Inspirational Quote
“As photographers, curators or critics, we can move from thinking about photography to thinking about the world differently, and, indeed reconsidering our place and contribution. Not only do we want to ask how photographs operate, we also want to ask how photography can be used to resist dominant structures and practices.”
Source: Wells, Liz. The Photography Reader. London: Routledge. 2003. Print.
Selected Exhibitions
2014 – Light Touch, Baltimore Washington International Airport, Maryland Art Place, February 12-June 22, 2014, Chrystel Lebas, Heidi Morstang, Marja Pirila, Lynn Silverman, and Frank Hallum Day
2001-2009/2013 - Landscapes of Exploration*, Peninsula Arts Gallery, Plymouth, February/March. Work by 11 artists who undertook residencies in Antarctica commissioned by the British Antarctic Survey, 2001-9.
2012 - Futureland Now, John Kippin and Chris Wainwright, Laing Gallery, Newcastle, September 2012- January 2013
2012 - Sense of Place, Contemporary Landscape Photography*, Brussels, Centre des Beaux Arts, June -September 2012. Work by 40 artists from 27 European Union countries.
2011 - Conversations on Nature, Chrystel Lebas and SofijaSilvia, Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Rijeka, Croatia, June/August
Sources: "Land/Water and the Visual Arts". Land/Water and the Visual Arts. Plymouth University, Published 2012. Web. http://landwater-research.co.uk/artists-researchers/liz-wells/
"Light Touch – Curated by Liz Wells". Maryland Art Place, Published February 2014. Web. http://www.mdartplace.org/exhibitions
Biographical Information
Born in London 1948, Currently lives in Devon
BA in Sociology/Social Administration (University of Bristol)
Postgraduate Diploma, Film (Polytechnic of Central London)
MA Visual Culture (Bath College of Higher Education)
Sources: Wells, Liz, Kate Newton, and Catherine Fehily. Shifting Horizons: Women's Landscape Photography Now. London: I.B. Tauris, 2000. 9-11, 132-135, 143. Print.
"Staff - Liz Wells". Plymouth University. Plymouth University. Web. http://www.plymouth.ac.uk/staff/ewells
Employment and Publications
- Senior lecturer in film and photography-related theory
(School of Media, London College of Printing, The London Institute, Media Arts at University of Plymouth)
- Published and edited Viewfindings: Women Photographers: 'Landscape' and Environment (Triverton: Available Light, 1994), Photography: A Critical Introduction (London, New York, Routledge, 2009 4th Edition), The Photography Reader (London, Routledge, 2003).
- Co-editor of photographies, academic journal. (London, Routledge, Spring 2008-Current)
- Board of Directors, Society for Photographic Education
Sources: "Staff - Liz Wells." Plymouth University. Plymouth University. Web. http://www.plymouth.ac.uk/staff/ewells
Wells, Liz. ed. Photography: A Critical Introduction. 4th ed. London: Routledge, 2009. Print.
Further Reading
- Wells, Liz. ed. Photography: A Critical Introduction. 4th ed. London: Routledge, 2009. Print.
- Wells, Liz. The Photography Reader. London: Routledge. 2003. Print.
- Wells, Liz, Kate Newton, and Catherine Fehily. Shifting Horizons: Women's Landscape Photography Now. London: I.B. Tauris, 2000. Print.
- Wells, Liz. Viewfindings: Women Photographers: Landscape and Environment. Tiverton: Available Light, 1994. Print.
Liz Wells writes and lectures on photography and it's history, theory, and the medium. In many of her lectures and books she stages a dialogue between herself and iconic writers on photography such as Susan Sontag, Baudelaire, Roland Barthes, and Walter Benjamin. Wells believes her curating is an ongoing practice that allows her to think through and communicate what she and other artists are (in the moment) feeling strongly about. Wells emphasizes her love for studio visits with artists, as she can better gain insight into their practice of brainstorming, pre-conceptualization, and editing while building a different type of necessary trust.
Sources: Wells, Liz. “Modes of Investigation – On Writing and Curating (Photography)”. Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore. 7 February 2014. Lecture.
Wells, Liz. ed. Photography: A Critical Introduction. 4th ed. London: Routledge, 2009. Print.
Major Contributions to the field of Curatorial Practice:
Wells has made a specific place in contemporary photography for women photographers in the field of landscape photography with her book and curated exhibition Shifting Horizons: Women's Landscape Photography from 2000 and 2001. She has also curated a number of exhibitions on environment, landscape, and land through photography and other media exploring art's role in environmental trauma and debate. Exhibitions such as Futureland Now and Sense of Place display various visual interpretation of the landscape reflecting political, environmental, and social conditions.
Wells believes group and curatorial themed exhibitions allow for a dialogue that resonates and contributes to the quality of audience engagement. She has a significant way of working with two or more artists on a show and using the physical gallery space to have the artists work relate to one another. Often displayed with the artists work intertwined on the walls, the individuals work becomes less critical and the theme, such as the environment, landscape, and international nature conditions, becomes more evident and momentous.
Sources: Wells, Liz. “Modes of Investigation – On Writing and Curating (Photography)”. Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore. 7 February 2014. Lecture.
"Liz Wells." Pathshala. Published 2013. Web. http://pathshala.net/liz-wells/.
