Garth Herrick's Apotheoun is a Smithsonian Competition Semifinalist
 

Since I already spilled the beans on another forum, I am confessing that Apotheoun is among the semifinalists chosen for the Outwin Boochever 2006 Portrait Competition, of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. Needless to say, I am elated!

I received an email notification last night from the Associate Curator Coordinator of the competition. Evidently there were about 4,000 entrants. I think the target is for about 120 semifinalists, but I am not sure. Ultimately in March they will make a final selection of perhaps 50-60 portrait paintings and sculptures for the inaugural exhibition of the reopening of the National Portrait Gallery on July 1, 2006. Notification will be sent to all entrant participants by November 15th of their current competition status. Who else is a semifinalist? 'Fess up!

Wish me, and all entrant participants the best of luck!

Garth

The Outwin Boochever 2006 Portrait Competition

Apotheoun

Grath, congratulations, but I am not surprised at all. You are simply getting the recognition your work deserves. Now, just get that website going, and everything will be just right! All kidding aside, you've heard it before, but having a website up before the competiton goes further will attract non-artists viewing the Smithsonian site easy access to your work.

So everyone reading this, let's nag the hell outta Garth until he gets one up! :o

Hope your piece goes further into the competition, good luck buddy!

Thanks Jimmie, I hear you! :oops:

Garth

Congratulations on being chosen as a semifinalist for the Boochever 2006 Portrait Competition, Garth! Best wishes for the final selection, I am certain that you will do well.

Regards,

Edgar

Thanks Edgar! We certainly cannot predict the future, but for the present, your best wishes give some hope.

Garth

Congratulations, Garth! I know I already told you over the phone, but I might as well tell you again: it's a great painting, and it pushes the envelope of "what is a portrait?" which is, I think, one of the things this show wants to do. Now you have a 50% chance of getting to the finals! :thumbsup:

Alex

Congarthulations,
I wish that I could see this masterpiece in person. No matter how often I look at it it always seems to hide a story. It

YAY Garth!
 

This is fantastic news. I'm rooting for you to go the distance! :thumbsup:

Congratulations Garth! I just would like to know the meaning of "Apotheoun", you know, I'm a foreigner. I wish I could see it personally. Maybe some day.
Kindest wishes.

[QUOTE=Allan Rahbek]Congarthulations,
I wish that I could see this masterpiece in person. No matter how often I look at it it always seems to hide a story. It

Apotheoun
 

Claudemir, thanks for your kind wishes!

As for the title: Apotheoun is a foreign word here too. I found the following at Dictionary.com:

Word of the Day for Monday May 7, 2001

apotheosis \uh-pah-thee-OH-sis; ap-uh-THEE-uh-sis\, noun
plural apotheoses \-seez\:
1. Elevation to divine rank or stature; deification.
2. An exalted or glorified example; a model of excellence or perfection of a kind.

Following martyrdom at the Alamo and apotheosis in song, tall tale, and celluloid myth, this bumpkin from west Tennessee [Davy Crockett] became better known and more revered than all but a handful of American presidents.
--Mark Royden Winchell, Cleanth Brooks and the Rise of Modern Criticism

Plato's Athens, conventionally the apotheosis of civilized Western urbanity, endured Diogenes the Cynic, who (according to tradition) dwelt in contented filth under an overturned bathtub outside the city gates, heaping ribald scorn on philosophers and citizens alike.
--Mark Caldwell, A Short History of Rudeness

Charles I's court represented the English apotheosis of this Renaissance ideal of kingship.
--John Brewer, The Pleasures of the Imagination


Apotheosis comes from Greek, from apotheoun, "to deify," from apo- + theos, "a god."

Of course, this painting has nothing to do with definition #2! ;)

An earlier related painting I did was titled "Apotheosis of the Chunnel". That one is too hard to explain. I picked "Apotheoun" because it was related or a root to apotheosis.

Garth

Congrats Garth! This is beyond deserved. :D

Garth,
Congrats as well. Jimmie's right:....WEBSITE! I just have a desire to take in all your incredible work at once, from one site.

Garth -

It's such a beautiful piece. Comes as no surprise that it made the cut. Congratulations!

Garth,
I think that, for many painters, the story they tell is the one about looking.

