#PowerofRural Spotlight: Rural Art Competition Winners
Throughout the Power of Rural spotlight series, we’ve asked our subjects what “the power of rural” means to them. The answers have varied greatly, but mostly have been about intangible qualities – the sense of pride, the spirit of unity, the comfort of traditions, the perseverance in the face of challenges.
But, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. So we turn our spotlight this week to the artists of the Palmetto State who strive to capture “the power of rural” in their artwork. The SC Office of Rural Health hosts an annual rural art contest. This year’s first-, second- and third-place winners captured the beauty, history and ordinary splendor of rural South Carolina.
Upstate photographer Jamie Baxley won first place for “The Road Less Traveled.” The panel of judges noted that it was “masterfully composed and captures many facets of rural South Carolina.”
“As a photographer, I often find myself winding down a backroad in a rural community in search of picturesque landscapes,” Baxley said. “These close-knit communities tend to have less traffic and an abundance of undeveloped land and farms which allow me to capture the essence of small-town life.”
The second-place award went to “Horse-drawn Funeral Hearse in Lone Star, South Carolina (Circa 1880),” a photograph by James Bradford, MD. Bradford is a former board chair at the SC Office of Rural Health, and donated his cash prize back to our programs.
Bradford was traveling the backroads from Columbia to Charleston on Highway 267 in January when he came upon this scene just outside of Lone Star and captured it with his camera.
“The gentlemen were awaiting the funeral home hearse from Vance, SC, to transfer the coffin to their hearse for transportation to the gravesite for the final burial,” he said.
The judges praised Bradford for capturing “a unique moment in history. We selected this because of the unique statement it makes about the present day as we cope with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in our rural communities. The paved road informs us that this is a contemporary image capturing a somber moment in a country setting. Very compelling.”
The third-place award was given to Pat Konicki for her painting “Forgotten.” The judges praised Pat’s “technical mastery of the painting and composition. The motif speaks to a uniquely rural combination of elements (country home in the background, weathered shed and run-down farm truck). Very finely executed.”
Konicki works in watercolor and colored pencil to offer a unique, detailed study of often-forgotten treasures found in the rural areas of North and South Carolina. Her challenge, she says, is to see beyond the distraction of the decayed, abandoned or dismissed and capture its splendor. Some of her subjects are quite ordinary, others less so.
“Rural living is rooted in history as a means of self-sufficiency. That attachment to the landscape provides a feeling of belonging and sense of purpose,” she said. “It is vital to ensure the preservation of the physical and cultural assets of rural communities. My objective is to express and enhance the beauty of that history, regardless of the condition.”
Baxley said that the “power of rural” is a sense of community pride and a slower pace of life that are easy to overlook.
“The residents in these rural communities are some of the absolute friendliest people who are willing to share their personal stories and experiences with you,” she said. “Sense of community pride, to me, is the most powerful aspect of living and visiting rural communities. I strive to capture moments in my photographs that evoke an emotional response from the viewer and … challenge them to take a drive down a backroad and see the intriguing communities that they have been passing by.”
