Just as ENR's 2012 The Year in Construction photography contest starts pulling in new entries, photographer Joseph A. Blum, a many-times winner and the shooter of two photo contest issue covers, sends word that he is invited to hang the opening show at a new college gallery on Oct. 17.
San Francisco-based Blum has made an art out of capturing spectacular images of people at work, notably in great shots of construction workers on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge project, which he has been shooting since 1998. His work now has the attention of suburban Detroit's Macomb Community College, in Warren, Michigan, which has invited him to inaugurate the college's new South Campus Art Gallery with a solo exhibit.
The gallery is located in a three-building complex comprising the Robert E. Turner Advanced Technology Center, which houses Macomb’s programs in media and communication arts, advanced manufacturing processes, product development and welding, among others.
Macomb Community College bills itself as one of the nation’s leading community colleges. It serves nearly 48,000 students each year.
According to the press release announcing the show: "The art gallery is designed to showcase and celebrate industrial art and artists of the college and community. The gallery will open with a photographic exhibit, People & Work, by Joseph A. Blum. Blum, who worked as a boilermaker, shipfitter and welder for 25 years, and now dedicates himself to documenting and honoring the labor of men and women whose skill, effort and determination transform architectural and engineering plans into fully functional structures."
At the opening, Jim Jacobs, the college president, will open the new gallery, and introduce Blum. Blum will speak about his transition from the trades into photography and give perspective on his work.
About 50 enormous prints of Blum’s photos will remain on display through January 2013.
ENR is very pleased that Joe is receiving this honor and opportunity to not only showcase his work, but to encourage others to help capture, through photography, the marvelous world of construction. There are great stories to be told through images, and few are better qualified to recognize and capture them than the people who work on jobsites every day.
Every year, ENR's The Year in Construction photography contest showcases as much of that work as we can find. Every qualifying photo that is submitted is showcased on ENR.com as it is processed. Readers can vote for them online. And the winning collection is published in print and online. Click to see last year's winners, and the 11-year archive of the contest winners.
But most of all go to the entry form and share your best construction shots taken in the last year with our readers. Click here for the entry form and full details.
We can't promise you you'll end up with a solo show at a prestigious college gallery, but who knows? Show your work and people will take notice.
Congratulations, Joe!