Whitaker said that it

Awesome, Garth!

Congratulations! Good luck!

You can say that again Allan!
Congratulations Garth! The sun of success seems to be on your path, and i continue to see this happening in the times to come. Alas i can't view the masterpiece of yours as much as i want to. Do continue to astound us with more new works of yours! :)

I want to add my congratulations - this is a wonderful painting!!

Woo hoo - fantastic news Garth!
Yikes - 4000 submissions did you say? Well, there goes all my hope right out the window for making the cut.

I predict that not only will this painting make the finals, it will likely be among the top ten!

We're all rooting for you buddy.

Dear Lacey, David, Julie, Allan (again), Cynthia, Lisa, Marcus, Jane, and Heidi,

Many, many thanks! You all mean so much to me.

"Beyond"? I still feel pretty regular. Maybe something will sink in after a few days.

Allan: There were moments in this painting's development and evolution when edges and transitions clashed and crashed. You are right. Just a small misplaced value can feel like a house of cards collapsing. It did have those moments! It took a while for everything to seem to be in sync. I had the title picked out from an early stage of development since it seemed an off-spring of the earlier painting incorporating apotheosis in its title.

Marcus: I like your spiritual wording. I hope some of that actually applies here where dismal thoughts of reality are never far off either. I need to channel more positive thoughts. Thanks!

Heidi: Don't be afraid of mere numbers. It is quality, content, and substance that matters. You already have that going for you! .....A top ten?? Is there such a category in this competition? I picture a top one or two, and the rest on an even plane, but I am probably wrong. Top 120 or 50 would be fantastic in my mind! I better study the prospectus again.

Garth

Thanks for taking time to explain that to me Garth. I already loved the painting before knowing the meaning of the title, now it is even more expressive in my eyes.

Wow, Garth! This is fantastic news, and I'm so happy for you! I've loved this painting since the first time I saw it and I'm not surprised the judges feel the same way.

Garth--

Just got back in town and saw this wonderful news.

As Linda said, seeing this painting "in the flesh" reveals a command of technique that's simply astounding. Plus, it's one of the more evocative images I've ever seen--contemporary and timeless simultaneously, as all good art is. I've seen paintings in this country's major public galleries I know I won't remember, but I'll never get this one out of my mind.

You're the real thing.

Best--TE

Garth, I always liked this piece. It is stunning. I smell a win in the air!

I can only dream of what work at this level would make one feel like, as well as the ups and downs in the journey to gain this type of recognition. Garth, just how do you feel about it all?

Your work is an inspiration to me.

The hard work is paying off for you, congratulations and best of luck for the finals. I would love to see it in person.

Congratulations, Garth! You must be on cloud nine!

Now it's just 100.
 

Dear Claudemir, Linda, Tom, Richard, Ngaire, and Michele,

Such wonderful kind words of congatulations you all write. Thank you! It's overwhelming and mind blowing to sit here and take this all in.

Claudemir: I am not sure Apotheoun is a truly deserving title, but I don't mind the extra twist of meaning and flavor enhancement it imparts to you and others. It's interesting, how powerful words can be!

Linda: I cannot express how wonderful it was to see you in person Saturday at Alex's. You both were the high point of the weekend!

Tom: You know what you wrote above is a direct challenge to the preservation of my heretofore humble self-image. Now I'm stuck at cloud 9.25. Thank you!

Richard: I will gladly take trust in your keen olfactory talent!

Ngaire and Michele: Do you ever imagine that something is just too good to be true in the midst of oncoming accolades? There's a glimpse.

I just received another official email response, assuring me it has been okay to announce my status thus far. The total number of entrants to this competition were 4,075. Currently there are about 100 (not 120 as I had assumed) semifinalists! Out of this will be selected between 50 to 60 works for the exhibition opening July 1, 2006. Needless to say, I'm still crossing my fingers!

I was only just yesterday able to inform one of Apotheoun's subjects, the one with the lovely legs, that this painting inclusive of her even exists! She had a look at my portfolio page with the print of Apotheoun. She expressed all smiles, compliments and congratulations toward me, and was flattered to be such an inspiration. She will be informing her son, the other model, forthwith! Plans are in the works to show them both the real painting in person as well.

Best,

Garth

Congratulations, Garth! Truly deserved. My best wishes for you.

