Joe P. Smith

Joe P. Smith FMIPP FSWPP FMPA ARPS AFIAP 
(Born 17.03.1959)
Joe P. Smith is a photographer and graphic artist absorbed in an artistic quest that comprises photography, the graphic media and painting and his recent works are often a combination of these.

Joe studied art and design in Malta and Florence, Italy where he was awarded scholarship in 1983.

He has been in photography since 1979. He is a member of the Malta Photographic Society of which he won the coveted Photographer of the Year Award in 1995 and also a Fellow of the Malta Institute of Professional Photographers.

 He is often called upon by both organisations to judge competitions and give lectures. In 1995 he was made Associate of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain and later Artist of the International Federation of Photographic Art.  In 2001 he was the first and only Maltese photographer to achieve Fellowship status of the Malta Institute of Professional Photographers.  In November of the same year he was also made Associate of the Master Photographers Association of the UK.  He has been responsible for the design of various logos of established companies, brochures, packaging and CD sleeves.
His preference is for monochrome photography especially those depicting the performing arts and his name has become synonymous with pictures of Jazz musicians who performed in the Malta Jazz Festival of which he has been the official photographer since the first edition in 1991. Many of his Jazz pictures can be found on the websites of renowned musicians who played in the Festival. 

An American website http://www.allaboutjazz.com  is hosting a different monthly exhibition of Smith's work .

He has also spent five years as the resident photographer of the experimental theatre group Politeatru

 between 1987 and 1993 with whom he travelled to Moscow in 1991 and staged an exhibition of theatrical photography at the Russian Federation Museum of Decorative, Applied and Folk Art.  He still uses conventional film for his work but this is then scanned and output digitally. 

In October 2002 he was awarded the prestigious Overseas Master Photographer award of the Master Photographers Association of the UK.

Joe has exhibited extensively locally and abroad and has had work published in various publications.  He is also frequently called upon to judge local and international competitions and also to lecture on the subject.

 Artist's address:

'Sentosa'
7, Carmelo Bugeja Street
Dingli RBT 14
Maltael: 
Tel: 00356 21450496 
Mobile: 9986 0986
email: joesmith@maltanet.net



 
 
 
 
 
 

Seeing Jazz
Fellowship application by Joe P Smith   FMIPP  AMPA  ARPS  AFIAP
  

The following are some thoughts about my jazz photography:
 

I have been shooting jazz since 1991 when I was commissioned to cover the first edition of the Malta International Jazz Festival.  I was already doing a good amount of theatrical photography at the time and was quite excited at the prospect of capturing on film some of the best exponents of my favourite music.

 My main objective is not just getting a good picture of the performers, but also to capture their individuality in their improvisations: the very essence of jazz.  

I look for the interaction of the musicians with their instruments and with the audience, their expressions, the effort, the moment of concentration even when they're not playing. 

The challenge and risk in making a new statement each time they take the stand exposes these artists to the danger and thrill of exploring new ground.

 Creative thought, feeling, and emotion exhort the artist to the limits, bringing out mood, expression, spontaneity and mental flexibility in the exhibitionism of the act itself.
   

I am moved by the verve and intensity that drives these artists towards their creative feats.  I do not see them as actors on a stage but as fellow artists whose acts reveal the pain of love.