The Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art (formerly The Archer M. Huntington Art Gallery)
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It was 1980 and Bill Clements had just been elected Governor. In fulfilling one of his campaign promises to reduce government spending, I was one of the first employees to be let fired. I started working odd jobs for a year. I put in job applications in several places including the University of Texas. After 10 months passed, I finally received a postcard telling me to call the Archer M. Huntington Art Gallery (Now the Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art) and schedule an interview. I was later told that I was chosen over some other very strongly talented and Educated competition, including one with a Masters Degree in Photography. I believe I was chosen because of my varied background in the United States Air Force.
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I worked at at the University for 18 years and it was the most rewarding part of my lifes work. I did photographic copying of artworks of all types, periods, prices, school, and etc. The photography was a part of the permanent record kept on every work of art in the collection. These records are the archive for the collection and used by students, faculty and staff for Public Relations, Art Catalogs, research to name just a few.
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During the last six years (1992-1998) of my employment at the University I became involved in computers. No one at the Museum new anything about them beyond operation. I taught myself the basics of installation, network hook ups, troubleshooting, and the then new HTML. When the College of Fine Arts invested in a 100Mghz. optical network I became the "Web Monkey" for the Museum portion of the College. I was responsible for putting together a web site and reworking the photographs of the collection to work in a browser. The biggest obstacle was in getting the upper echelon in the Museum to give me support and content to work with. I thoroughly enjoyed it and still do. It is as remarkable to me as Photography was when I first started working in it.
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I met many wonderful and very talented people in the time I worked at the Museum. Many famous and many not so famous. Probably the most recognizable would be James Michener, the author. James, and his wife, Mari, were major contributors to the Museum. Their collection of 20th Century American Art is one of the finest in public collections. Other benefactors of the Museum are General C. R. Smith, founder of American Airlines. His collection of Western American Art is the core of the works from that period. Mrs. Barbara Duncan donated one of the finest Latin American collections in the U.S. by some authorities. The Print and Drawings Collections has many benefactors and represents the largest volume of works in the 13,000 item collection which continues to grow is guantity and quality.
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Just before retiring in 1998 the Museum embarked on a Capital Campaign to build a new museum facility. The facility is to be named after one of The University of Texas Board of Regents, Mr. Jack S. Blanton. Mr. Blanton and his wife, are a driving force behind this new facility. The staff of the Blanton are working very hard to see it built. The completion date is slated for sometime in 2005.
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Working at the Museum those eighteen years rounded out my education greatly. The friends I made are ones I will keep for a lifetime. Plus I met the love of my life there. We were married in the Museum in front of one of our favorite paintings in the collections. It seems like it was only yesterday and 12 years have passed in a snap. I am very proud to have been a member of the organization.
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Color digital photography by George Holmes. Featuring experiamental digital photography. Digital photographic prints by George Holmes, PhotoArtNetGallery. Web site design Austin and digital photography, art photography and art photograph. photography art for sale and photography for sale online. Web site photography and web site photographs, digital photographs and photography by photographers. Photographer George Holmes, offering fine art photography and digital photography fine art photography. Digital photo prints using Photoshop. Digital darkroom . Web site designer and photographer. Product photographer for web sites and web site design. George Holmes Web Site Design. Online photography, online photographs for sale. Austin PhotoArtNetGallery, web site design Austin, digital photography, art photography, art photograph, photography, art for sale, photography for sale online, Web site photography, web site photographs, digital photographs and photography by photographers. Web site designer and photographer. Product photographer for web sites and web site design. Online photography, online photographs for sale. I have made my living from photography since 1969. Starting in the US Air Force and continued through the Texas Governors Office then for 18 years as the Photographer of fine Art at the University of Texas' Jack S. Blanton Museum of Fine Art.
While I did struggle in the beginning (and still do on occasion) over the issue of whether digital photography was "real" or "legitimate", my fears have been put to rest by the extraordinary flexibility that digital photography allows. In the past, when I would see a particular shot in my mind, I often found myself saying "This would be such a good shot, if only...(the power lines weren't there, the trash can wasn't in the way, etc.). Now, with the power of digital, I'm able to create those "perfected" scenes. And the fact is, all photography, even from its earliest days in the 1800's, has employed some brand of enhancement to achieve the final result, whether it be dodging and burning (lightening and darkening specific areas), bleaching, or toning.
In the end, whether the tool is a camera, a paintbrush, or a pencil and paper, the main goal of any creative person, is to express their vision and to, hopefully, create an image that is visually appealing. |
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