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Glow: Paradise, Bird Of © 2006 by J R Compton. All Rights Reserved.
List of Exhibitions
This Page: Publications A Short History Exhibitions Photographs Published
Artist's Statement
When I don't make photographs, I forget who I am. When I am making, editing, producing and showing my images, I'm happy. It's not my job. It's my identity.
I learned photography at the University of Dallas, using Polaroid film in a 4 x 5 Speed Graphic. I was the campus photographer and later, editor of the school magazine. I was actually a professional photographer before I was an amateur.
I stayed with black & white as Staff Photographer at The Texas Catholic, The Dallas Times Herald, then underground newspapers Dallas NOTES and HOOKA, which I edited and published, and Texas Jazz, where I started out as photographer, did layout design, and eventually became co-publisher. I only gradually migrated to color film in the 1980s.
After watching friends in commercial photography get fed up and go on to other pursuits, I stayed with photography but skipped the commercial grind — and income. I have always worked for publications, now they are mostly online.
My first real camera was the Petri rangefinder I borrowed from a friend at UD, bought my own, then graduated to a Miranda single lens reflex in Viet Nam. At the Dallas Times Herald, I switched to Nikons.
My first digital camera was the black & white-only FotoMan in 1993. I kept shooting film till 1997, when I got a Kodak DC-50, essentially a point-and-shoot adequate for Web publishing.
In late 2001, I graduated to a 5-megapixel Sony F707 with more than 13 times the resolution of the Kodak, an LCD and a fabulous 5x f/2.0 zoom lens. The Sony substantially changed my photography, and I'm still learning how to use it.
In early 2006, I got a Nikon D200 digital single lens reflex, a serious professional camera with twice the resolution and many more advanced features, which I will probably spend the next five hears learning.
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Resumé Page
Exhibitions of Photographs by J R Compton
87 events since 1965
2008
An exhibition of my best bird photographs called The Amateur Birder's Journal: White Rock Lake Bird Photographs by J R Compton will show in the White Rock Lake Museum at the Bath House Cultural Center on White Rock Lake from January till mid-April.
2007
I was invited to participate in Salon du FIT (Festival of Independent Theatre) at the Bath House Cultural Center July 7 through August 4, 2007. Curator Rita Barnard chose my digital photographs, "Spiral Merriment" from my ongoing Home Still Lifes series and "Gnarly Red Flower."
"Dead Coot Soldier" was selected for the annual Outside The Lines competitive exhibition at the Bath House Cultural Center in May.
2006
Six of my photographs — all taken within four days of the opening were included in Big As Night, Too a DallasArtsRevue Member Show at 419 North Tyler as a part of Mighty Fine Arts' gallery's Big As Night II, October 28, 2006.
Fish Fight - copyright 2006 by
J R Compton. All Rights Reserved.My photograph "Fish Fight" was juried into the competitive 2006 Art in the Metroplex exhibition at Texas Christian University by San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Curator of Painting Janet Bishop, September 9 through October 7, 2006.
Two Glow Photographs: "Paradise, Bird Of" and "Red Flower Dying" were accepted into the Botanical Arts exhibition at the downtown Dallas Public Library's 4th Floor, Lillian M. Bradshaw Gallery from September 4 through September 30, 2006
I was invited to participate in the September 2006 Emergency Artists Survival League (EASL) fundraiser, Art Heist 2006 involving "150 Outstanding Regional Artists." My framed photograph there will be called "Glow," although I have no idea which photograph that will be, yet. They needed a title, and several of my current favorite photographs involve radiance.
I was invited to lead a Photographic Walking Tour of White Rock Lake from the Bath House Cultural Center as a part of their 30th Anniversary Celebrations in August, 2006.
J R Compton - Glow in the Dark
I was invited to participate in Salon du FIT (Festival of Independent Theatre) at the Bath House Cultural Center July 8 through August 5, 2006. Curators Gred Stinson and Rita Barnard chose my digital photograph, "Glow in the Dark" from my ongoing Home Still Lifes series.
I was invited to exhibit my photograph, "Yellow Daisy After Two Weeks" in Red and Yellow at North Lake College in Irving, Texas, May 11 through June 14, 2006.
2005
Selected by James Elaine, Hammer Projects Curaor at the UCLA Hammer Museum in Los Angeles to be included in the 2005 Art in the Metroplex exhibition at TCU September 10 through October 6, 2005.
Invited to exhibit one photograph in the White Rock Lake Artists Studio Tour Preview Show at The Bath House Cultural Center in September 2005
Invited to exhibit two photographs in The Salon du FIT 2 show at The Bath House Cultural Center in July 2005
Invited to exhibit one photograph in the inaugural art exhibition for the new White Rock Lake Museum September 9, 2004 through January, 2005
2004
Participant in the White Rock Lake Artists Studio Tour, in October 2004. See their web page for more information.
