April 1, 2011 (Raleigh, NC) – After working as a director, cameraman and advertising
writer for television commercials and print campaigns for two decades, Allen Weiss of Raleigh, NC, has gone back to his roots and reintroduce still photography to his career. As a result, he has launched a new website, Allen Weiss: Works on Film & Paper, at www.allen-weiss.com.
Weiss began his career as a professional photographer in Raleigh and New York. In New York, he studied under and worked for world-renowned portrait photographer Arnold Newman. In the early ‘90s, his career veered into directing and shooting television commercials throughout the US, Canada and Europe.
He was recently inspired to reconsider still photography when Lee Hansley of Lee Hansley Gallery in Raleigh asked him to mount an exhibition of the North Carolina artists’ portraits that Weiss originally shot in 1988. When the exhibition “Black & White/Color & Light: Photographs by Allen Weiss with Works by His Subjects,” opened in March, he made the decision to “put still photography back in the mix,” he said. (The exhibit runs through April.)
The new website includes a limited sampling of TV commercials and public service announcements, on film and video, that Weiss has shot and directed. The samples range from Southern States and the NC Symphony to the Bank of Belgium. A link to Vimeo lets visitors view more spots.
The site also showcases Weiss’ still photography, including the artists images in the Hansley Gallery show and other photographic portraits (including a rare image of Arnold Newman and Robert Doisneau mugging for the camera together), along with motorsport images he’s shown at L’art et L’automobile in New York City. He will be adding other types of still photography in the future, include architectural and interior design.
The site also features a link to Weiss’ new blog under “news & words.” Among other subjects he intends to cover, he has begun by discussing “the good, the bad, and the downright ugly” among TV commercials, he said. A recent post entitled “Can Doesn’t Equal Should” offers: “Ad folk who think their work will change the world as we know it, and directors who throw hissies on set, need a serious look inward. We’re selling shoes here, ladies and gentlemen. If you want to create art be an artist. Advertising is artistic commerce at its best.”
For more information and to see Weiss’ new website, go to www.allen-weiss.com.
About Allen Weiss:
After 15 years as a professional photographer in Raleigh and New York, Allen Weiss turned his attention towards short films, public service announcements and television commercials, both regionally and internationally. Recently, he launched Allen Weiss: Works on Film & Paper to offer still photography of all varieties, film and video (director, cameraman), and freelance writing/branding. For more information visit www.allen-weiss.com.
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