Event 002houston Cover Contest
Why To select the December 2011 cover
Where The Deborah Colton Gallery
When November 4
002houston aficionados descended upon the Deborah Colton Gallery for our 5th Annual December Cover Contest. Guests had the unique opportunity to vote for their favorite. Look at the cover – this was the winner! Once again we were overwhelmed with not only the number of submissions, but with the creativity of the work. No doubt this city is bursting with amazing talent. Guests admired the work while sipping on ice-cold Stella Artois beer, wine, champagne and scrumptious bites from Samba Grille. Thanks to all our supporters and participants. You guys rock! Photography by Claire Learned for lastnightpics.com
Photography by Micahl Wyckoff – mwvisual.com
WINNER: Ryan Systma
Ryan is a designer for Pop Labs, Inc., an award-winning interactive agency in Houston. He graduated with a BFA in Graphic Design in 2006 from Montana State University. Only a few years ago, Systma was working at his first designer job at a small print shop in Bozeman, Montana. In September 2007, he moved to Houston, working at multiple jobs in design before his position as designer for Pop Labs in March 2010. At Pop Labs, which recently merged with local brand marketing agency BrightBox, Systma not only designs websites, but has a hand in design for social media applications as well as more traditional items such as logo and print work.
SECOND PLACE: Tiffany H. Cintron
Tiffany H. Cintron is a Texas-based fashion and art photographer originally from Longview and currently living in Houston with her daughter and husband. She is an alumnus of the University of Houston where she majored in advertising and graphic design. The style of her photography can be best described as high fashion slapstick: funny and quirky with the attitude of Rrose Selavy. Tiffany currently freelances and works as the staff photographer for the first national magazine dedicated to modern Iranian American women, Zan. “Before I moved to Houston I fell in love with the city. I found the folk art sites such as The Orange Show and the Flower Man House very inspiring to my work. The artists who created these had no real education in the arts but had a deep need to create which is what happened to me while making the paper dress. I’m a painter, photographer and maybe a sculptor on occasion but had never been able to call myself a designer until now. The dress is constructed from Houston Chronicles and area Yellow Pages. I feel it is the perfect homage to the folk artists before me who have made this city so great.”
THIRD PLACE: Wiley Robertson
I started off painting and drawing explosions and monsters when I was a little kid and as I continued to paint throughout my youth I got into doing graffiti with friends around high school and started discovering street art and was able to reinvigorate my interest in art with this new medium. After I graduated high school I focused a lot of my time in graffiti for the next few years and it has forever left an impression on my work with both its bright colors and electrifying use of words and type in art. Soon after I started attending various art schools, until I got back to Houston and started working on making a style that I could call mine. I try my best to illustrate the space in my canvases with bright, visually striking compositions. I don’t attempt to write a narrative with my work, but rather make a visually striking show of color and a bold image that makes the Viewer of the Art interpret the meaning. My art has always been meant to be as visually appealing as possible; most of my imagery is very tongue-in-cheek although a lot of it is meant to strike up emotions and thoughts that are interpreted differently for each person who views the work. I hope to continue and pursue my abstract style, as well as also focus time on doing landscapes and portraits which I always enjoy doing because it gives me a variety of things to constantly keep me busy in my studio. www.wileyrobertson.com
FORTH PLACE: Alex Barber
A graduate from Rice University with a BA in Architecture and French, Alex started a career of organizing spaces on the printed page and screen. After a long run working in-house and for a full-service agency, Alex moved exclusively to the online realm. He now works at Whiteboard Labs, designing and developing websites for hospitality and corporate clients. He also continues to create and build sites for freelance clients. Alex’s time behind a viewfinder goes to grade school. Although it’s been over twenty years since he used an enlarger or held a sheet of Ilford paper in a bath with rubber tongs, he still remembers the smell of the chemicals. He’s enjoyed time shooting again, using lenses he bought originally for film cameras, on a Canon DSLR. The analog interest that goes back even further than photography is origami; Alex has been folding for over 30 years. The models he makes provide plenty of subjects for him to shoot and give him an excuse to try out a new lens, light stand or whatever else he finds at Camera Co-Op. www.alexbarber.com
COVER GALLERY
