Artwork Contest
The theme for the 16th anniversary of the Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival was inspired by Damon Pla’s acrylic on canvas titled “Old Man and The Must See”.
“Old Man and The Must See” is based around the fascination of a combination of machines working together to serve one purpose, accentuating a journey, not a destination. In this case, emphasizing the work of the camera, not the subject being filmed.
When Damon started the drawing, he wanted to combine a gaggle of old cameras to create a new entity. While composing this shape, he often thought of the sounds it would make, the movements it would create, the functions of the reels giving life to this new being...like a beating heart. This made the creation process more organic. As he sketched out the camera, the idea of a fisherman above entered the stage and naturally helped pronounce the creature-like quality of the newly composed camera. Suddenly, the sounds, movement and functions presented a new fascination, now that the camera lived underwater.
For Damon, the connection between the fisherman and camera is similar to seeing an iceberg. Only a small fraction of the iceberg shows above water and the bottom is left up to the viewer to imagine the rest. He says, “Although we can see the camera just below the old man's boat, it is the imagination of the old man himself, not knowing what he is angling for, is the most intriguing.”
Born in South Florida, Damon Pla was drawn to express himself through art at an early age. Upon completing various portfolio classes in high school, his advanced drawing and painting skills led him to pursue commercial and private commissions soon after graduation. After a decade of large scale projects throughout Florida and neighboring regions, the largely self-taught artist moved to Delaware to absorb a different landscape.
Thank you Damon for bringing a new style of artistic creativity to this year’s Festival.
A special thanks to Beverly Andrion, Joanna Austin, David Burslem, Debra Folsom, Brenna Gause, Jane Knaus, Faith Lord, Peggy Paul, Claudia Ratner, and Cassie Walker for submitting wonderfully creative art for consideration.
Recognizing the significant population of talented artists living and working in southern coastal Delaware, in 2008 the Rehoboth Beach Film Society decided to engage the talents of the art community in a competitive submission process. Artists were asked to create an original piece of artwork with film and coastal Delaware in mind. The selected piece would then be integrated into the Festival theme for that year and featured in ten thousand programs, two thousand posters, hundreds of t-shirts, ads, and many other collateral materials.
The thought that involving local artists would add more meaning to the Festival artwork theme for film buffs and local residents proved to be so true. This process is not only a great opportunity for the Festival to benefit from local talents, it also provides unbeatable exposure for the chosen artist.
Now in its fifth year, the Art Submission Contest has become a regular tradition of the Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival. The overall creativity and quality of the submissions improve each year which makes the selection process very challenging, but also enjoyable. The Film Society appreciates the work from all submitting artists as each piece illustrates a very creative approach to connecting the theme of film with the coastal area.
Below we present this year’s featured artist as well as featured artists from previous years. If you are interested in participating, click here to read the artwork guidelines.
The deadline for submitting artwork for the 2013 Film Festival passed March 22. Artists interested in participating in this process for the 2014 Film Festival should email info@rehobothfilm.com for guidelines and due date.
Previous Featured Artists
2012: Laura Ambler
2011: Damon Pla
2010: Nina Stamus
2009: Batenga Obuseh
2008: Faith Lord
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