What's in a Picture? Public Art Photo Contest

Submit by November 19, 2007, photographer Orrin has sponsored a public art photography competition on the Flickr site "Theme Competition/Discuss". Flickr has a very simple system for the competition. Each person easily "tags" his/her photograph with a competition specific code. Great way to link up images on the net. The leftside photo is one image "tagged" by Damiel from a cinema in Prague.

As on November 16, thirty-six photos had been posted. As I have written before, the ability of a public artworks to attract the photographer is a significant criteria of success. As I look at the photographs, I believe the photographers value the following.
1. Something temporary caught by the camera. Either the artwork itself will disappear or something is temporarily interacting with the artwork such as people or light.
2. Contrasting scale. Oversized or undersized on the street.
3. Juxtaposition of almost anything. Style of art and site. Connotations of art and people.
4. Ability to photograph from strange angles, but up to the sky is most popular
5. Dynamic motion of the image in the photograph (not necessarily at the site)
6. Color in the drab city. Either the art or the blue sky
7. Looks like a well composed tourist brochure photograph.
8. Just plain strange. Can you believe this exists?

After checking out the photos, I visited artist Leslie Fry's website. I know she once dated a very talented photographer. He had taken or influenced some of the images on her site.

2007 Temporary Installation in Florida. Studio in Vermont.
Florida: Temporary. Just plain strange.
Vermont: Composed tourist brochure.

Park in Vermont. Installation in New York.
Vermont: Strange angle - shooting up. Capturing evening light.
New York: Oversized object. Contrasting room and object. Capturing a moment of light.

Public Art for Broward County Libraries in Florida.
These projects are not succeeding photographically as public art. The photographer may document this type of art as an object that he/she may like, but the artwork in its setting does not motivate the photographic mind.