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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Keith Carter of Beaumont has been named the 2009 |
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Texas Medal of Arts honoree for Visual Arts by the Texas Cultural |
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Trust; and |
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WHEREAS, Born in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1948, Keith Carter |
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grew up in Beaumont, where his mother supported the family with a |
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portrait photography business operated out of a small home studio; |
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fascinated by the brilliance of light in one of his mother's prints, |
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Mr. Carter borrowed her camera and began learning about photography |
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from books and magazines; inspired by the work of Henri |
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Cartier-Bresson and Paul Strand, he experimented with form and |
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space as well as with the development process, and his "mistakes" |
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and their interesting results helped build his own printing |
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methodology; while honing his craft, he found path-changing |
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inspiration in a Mexican cemetery, where tattered streamers in a |
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tree took on a ghostlike symbolism in his viewfinder; he also |
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experienced a revelation when he heard playwright Horton Foote |
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speak at a film festival about the importance of belonging to a |
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"place"; newly inspired, Mr. Carter discovered the unique and |
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exotic in the familiar environs of Southeast Texas; and |
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WHEREAS, Today, this seminal artist is an internationally |
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recognized photographer who has been called "a poet of the |
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ordinary"; his haunting, enigmatic work has been widely exhibited |
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in the United States, Europe, and Latin America, and his |
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photographs are featured in numerous collections, including the Art |
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Institute of Chicago, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the |
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George Eastman House, the Museum of Fine Arts of Houston, and the |
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Wittliff Collection of Southwestern and Mexican Photography at |
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Texas State University; eight monographs of his black and white |
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photographs have been published, and he has earned two National |
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Endowment for the Arts Regional Survey Grants as well as the |
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Lange-Taylor Prize from the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke |
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University; his work has also been profiled on the national network |
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television show, CBS Sunday Morning; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Carter holds the endowed Walles Chair in Fine |
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Arts at Lamar University in Beaumont, and he has been recognized |
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with that institution's highest teaching honor, the University |
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Professor Award; he has also been named the Lamar University |
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Distinguished Lecturer; and |
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WHEREAS, In all of his endeavors, Mr. Carter has benefited |
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from the love and encouragement of his wife, Patricia Royer Staton; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Wholly dedicated to his art, Keith Carter has long |
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demonstrated a commitment to depicting the people and places of |
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Southeast Texas, and his eloquent and evocative photographs have |
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contributed immeasurably to the rich cultural tapestry of the Lone |
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Star State; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas |
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Legislature hereby congratulate Keith Carter on his receipt of a |
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2009 Texas Medal of Arts and extend to him sincere best wishes for |
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continued success; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for Mr. Carter as an expression of high regard by the Texas |
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House of Representatives. |