Invited to exhibit in The White Rock Lake Artists Studio Tour show at the Bath House Cultural Center September 10 through October 2, 2004
Donated a work to the EASL Fantasy Furnishings & Fetishes benefit auction in Fort Worth, August 20 - 29, 2004
In the Dallas Center for Contemporary Art (formerly D-Art) membership show through August 14, 2004.
Invited to exhibit in The Salon du FIT, curated by Rita Barnard and Greg Stinson at the Bath House Cultural Center, July 15 through August 7, 2004
The White Rock Lake Journal, a one-person show at The Bath House Cultural Center, in April, 2004
A 2-day, 1-person showing of very recent photographs for a show and tell of my life in An Evening with J R Compton upstairs at Paperbacks Plus in Dallas, March 28, 2004
Photographs that I shot in 1974, then published in The Austin Sun are featured in an online video segment about Austin artist Ken Featherston on Austin TV station KXAN-TV 36, 2004
2003
Excerpts from the wedding video I shot of my niece, Joyce Culbertson, were featured on the TV show Inside Edition's Wedding Bill Blues segment aired on Friday November 7, 2003
Juried into the 2003 Art In The Metroplex exhibition at TCU's Moudy Gallery September 6–26, 2003.
Invited to exhibit 2 photographs in Digital Visions Now curated by Paul Rogers Harris at Mountain View College's Art Hall Gallery, September 22 - October 10, 2003
City Views membership exhibition at The McKinney Avenue Contemporary August 2-31, 2003
Juried into the 2003 Outside The Lines competitive exhibition at The Bath House Cultural Center in Dallas, July 2003. Jurors were Paul Rogers Harris, Maria Teresa Garcia Pedroche and Kathleen Dello Stritto. I won second prize.
2002
Participated in and directed the first DallasArtsRevue Supporting Member exhibition, 1026 Tranquilla in a green, hilly Casa Linda neighborhood near White Rock Lake, December 6, 7 and 8, 2002
Picture Yourself Self-Portrait exhibition at The McKinney Avenue Contemporary, August, 2002
The 500X Open Show - May — June, 2002
2001
The Membership Show at Dallas Visual Arts Center in Dallas, November - December, 2001
Critic's Choice competition juried by Nasher Sculpture Center director Steve Nash at Dallas Visual Arts Center in Dallas, June - August, 2001
Out 500X’ Window - 2002
The 500X Open Show, open entry exhibition, summer 2000, spring, 2001, and summer 2002
2000
Richland College Computer Festival's Exquisite Corpse Exhibition - I was invited to do the "legs and feet" portion of a 3-part form, March-April 2000
1999
DigitalIsm - new collages were shown in an invitational exhibition curated by Bob Nunn at North Lake College in Irving, Texas, March 3-24, 1999
20 X 500, Invitational 20th anniversary exhibition at 500X Gallery, September/October 1998. The show traveled to Richland College, then the Waco Art Center in early 1999.
1997
Student Photography & Digital Imagery Competition at the Richland College Gallery, May 1997, while I was taking Photoshop classes there.
Digital Imaging: The New Frontier invitational, curated by Paul Rogers Harris at Richland College's Lakeside Gallery, February - March 1997
Paul Rogers Harris Collection curuated by Murray Smither at the Richland College gallery, February 1997
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1996
Critic's Choice competition at D-Art in Dallas, May 1996
Photo exhibition and literary reading at Paperbacks Plus in Dallas, October 1994 - October 1996
1994
Exquisite Corpse, an invitational exhibition at DARE's McKinney Avenue Contemporary, November 1994
1993
The DARE Membership Show at the Bath House Cultural Center in Dallas, August 1993
The Book Show, an invitational exhibition at Artisana Gallery in Deep Elm, July - August 1993
The Throne Show, an invitational exhibition at Artisana Gallery in Deep Elm, 1992-93
The D-Art Membership Show, Dallas, June 1993
Critic's Choice competition at D-Art in Dallas, two photographs selected, May 1993
1991
Vampirism in Personal Relationships, a national mail art exhibition at Gray Matters Gallery in Dallas, November - December, 1991
Allen Street Gallery's Last Third Sunday Exhibition at Trammell Crow Center, downtown Dallas, September 1991
Mosaic, an invitational exhibition comprising a community wall of 'spirit bundles' by Dallas artists curated by Mary Iron Eyes at D-Art, September 1991
Invited to submit a photograph-enhanced toy box for The Beaux Arts Ball invitational exhibition at the Dallas Museum of Art, April 1991
1990
Critic's Choice competition at D-Art in Dallas, three photographs among 44 works selected from 800 slides by Rick Brettell, Susan Barnes and Jeff Kelley, June - July, 1990
The Beaux Arts Ball invitational exhibition at the Dallas Museum of Art, May 1990
Stairs, Chairs & Fences at La Pagode Vietnamese restaurant on Bryan Street near downtown Dallas, January - March 1990
1989
The Wall Art & Graffiti Show at Allen Street Gallery, May - June, 1989
Invited to create a chair for the Dallas Museum of Art Beaux Arts Ball charity auction, via Peregrine Press. The chair was auctioned to raise funds to buy Texas art for the museum, April 1989.