John

Congratulations Garth, what wonderful news! When will the notification of winners be?

Thanks so much John and Enzie!

The notification of winners ( I guess you mean those included in the exhibition) will come on March 15, 2006, just following the second, final round of jurying. The purpose of the second round, is to judge the semifinalist submissions in actual presence before the jury, so the quality, finish and contextual impact of the work can be experienced firsthand. The first round of jurying we just got through was by either submission of a slide or small digital image. The Smithsonian Institution is paying for the shipping of the original semifinalist's works to the National Portrait Gallery, and the judging will take place during that first or second week in March. The final show opens to the public on July 1, 2006. I bet that final selection will be interesting to see; I hope so!

Garth

Congrats to you, Garth! I'm not surprised in the least. You are an exceptional artist.

Jean

Well done Garth! They'll show themselves up to be crazy if they dont choose it. Its a real joy.

Garth !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! this is so deserving! I'm am so excited for you! What an accomplishment to have on your list!

Much Congratulations and I hope it brings greater things for you!
Linda

Oops! I'm not in the final cut.
 

Hi everyone!

I received the official email of decline for my painting, "Apotheoun" yesterday from the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition 2006. It congratulated me for being among the 100 semifinalists, and indicated that all the semifinalists were "ambitious and telling portraits", but in the end there was room for only half of them for the public exhibition that opens July 1. Oh well, that's a humbling letter to receive.

I sincerely want to thank everyone here for the overwhelming enthusiasm, support, and well wishes for the best possible outcome. You don't know how much your support has meant to me through this lengthy competition process!

It will be interesting to see what has been selected when the show opens at the National Portrait Gallery, in Washington, D.C. It will run through February 18, 2007. Among the reasons I am curious is there must be quite a number of fine, and highly accomplished artists that we don't know about yet. I personally have only just met one other semifinalist, leaving 98 others that are completely mysterious to me. Even the Portrait Society of America has not yet identified another semifinalist from their membership! So who are these yet to be unveiled portrait finalists?

As the other semifinalist I met wrote to me a week ago: "I am looking forward to this portrait show regardless of who is in it. The Brits do such an awesome job with their Ntl [sic] portrait gallery I am hoping this is the beginning of the US equivalent. ". I have to agree. I hope this initial American competition is the genesis of great ones to follow. At any rate, this national portrait painting competition will recycle every three years, with photography and other disciplines represented in between. We should all get another chance at this in 2008/2009.

Again, my sincere thanks and appreciation to everyone for all the incredible enthusistic support! For that, we all deservedly win together as a family!

Garth

Oh well, just being in the top 100 is a great honor, as I'm sure you know! It will be very interesting to see what is in their exhibition. Do you know when it opens?

I suspect they will be showing some very non-traditional stuff, since I think we know of a great many of the more traditional portrait and figurative artists in this country already.

Do you think the other finalists are not PSA members or just that the PSA isn't saying anything about them (for some unknown reason)?

I heard from a friend of a friend who has some "inside connections" with this competition (for whatever that's worth) that they're looking mostly for some pretty edgy stuff. We shall see!

Thanks Michele,

The show opens July 1, 2006.

Christine Egnoski did highlight me as an OBPC semifinalist in a recent email Portrait Society of America newsletter, asking all the membership to chime in if they are of semifinalist or better status. I have not seen other responses yet, so perhaps traditional portraiture is not the main thrust of this competition and show. I'll admit "Apotheoun" has limited "edginess".

Garth

Hi Garth,

I am sorry to hear that you did not make the finalist cut, but I am sure there will be many other shows that will continue to recognize the outstanding caliber of your work.

Well, let me be the first to say that they are just plain nuts. (Do you think that statement could hurt any future chance I might have? ;) )

I agree with Michele, I doubt there will be traditonal portrait work represented at all...unless it is a token one.

It is a terrific honor that you got as far as you did Garth, I am proud to know you!

I'll be in D.C. for a couple of days in August so I'll be sure and make a point to see it. Sorry the Apotheoun won't be among them, though!

You wrote that you felt this work doesn't have any "edginess" to it. I do think Apotheoun has a "thinking outside the box" approach, though. Its composition puts it on the cutting edge of what a "portrait" is, don't you think?