Tags:
#WomenInLandscapePhotography #EnviromentalPhotography #PhotographicTheory #InternationalResearchPhotography #LandMatters#ArtFromAntarctica #Photography #WomenPhotographers
Research completed by Aysia Stieb
“As photographers, curators or critics, we can move from thinking about photography to thinking about the world differently, and, indeed reconsidering our place and contribution. Not only do we want to ask how photographs operate, we also want to ask how photography can be used to resist dominant structures and practices.”
Source: Wells, Liz. The Photography Reader. London: Routledge. 2003. Print.
Selected Exhibitions
2014 – Light Touch, Baltimore Washington International Airport, Maryland Art Place, February 12-June 22, 2014, Chrystel Lebas, Heidi Morstang, Marja Pirila, Lynn Silverman, and Frank Hallum Day
2001-2009/2013 - Landscapes of Exploration*, Peninsula Arts Gallery, Plymouth, February/March. Work by 11 artists who undertook residencies in Antarctica commissioned by the British Antarctic Survey, 2001-9.
2012 - Futureland Now, John Kippin and Chris Wainwright, Laing Gallery, Newcastle, September 2012- January 2013
2012 - Sense of Place, Contemporary Landscape Photography*, Brussels, Centre des Beaux Arts, June -September 2012. Work by 40 artists from 27 European Union countries.
2011 - Conversations on Nature, Chrystel Lebas and SofijaSilvia, Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Rijeka, Croatia, June/August
Sources: "Land/Water and the Visual Arts". Land/Water and the Visual Arts. Plymouth University, Published 2012. Web. http://landwater-research.co.uk/artists-researchers/liz-wells/
"Light Touch – Curated by Liz Wells". Maryland Art Place, Published February 2014. Web. http://www.mdartplace.org/exhibitions
Biographical Information
Born in London 1948, Currently lives in Devon
BA in Sociology/Social Administration (University of Bristol)
Postgraduate Diploma, Film (Polytechnic of Central London)
MA Visual Culture (Bath College of Higher Education)
Sources: Wells, Liz, Kate Newton, and Catherine Fehily. Shifting Horizons: Women's Landscape Photography Now. London: I.B. Tauris, 2000. 9-11, 132-135, 143. Print.
"Staff - Liz Wells". Plymouth University. Plymouth University. Web. http://www.plymouth.ac.uk/staff/ewells
Employment and Publications
- Senior lecturer in film and photography-related theory
(School of Media, London College of Printing, The London Institute, Media Arts at University of Plymouth)
- Published and edited Viewfindings: Women Photographers: 'Landscape' and Environment (Triverton: Available Light, 1994), Photography: A Critical Introduction (London, New York, Routledge, 2009 4th Edition), The Photography Reader (London, Routledge, 2003).
- Co-editor of photographies, academic journal. (London, Routledge, Spring 2008-Current)
- Board of Directors, Society for Photographic Education
Sources: "Staff - Liz Wells." Plymouth University. Plymouth University. Web. http://www.plymouth.ac.uk/staff/ewells
Wells, Liz. ed. Photography: A Critical Introduction. 4th ed. London: Routledge, 2009. Print.
Further Reading
- Wells, Liz. ed. Photography: A Critical Introduction. 4th ed. London: Routledge, 2009. Print.
- Wells, Liz. The Photography Reader. London: Routledge. 2003. Print.
- Wells, Liz, Kate Newton, and Catherine Fehily. Shifting Horizons: Women's Landscape Photography Now. London: I.B. Tauris, 2000. Print.
- Wells, Liz. Viewfindings: Women Photographers: Landscape and Environment. Tiverton: Available Light, 1994. Print.
Liz Wells writes and lectures on photography and it's history, theory, and the medium. In many of her lectures and books she stages a dialogue between herself and iconic writers on photography such as Susan Sontag, Baudelaire, Roland Barthes, and Walter Benjamin. Wells believes her curating is an ongoing practice that allows her to think through and communicate what she and other artists are (in the moment) feeling strongly about. Wells emphasizes her love for studio visits with artists, as she can better gain insight into their practice of brainstorming, pre-conceptualization, and editing while building a different type of necessary trust.
Sources: Wells, Liz. “Modes of Investigation – On Writing and Curating (Photography)”. Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore. 7 February 2014. Lecture.
Wells, Liz. ed. Photography: A Critical Introduction. 4th ed. London: Routledge, 2009. Print.
Major Contributions to the field of Curatorial Practice:
Wells has made a specific place in contemporary photography for women photographers in the field of landscape photography with her book and curated exhibition Shifting Horizons: Women's Landscape Photography from 2000 and 2001. She has also curated a number of exhibitions on environment, landscape, and land through photography and other media exploring art's role in environmental trauma and debate. Exhibitions such as Futureland Now and Sense of Place display various visual interpretation of the landscape reflecting political, environmental, and social conditions.
Wells believes group and curatorial themed exhibitions allow for a dialogue that resonates and contributes to the quality of audience engagement. She has a significant way of working with two or more artists on a show and using the physical gallery space to have the artists work relate to one another. Often displayed with the artists work intertwined on the walls, the individuals work becomes less critical and the theme, such as the environment, landscape, and international nature conditions, becomes more evident and momentous.
Sources: Wells, Liz. “Modes of Investigation – On Writing and Curating (Photography)”. Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore. 7 February 2014. Lecture.
"Liz Wells." Pathshala. Published 2013. Web. http://pathshala.net/liz-wells/.
Tags:
#WomenInLandscapePhotography #EnviromentalPhotography #PhotographicTheory #InternationalResearchPhotography #LandMatters#ArtFromAntarctica #Photography #WomenPhotographers
Research completed by Aysia Stieb
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