Gravy Studio and Eddi Jones Projects present the 20/20 Photo Festival Call for Entry show centered around a technology theme titled Before, During, After.  Curated by photographer and curator Travis Flack, the exhibit explores how experience is shaped by technology, and the particular ways in which tools, old and new, reflect the personal nature of image-making as a form of self expression. The show brings together a wide range of perspectives on old and new photographic technologies from emerging and established photographers from Philadelphia and beyond including Lucy Briggs, Jeff Brown, Eric DeJesus, Aimie Dukes, Julianna Foster, Stephanie Grant, Monica Hamilton, Kei Ito, Allan Kobernick, Garvin Kelly, Ariana Sanchez, Stephanie Schwiederek, Gordon Stillman, Joan Tortorici Ruppert, Ashima Yadava.

Travis reflects on the work submitted that shaped his curatorial vision for this theme:

Before I started looking at the work submitted for this show, I was reacquainted with this quote from Arthur C. Clarke: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”    I kept thinking about this when I saw the final images, thinking about what sufficiently advanced means. Are we there yet? For my grandparents' generation, an iphone was beyond their comprehension— a magic glass machine with no buttons that connected you to the world. It might as well have been alien. I remember showing them an LCD screen in 2003 and hypothesizing the future: “It won’t get much bigger than 3 Megapixels”.

During our lifetime we watched the medium of photography get pushed into exciting new places and change every year. And like Douglas Adams suggested, a lot of us made careers out of it. Some of us have thriving digital businesses that rely heavily on a streamlined approach to both image making and selling work. Because we are creatures who are influenced by what we learn, it is no wonder that sometimes our artistic practice can run parallel to this technology we are enamored with. A lot of the artists I talk to have a day job they excel at and a studio where they run wild. I think there is something really profound in the two different relationships we have when using technology for business and pleasure. Our passions can support our basic needs and nurture our creative souls. There is something beautiful in surrounding yourself with the different flavors of photography, and I believe this is echoed in the selections I have made.

After this experience I felt extremely lucky to be able to look at this swath of amazing work and read everyone’s stories. The main takeaway from this show for me was one of appreciation. To see how everyone’s work plays into one another really showcased the theme of how vast the idea of technology can truly be. While we might not know what sufficiently advanced will ever mean in our lifetime, the magic still remains. It is with humble gratitude that I thank everyone for participating in this open call.