Perhaps the most rebellious act of the fine art photographer is to choose to abandon sharpness as the holy grail of image-making. Camera manufacturers constantly assail us with the notion that their cameras and optics are “tack-sharp,” “pin-sharp’ and “razor-sharp.” But as any of us who have seen the movie Risky Business know, sometimes you just have to say “*@#$ it!” and get fast and loose with the focus ring; literally and figuratively! Going Blurry is a bit like going rogue — leaving the uptight suit and tie sharpness geeks behind to go upstate and work on a communal farm where optical correctness is a thing of the past, and soft focus, motion blur, visual smearing and a general sharpness-challenged culture of permissiveness is the order of the day! We’re not saying you won’t have some down days — the sharpness police always have their say after all. But at least when your Uncle Jim visits your gallery show, stares at your work quizzically and mumbles “Looks a little blurry!” you can proudly smile and declare “I know — thanks for noticing!”

This month at 1650 we embrace your smeared, stretched, soft and shaken side, so set that shutter long, twist that lens fully wide and crank that focus ring until it’s so wrong it feels just right. Join us as we let our hair down, leave our eyeglasses at home, go full loosey-goosey and enter the wonderful world of Blurry!

Approximately fifty works will be chosen from submitted photos to be included in the BLURRY group photography exhibition at 1650 Gallery in Los Angeles.