We\u2019ve all seen how projects like the popular blog and book \u201cHumans of New York\u201d connect people through photography. Real people are seen through a new lens as they share their life experiences. Snapshots and text serve as a means to share universal truth through unique images.<\/p>\n San Diego artist and photographer, Jennifer G. Spencer, is adding a new photographic element to this conversation with the release of her new book \u201cTHE ARTIST PORTRAIT PROJECT: A PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMOIR OF PORTRAIT SESSIONS WITH SAN DIEGO ARTISTS,\u201d which will be released on July 12. The collection features James Watts and Dan Camp, well-known artists based in Downtown. Spencer\u2019s book launch event is July 19 at Warwick\u2019s La Jolla at 7:30 p.m., 7812 Girard Ave.<\/p>\n \u201cHave you ever imagined who was behind the art you see in a gallery?\u201d Spencer asks. \u201cWhen people go to a museum or art gallery, they see what artists have created, but rarely do when have a chance to see the person behind it all. Whenever I have the opportunity to meet artists and talk them about their inspiration, message, and challenges, my appreciation for their work deepens.\u201d<\/p>\n This is her goal in photographing these 50 well-known artists, she said. She hopes to share a new side of San Diego legends like Cindy Zimmerman, Jim Hubble, Anne Mudge and Philipp Scholz Rittermann.<\/p>\n Additionally, Spencer shares her notes from photography sessions that reveal the unique style, vulnerability and quirkiness of each artist.<\/p>\n It was challenging creating a portrait of a multi-dimensional artist like Jim Hubble, Spencer said.<\/p>\n During their portrait session, Spencer wondered,\u00a0\u201cWhich side of Jim should I portray? His sculpture side, his public art side, his drawing and design side?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe one thing that struck me about photos I\u2019d seen of Jim was that they were all taken from a distance, placing him in some nook or cranny so that you would visually discover him by accident,\u201d she continued. \u201cWhat caught my attention most about Jim is how he artistically expresses himself, not just with the finished product but with his forward-thinking ideas and plans.\u00a0Capturing him in a close-up looking forward, like a sea captain aboard a ship looking toward land, appealed to me as the way to portray Jim.\u201d<\/p>\n Already the book is getting buzz in San Diego\u2019s art scene.<\/p>\n \u201cJennifer Spencer has created a very moving, compassionate, and celebratory series of portraits of a generation of tenacious San Diego artists,\u201d said Hugh M. Davies, Ph.D. Director Emeritus of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego.<\/p>\n Veteran art critic Robert L. Pincus, who penned the introduction to the book, agrees.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can view and contemplate these portraits in the present tense, but they will likely have historical value as time passes,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n About the artist: Jennifer G. Spencer is a painter and photographer who creates images using alternative photographic processes and digital imagery. She served for 13 years as executive director for the Combined Organizations for the Visual Arts (COVA) in San Diego.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By SDCNN staff Downtown artists celebrated in new photography book We\u2019ve all seen how projects like the popular blog and book \u201cHumans of New York\u201d connect people through photography. Real people are seen through a new lens as they share their life experiences. Snapshots and text serve as a means to share universal truth through […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":837,"featured_media":240268,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"A local take on 'Humans of New York'","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11549,11547,11600],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-240267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-entertainment","category-features","category-sdnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/837"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240267"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240267\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/240268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"A](\"https:\/\/sandiegodowntownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Dan-Camp-e1528141964241.jpeg\")
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