, in Oneonta, New York, is showing Skeleton in the Closet in their Foreman Art Gallery this month.
I’m especially excited about this show, because the art gallery has collaborated with Hartwick’s Department of Social Issues and Welleness and the Department of Nursing, and the Foreman Institute for the Creative and Performing Arts. Together, they will be sponsoring various education and outreach events over the course of the month, related to eating disorders.
Skeleton in the Closet will be showing from September 8-October 13.
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The International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals scheduled Skeleton in the Closet to be the cornerstone event at their 2011 Symposium in Phoenix, AZ. I flew down to Phoenix to install the show, presenting 23 images from the series for the 450 attendees to view over the course of the symposium. Saturday evening I spoke to the audience about the work, sharing stories and insights from my work on the project. Many engaging conversations ensued, sold some artist’s books, and received some excellent feedback on the work. It was a real honor to be able to share this work with people who spend their lives helping restore those who struggle with eating disorders.
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Boise State University hosted Skeleton in the Closet for the months of January and February, 2011. It was a beautiful show, located in the BSU Student Union Building Art Gallery.
This was the first show of the series on eating disorders for which I added the audio component. Played softly over the gallery’s PA system, the voices of people telling their stories–the same stories as are in the show–added a haunting, secretive texture to the viewing experience.
I was invited to come over to Boise for the opening reception, and to speak to an audience that evening as well. My presentation on eating disorders and art was well received. Both print and online media ran several stories on the show.
You can read a brief review from Boise Weekly here. I’m always moved by the response of viewers.
Here are a few of the many notes left in the guestbook:
Very powerful, and puts things into perspective.
Powerful; needs to be show in lots of places where it can do good.
Bleak evidence of a clear and present threat to our children. To my daughter.
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The self-published photobook is an exciting new avenue for photographers to present their work directly to the public. In addition, the photobook itself can be a work of art. As part of the Davis Orton Gallery’s commitment to showcasing the work of contemporary photographers, the Gallery presents a juried, international photobook competition.
Fritz Liedtke’s artist book version of Skeleton in the Closet was awarded a place in the juried show by Paula Tognarelli, the Executive Director and Curator of the Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester, MA.
The Davis Orton Gallery is located in Hudson, New York. The show runs from November 18 to December 19, 2010.
View more of the Skeleton in the Closet series online, at www.skeletoninthecloset.net.
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On Saturday, November 6, at 1:40 pm, I will be giving a lecture at the Society for Photographic Education’s NW Conference, held at Newspace Center for Photography. (View the full conference schedule here.)
Bringing one’s artistic vision to life can be a daunting task. Many photographers have ideas for a thematic series they would like to begin (or complete), but lack the knowledge of how to approach a large project, especially one involving a sensitive subject. This presentation will cover the various steps one can take to begin, persevere in, and complete a project, and share it with the world.
Discussions of photographic technique are generally limited to technical matters: equipment selection, exposure and development, darkroom and PhotoShop tricks, and output solutions. Rarely does the discussion broaden to include the challenges faced in producing a conceptual body of work from start to finish.
Using the example of my Skeleton in the Closet series, this presentation will address the various stages of a photographic project, based upon my experience in creating larger-scale, multi-year, thematic series of photographs of delicate subjects.
I will begin by discussing the importance of a proposal, written by the artist to clarify for himself (and others) the focus of the project. Using stories from my own experience, I will then share secrets for finding subjects and locations, building trust with people, the importance of using releases, applying for grants and funding, dealing with setbacks and discouragement, networking, staying focused and organized, creating a ‘look’ that fits the subject, keeping the work consistent, and writing about the work. I will also discuss how to share the work once it has been completed. discussing marketing and publicity, websites, agents, shows, portfolio reviews, magazines and books.
The presentation will be accompanied by projected images from the series, as well as images related to the process. It can be adjusted to fit a particular time limit, and if time allows, I would welcome a question and answer session.
While approaching a large, thematic series may daunting, it is not impossible. Through the sharing of my experience and knowledge, this presentation will aid and encourage others in their pursuit of bringing their own projects to life.
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PhotoLife Magazine‘s October/November 2010 issue includes a 2-page spread of the Skeleton in the Closet series. And if you prefer your magazines in French, you can read and view the 3-page spread in their sister magazine, PhotoSolution. Get your copy in either English or French!
Available at fine bookstores and magazine shops everywhere.
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Portland-based photographer and artist Fritz Liedtke will present ‘Skeleton in the Closet’ at the Kathrin Cawein Gallery of Art on Pacific University‘s Forest Grove campus Oct. 26 through Nov. 19.
The exhibit is free and open to the public, and includes an opening reception with the artist on Friday, Oct. 29 from 12 to 1 p.m. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday from 1 to 5 p.m.
This particular exhibit sheds light on the silent, rarely discussed, fraught with shame, and often-undetected epidemics of anorexia and bulimia. The most normal looking people may have an eating disorder hidden in their history.
Liedtke’s work captures the stories of those who courageously shared them with him.
An artist lecture is scheduled for Nov. 18th at 4pm at Taylor auditorium in Marsh Hall, and is free and open to the public.
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I was notified this past week that the upcoming issue of Silvershotz Magazine will be featuring a 14-page spread of my series Skeleton in the Closet.
Silvershotz is an international fine art photography magazine, and can be purchased at Barnes and Noble, Borders, Hastings, Tower Books, etc.
While this series is receiving wide press and showings, the project is ideally suited for publication as a book. If you are, or have connections with, a publishing house, consider Skeleton in the Closet as a book project.
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This month, RayKo Photo Center, in San Francisco, will be featuring images from my Skeleton in the Closet series in their show Por(trait) Revealed. I’ll be there for the opening on July 28, so if you are in the Bay Area, please join me!
(Por)trait Revealed // A juried exhibition of portrait photography
Reception: Wednesday, July 28th, 6-8p
7.28.10 – 9.10.10
Featured artists: Mark Menjivar & Fritz Liedtke
RayKo Photo Center presents the final selections from an open call for photographic work exploring the genre of portraiture and varying characteristics of us humans.
Fritz Liedtke’s Skeleton in the Closet is a series of intimate portraits and stories of those who struggle with eating disorders. In a society saturated with shallow, narrow definitions of beauty, anorexia and bulimia are an increasingly prevalent trend. Movie stars, magazine ads, fad diets, internet pornography, fashion models, MTV…the pressure to look thin and attractive is an oppressive force that is difficult to resist. Everyone wants to be an American Idol. But obsession with appearance is not the only motivation for restrictive eating. Dancers, gymnasts, wrestlers, models, and others, find themselves in unhealthy eating patterns in order to stay competitive. Ultimately, the disorder is really a means for controlling one part of a person’s world–a world which may, in the end, be destroyed by the disorder itself.
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