Invited to exhibit work in The Self Portrait Invitational at Conduit Gallery, Dallas, Dec. 1988 - Jan. 1989
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main Resumé Page1988
Critic's Choice, competition at D-Art in Dallas, curated by Dallas-Fort Worth art critics Ann Jarmusch, Janet Tyson, Donald Dnaub and Rick Brettell, September - October 1988
The Alumni Show, invitational exhibition at Allen Street Gallery, September 1988
The First Third Sunday in Seven Years at Allen Street Gallery, July 1988
CityFest, invitational, curated by independent curator Paul Harris at CityPlace, May 1988
Visual Fiction, invitational at 4100 Gallery, May 1988
Participant in Alan Kaprow's Sweeping performance art, Deep Ellum and UTA, April 1988
1987
Three photos selected to the fifth annual Critic's Choice show at D-Art in Dallas, September - October 1987
Two photographs in the 14th Annual Spring Open Exhibition at Arco Tower, a competition judged by San Antonio Museum of Art Director Jim Edwards, April 1987
Dallas County Community College District Alumni Show, an invitational exhibition, and my interview was selected for a traveling video show promoting Dallas community colleges. Both were organized by Joy Poe at Brookhaven College in Farmers Branch, Texas, February - March 1987.
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main Resumé Page1986
The Madonna Show, an invitational at San Antonio Art Institute, December 1986
TFAA Annual at Laguna Gloria Museum in Austin, juried by Houston's Menil Collection director, Walter Hopps, November 1986 (traveling throughout 1987)
The TFAA Crescent Citation Show at the Crescent Galleries, Dallas, Oct. 1986
Critic's Choice at D-Art in Dallas, Sept. 1986
Art In the Metroplex judged by Peter Frank at TCU, Sept. 1986
Color! Annual of The Texas Photographic Society juried by Joel Myerowitz and exhibited at First City Plaza in Austin, Sept. 1986
Four photo-silk-screened plates in the Invitational Plate Show at Conduit Gallery (later shown at the Plaza of the Americas, downtown Dallas), April 1986
1985
Jurors Commendation, Art In the Metroplex at TCU, Ft. Worth, judged by Henry T. Hopkins, 1985
ArtWalk '85 showing at Robin Milsom Small Business Services during ArtWalk 85, April 1985
1984
A multimedia installation, "A Political History of Dallas, 1970-84," including slides and audio at Left Right The Political Show at 500X Gallery, 1984
1983
The Car Show at 500 Cafe, Dallas, 1983
One photograph accepted for the competitive Art In the Metroplex show at TCU in Fort Worth, 1983
Mary B's Barbecue on McKinney Avenue, in Dallas, one-man show, 1983
1982
The 500X Open Show at 500 Exhibition Gallery, 1982
Invitational Group Show at Brookhaven Community College, 1982
University of Texas at Dallas' Rock'n Roll Photography Show, 1982
The Red Horse Flying Show invitational, at D-Art, 1982
1965 - 1981
The Flying Red Horse Show invitational, at Dallas City Hall, 1981
Dallas Art III juried show at Dallas City Hall, 1980
Third Sunday group show at Allen St. Gallery, 1978
J R Compton and James D'Avignon, two-person show at the University of Dallas, 1965
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Photographs Published In
Grand Funk Railroad LP cover 1972
Associated Press, The Austin Sun, Buddy, The Commerce Citizen, The Commerce Journal, The Allen Street Gallery ContactSheet, Contemporary Keyboard, Crawdaddy, D-Magazine, Dallas Arts Revue, Dallas Magazine, The Dallas News, Dallas NOTES, The Dallas Observer, The Dallas Times Herald, Dallas-Fort Worth Home & Garden, The DARE Newsletter, Edinburg Daily Review, Entertainer, The ETSU East Texan, The ETSU Special, Exile on Main Street, Lakewood-Now.com, an album cover for Grand Funk Railroad (my photo was of Mel Farner in the floppy hat and pokadot shirt), HOOKA, Iconoclast, Instant Karma Comix, Jet, KERA-TV's One Night Stand, Life Magazine, The Milwaukee Bugle American, National Jazz Educator, Outlaw Times, The People's Voice, The (Austin) Rag, The Real Free Press (Amsterdam, Holland), River City Times (San Antonio); The Special Official Souvenir Program for the First Fifth International Armadillo Confab & Exposition in Victoria, Texas; Tennis, The Texas Catholic, Texas Monthly, Texas Observer, The Topeka Capitol Journal, Trinity River Messenger (Fort Worth), The Underground Press Syndicate, United Press International, The University of Dallas Shield and Women's Wear Daily
And in 2007, a cover photograph (of a piece from Joel Cooner Gallery here in Dallas) on the cover of Santa Monica, California's The Argonaut and four bird photographs in His own flight plan by Steve Blow about me in The Dallas Morning News July 13.
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