Posted on 07 August 2010.

– PALESTINE, IL – Over 100 professional and amateur photographs have the Palestine Art Center Main Gallery filled with a visual feast.
The 2010 Photography Show is the first annual and replaces the Crawford County Arts/Lincoln Trail College Photography Show held for nearly 5 years at LTC. Photographers from as far south as Newburgh, Indiana, north as Dennison, west to Effingham and east to Indianapolis, Indiana, brought their work for the show.
The show, with more than 100 entries ranging from all over Illinois and Indiana, will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily through Friday and from 5 to 8 p.m. on Thursday. Voting for the People’s Choice Award honor and money is open to the general public through Friday. Hours and show schedules may be seen at http://www.palestineartcenter.com
Doug Lawhead, former Robinson Daily News photographer who is now a technology instructor at Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, judged the show. Lawhead brings 23 years as a professional photographer to the task along with being a photo instructor. He had an April show of his current work of manipulating digital photos by adding photographed textures into subject photographs with computer software.
Best of Show and two first place honors were earned by Mitch Erwin of Olney.
Local first place winners include Danelle Hevron, Flat Rock, and Dana Hargrave, Robinson.
Other first place winners were Jim McMullen, Terre Haute, Indiana, and Todd Stokes of Dennison both taking 2 firsts each.
Local photographer Beth Rynke, Robinson, garnered 2nd place honors along with Jeff Waggoner, Indianapolis, Indiana; Jim McMullen, Terre Haute; Brent Michael, Newburgh, Indiana; Bob Reisling, Effingham; Spencer Young, Clinton, Indiana; and Harry Orr of Salem.
Honorable mention winners locally include Megan Ellis, Palestine, and Joe Trimble, Robinson.
Indiana artists getting honorable mention awards were Spencer Young from Clinton; Jim McMullen, Terre Haute; Jeff Waggoner of Indianapolis; and Rita Kent, Newburgh . Mitch Erwin, Olney; and Debbie Arning of Walnut Hill were Illinoisians earning honorable mention.
Lawhead remarked at the recent opening of the show that the show is an “incredible collection of excellent photos.” He said he chose award winners based on the different way their photos show they have viewed their subject. “I’m looking for a different way of seeing what everyone sees and for the expression of that in their photos.”
Lawhead has been a professional photographer at several commercial news organizations and has been taking pictures for most of his life.
The show is the first annual sponsored by the Palestine Art Center and the Palestine Development Association. Palestine photographer and artist Jim Ellis chaired the show at the Art Center.
A People’s Choice award will also be given to one photo and is still being voted on by visitors to the free show.
Access to the Palestine Art Center Main Gallery, 112 S. Main St., is available through the Main Street Bistro.
Palestine, located in southeastern Illinois along the Indiana border about 1 hour south of Terre Haute, IN, is one of the oldest towns in the state. The community celebrates its Bicentennial in 2011. Visit http://www.palestinebicentennial.com for more details regarding Illinois’ 1st bicentennial celebration.
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The Village Web works with several small businesses and organizations in the area helping to promote their companies, not-for-profits, and activities.
Posted in Entertainment
Posted on 05 August 2010.

– WHO: Barcode artist Scott Blake. His digital art, inspired by the Y2K computer crisis, started with circles, squares and tile patterns that morphed into lines and eventually became barcodes. Blake has created more than 30 large-scale digital portraits of cultural icons using actual UPC numbers connected to some aspect of their lives.
WHAT: Blake is entering his work into the second annual ArtPrize competition, which bestows the world’s largest art prize. He will be looking to edge out 1,712 other artists in competition, which begins September 22 at 6 p.m. at 192 venues throughout Downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan.
At ArtPrize, Blake will be exhibiting four of his barcode portraits at the Stache Gallery http://www.artprize.org/venues/public-profile/235, 120 South Division Ave., Studio 124. His Barcode Elvis http://www.barcodeart.com/Barcode_Elvis.html, Barcode Bruce Lee http://www.barcodeart.com/Bruce_Lee.html, Barcode Andy Warhol http://www.barcodeart.com/Andy_Warhol.html and Barcode Marilyn Monroe http://www.barcodeart.com/Marilyn_Monroe.html All will have barcode scanning interfaces that will allow patrons to interact with the portraits, including hearing music and viewing movies.
The “Barcode Elvis” portrait is made from barcodes from the singer’s music CDs. “Barcode Bruce Lee” and “Barcode Marilyn Monroe” are comprised of barcodes from DVDs of their movies. “Barcode Andy Warhol” features 2,160 barcodes from Campbell’s Soup cans, measures 8′ x 8′ and contains 829.4 megapixels.
In addition to international exhibitions, Blake’s art has been featured on ABC’s “World News Tonight,” Tech TV, Boing Boing TV, WFLA-TV (NBC), WFTS-TV (ABC), msnbc.com, Wired.com, and in Art Papers Magazine. His studio is located in Omaha, Nebraska; his art, a wide range of barcode art products and additional information can be found at
WHEN: Blake will be installing his portraits and will be available for interviews tomorrow, Sept. 21, beginning around noon and also on Sept. 22.
WHERE: Blake’s ArtPrize venue is the Stache Gallery , 120 South Division Ave., Studio 124, in Grand Rapids.
CONTACT: Scott Blake (402) 321-3485; or Jim Swope, (727) 744-4556;
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Posted in Entertainment