Joaquín Palting

The Reward - Musings On Fall Semester 2024

12/13/2024

Reflecting on the last few months I worry about the state of the world, but more than that I am concerned about young people’s ability(inability) to effectively respond to the situation that we have left them. As someone who is a self-proclaimed “news junkie” I have spent a lot of my adult life with rapt attention on the continuous stream of unfolding political and social events and interactions. If there is one thing that is clear it is that in the context of my 55 years on the planet we seemingly have never experienced this degree of flux.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced humans to retreat into ourselves in ways that we seemingly still have not emerged from. It’s evident every day in the classroom when I see students incapable, and uninterested, in engaging with the outside world and each other. I think most disheartening is the overall lack of enthusiasm in anything that doesn’t directly affect them. In order to counter that I always let students know that beyond the mechanics of picture making, what I hope that they discover is something about themselves and their relationship to the world they live in.

Every semester I feel that some students embrace that message even if they never tell me directly. However, it is in the moments when I do hear from them that are the greatest gift, and the true reward of being a professor. This is a snippet of an email from a student who summarized her fall 2024 semester in this way,

“I just wanted to give a bigger thank you and tell you how much this class has meant to me. The first day of this semester I walked home crying because I felt so lost in my major, I had no direction with where I wanted to go in college or my career, and I felt hopeless. That day I dropped all of my classes and joined yours. When I sat in your class, the first day, I really resonated with your outlook and teaching, and I knew it was where I was meant to be. As the semester went on, I developed a true passion and love for photography. I really tried to put my heart and soul into everything I did for this class because I felt like I had found a new purpose.

Today I had a full circle moment as I walked home teary-eyed sad that it was over. I am now going to be taking two photography classes next semester, and with my change to interdisciplinary studies one of my focuses is now going to be art with an emphasis in photography.

Outside of music and other long term goals I have for myself, I really feel like photography is what I am meant to do. If it wasn't for you and your class, I would have never known this. You have absolutely changed me and my direction in life and I couldn't be more grateful. You are hands down the best professor I have ever had and this is by far the best class I have taken in my college career. I just wanted to let you know this, and thank you for the new direction I will be going in life due to this class. You have no idea how fulfilling it has been for me to find a new passion.”

These words give me a glimmer of hope for the future, and the motivation to carry on engaging with the world and others.

On a side note, this semester I also started a new ongoing project called A Stranger Paradise. In the photographs I look at the resilience of people of Mexican and indigenous descent who finds themselves adapting to the changes in landscape and culture of contemporary California. The cause of this, of course, being the projection of the social construct/experiment known as America.

Subject/Object Solo Exhibition

2/19/2024

I am very excited to announce a solo exhibition of my project Subject/Object at the Irene Carlson Gallery in La Verne, CA. The exhibition will run February 19th, 2024 to March 9, 2024. You can read the exhibition announcement here…

About the Exhibition

The Irene Carlson Gallery of Photography presents Joaquín Palting’s exhibition Subject / Object. Palting examines the subject / object relationship by means of a collection of landscape photographs. His abstractions, frequently disorienting, color images portray the inner chambers of caves in California, juxtaposed with expansive exterior images of the Pacific Ocean. The juxtapositions offer viewers an opportunity for contemplation. The images foster a nuanced exploration of the distinction between our subjective comprehension and objective reality. In Palting’s realm of perception, there exists a spectrum wherein these facets occasionally align harmoniously, yet at times, can remain disparate and incongruent.

Refugio Project in Two Group Shows This Fall

8/22/2022

I am so honored to have work from my project Refugio included in two group exhibitions this fall. The first is at the NSC gallery in Seattle, WA and is called, (a) relation of body to water. The second show is a faculty exhibition at the Irene Carlson Gallery of Photography on the campus of the University of La Verne.

Long Hot Fun Summer…

8/19/22

Fall is quickly approaching here in Southern California, but we are still stuck in the midst of the dog days. I had such a wonderful time this summer teaching workshops for the Los Angeles Center of Photography. First, was the teen program where I taught a wonderful group of South Los Angeles high schoolers (see photo) who were eager to learn about the photographic medium. With DSLRs in hand they scoured their school campus to find beautiful light and locations for portrait work.

Second, was a group of adult students who brought wonderful energy and enthusiasm to mastering the use of their cameras while also tapping into their creativity. It is always so nice to hear kind words regarding my classes. One of the adult students, Rebecca A., said,

“Joaquin is a rare teacher that not only offers technical guidance and challenges but also leaves space and provides inspiration for artists to be artists. I'm certain the skills I learned in this class could not have been taught nearly as effectively by any other teacher or self guided education. I now feel extremely confident that I have all the tools I need to master the fundamentals of shooting manually on a DSLR camera and am excited I can now effectively carry out my visions for future projects.”

It’s feedback like this that reminds me why I became an arts educator in the first place. The honor of passing on knowledge and inspiration to others is the greatest reward.

I Interviewed Stacy Kranitz For Float Magazine

02/16/2021

I feel very honored to have interviewed 2020 Guggenheim recipient, and fellow UC Irvine Alum, Stacy Kranitz for Float magazine. You can read the interview here.

Workshop Announcement

12/17/2020

I will have number of workshops and other classes that I am teaching coming up in early 2021. The first one that I am excited to announce is titled, Sea to Source - the San Diego River workshop, and is being offered through the wonderful organization Medium Photo. You can read more details, and register for the workshop, at Medium Photo’s website here.

PS I will be announcing a couple of special guest speakers soon as well so be on the look out for that information

Thesis Exhibition

12/10/2020

2020 has been a strange year. For those of us who graduated from art school that meant that our graduation exhibitions were more than likely cancelled or postponed. In my case it was the later, and I am happy to report that the dedicated faculty at UC Irvine were able to facilitate the solo shows of me and my MFA cohort. Although no one was technically allowed to see them it was none the less hugely gratifying.

I Interviewed Bryan Schutmaat For Float Magazine

11/30/2020

I was very honored to have interviewed Bryan Schutmaat, one of this years Guggenheim recipients for Float Magazine. You can read the interview on Float’s website here.

The Quest For A PhD Begins

7/1/2020

Out of the fire and into the frying pan :-) One thing that I learned in the three years of my MFA program at UC Irvine is that I have a great interest in cultural and critical theory. So…I thought to myself what better way to continue that learning than by applying to a PhD program which specializes in those subjects as well as continental philosophy. I am happy to say that I was accepted and, if all goes smoothly, will be completing my doctorate in June 2023.

MFA Completion!!!

6/13/2020

Well its official! My years as an anteater have come to a close. I graduated from the intense 3 year MFA program at UC Irvine. I even have the student loan debt to prove it!! I really appreciate all of the wonderful faculty and fellow students that I have had the opportunity to engage with here.