Artist Lecture: Jeffery Allison and Kevin Morley

Last night, I had the please of attending a lecture by museum curator Jeffery Allison and photojournalist Kevin Morley. The lecture, held at the Richmond Times-Dispatch office downtown, the paper for which Morley works, was set up by John Henley, VCU's Business Practices professor. Jeffery Allison, whose works for the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) as the Paul Mellon Collection Educator, spoke first. He began with background information on himself and his career in the arts. He studied photography in school and showed us slides of his work. He also currently teaches the advanced photography class at the VMFA Studio School. He spoke a lot about the benefits of working for the museum and certainly made it seem like a fun and exciting place to spend one's days. He showed pictures of past events and spoke of the many things that are coming up in the future, like the overnight extravaganza the museum is planning when they finally reopen a section that has been undergoing renovations. One of my favorite things that Allison said was that working at a museum was like a never ending education. He goes to work and learns about art, past and present, everyday. Seems like a dream!



Kevin Morley, photojournalist on staff at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, spoke next. He began with a list of the positive aspects of being a staff photographer vs a freelance one. He referenced things such as regular hours, regular pay checks, free equipment, company car, never searching for something to photograph, etc., things that definitely seemed like major perks. But he then discussed a few of the negative aspects of the job, such as not having a say in the things one shoots no matter if they find it interesting or not. This is something that he is willing to deal with though as the majority of assignments he takes on are worthy of attention and the shots that he produces are creatively satisfying. He showed us a slide show of some of his favorite shots and there were so many that were beautiful, emotional, poignant, educational. As an art photographer, I sometimes forget how a journalistic or documentary approach to image making can be just as creative and meaningful. I also enjoying Morley's personal work: his children, who he calls the most photographed kids on the planet. With both of his children he took a picture of them everyday from the day of their birth through their first birthday. I admire that he doesn't leave his camera at his job, as many photographers do. He lives his passion inside the office and out.

All in all this was a great lecture. Both speakers were friendly and open and truly shared their passion for photography and their jobs with us. I feel grateful to have opportunities such as this one, to see successful and happy professionals within the arts. It truly inspires me to know that there are many options for professions within the art community.