Welcome to no. 64 in our series Poignant Pics, where our editor, Diana Nicholette Jeon, writes about “Self-Portrait with Murphy” by Gordon Stettinius.

The jury returned with a verdict of "Don't ask me, I wasn't there," and was excused.

― Brian Spellman

If you've been reading this feature for a while, know me in real life, or have interfaced with me long enough on social media, you probably know I am super serious about my art career, my art, and the work about which I write. I understand that some of you might think that all the seriousness might make me the proverbial dull girl. Still, I am somewhat funny and have a great sense of humor (once I have been around someone enough to feel comfortable expressing that side of me.)

Gordon Stettinius is one of those people. I'm not sure why, since I met him as a reviewer for my work at Photolucida in 2019. That's always a somewhat emotionally fraught thing for me. Since then, I have had frequent interactions with Gordon within Facebook and its groups and have grown to know him more. As was said in the Massachusetts town where I grew up, he has a 'wicked pissah' (fabulous) sense of humor. And a somewhat acerbic but incredibly and fascinatingly opinionated way with words. To give you an example, I unearthed this quote of his from the archive of his year 2000 exhibition at Blue Sky Gallery:

"More simply, I believe that bad hair is an issue of deeper significance than is generally believed and I am a lover of strange dreams and other conspicuous treats but finally, I generally resist the temptation of attempt to make my own beliefs understood because one lost soul is enough to have on my consciences should I be convincing and dreadfully wrong besides."

So what is the story in this image, entitled Self-Portrait with Murphy (1990), besides being a hilarious photo? In my version in my head, I doubted we would ever know. And that is part of what makes it great for me; it left me with more questions than answers: Was it empathy for the cat? Absurdity? Strictly a photo set up? Was Gordon having a bad hair day? Is the attire part of the setup? Is the (non-headdress) clothing his usual attire or an outfit chosen for the photo? Why is there money in the floral arrangement? Does he wear this "hat" often?

However, the humor and questions would not be enough to carry a bad or mediocre photograph with the same story. It may still make me laugh, but it needs the complete package to be a 'good photo.' It is well-composed, thoughtfully arranged, has good detail, and has excellent technical values. These, to my mind, are all part and parcel of it being wonderful as opposed to one-note.

If you enjoyed this photo, I urge you to look at Stettinius' other work. The mind-boggling personal transformations in the Mangini Studio series prove that he could have instead had a career in Hollywood had he chosen.

Bravo, Gordon! I look forward to seeing future creations you use to comment on the absurdity of American life.

(PS: Gordon gave me a statement for "Murphy" as requested, but I wanted to let you ponder my questions before reading it. If you click the image, his statement will appear as an image overlay.)

Artist Bio

Gordon Stettinius, based in Richmond, Virginia, has been an exhibiting artist and photographer for some thirty years.  Stettinius’ work can be found in numerous public and private collections, including the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the Telfair Museums, Capital One, the Mariners Museum, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art and more.  Stettinius’ collaboration with photographer Terry Brown, Mangini Studio, has been featured internationally in photography festivals, including Images Vevey in Switzerland and Les Rencontres d’Arles in France, as well as having received considerable coverage editorially in WIRED, AOL, ABC News, PDN and elsewhere.  The monograph, Mangini Studio, was published in 2017.

In 2010, Stettinius founded an independent publishing company, Candela Books, which has published monographs from Gita Lenz, Chris McCaw, Willie Anne Wright, Paul Thulin and others.  Candela’s most recent release is Dr. Falke’s ORACULUM by Nicholas Kahn and Richard Selesnick.

Stettinius founded Candela Gallery in 2011, with the mission being to bring notable photographers to Richmond, Virginia, in an effort to elevate the discourse around contemporary photography.  Candela produces 7-8 feature exhibitions a year; one or two book-related exhibitions each year; and one unbridled, free-for-all, group exhibition each summer.  This summer exhibition, Unbound!, has given rise to an annual celebration and/or boot stomp, which raises funds and acquires work from the annual exhibition for the Candela Collection, which Candela has promised will be donated, ultimately, to another permanent collection.

Candela Gallery has a community-minded mission, often presenting political, environmental, and/or subversive work, but their foundation is built upon an emphasis on the photographic object and its craft.  There are other plans in the works.

See more at: http://eyecaramba.com

Author Bio

Diana Nicholette Jeon is an award-winning artist based in Honolulu, HI, who works primarily with lens-based media. Her work has been seen both internationally and nationally in solo and group exhibitions. Jeon holds an MFA from UMBC.