H.R. No. 1706
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Keith Carter of Beaumont has been named the 2009
Texas Medal of Arts honoree for Visual Arts by the Texas Cultural
Trust; and
WHEREAS, Born in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1948, Keith Carter
grew up in Beaumont, where his mother supported the family with a
portrait photography business operated out of a small home studio;
fascinated by the brilliance of light in one of his mother's prints,
Mr. Carter borrowed her camera and began learning about photography
from books and magazines; inspired by the work of Henri
Cartier-Bresson and Paul Strand, he experimented with form and
space as well as with the development process, and his "mistakes"
and their interesting results helped build his own printing
methodology; while honing his craft, he found path-changing
inspiration in a Mexican cemetery, where tattered streamers in a
tree took on a ghostlike symbolism in his viewfinder; he also
experienced a revelation when he heard playwright Horton Foote
speak at a film festival about the importance of belonging to a
"place"; newly inspired, Mr. Carter discovered the unique and
exotic in the familiar environs of Southeast Texas; and
WHEREAS, Today, this seminal artist is an internationally
recognized photographer who has been called "a poet of the
ordinary"; his haunting, enigmatic work has been widely exhibited
in the United States, Europe, and Latin America, and his
photographs are featured in numerous collections, including the Art
Institute of Chicago, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the
George Eastman House, the Museum of Fine Arts of Houston, and the
Wittliff Collection of Southwestern and Mexican Photography at
Texas State University; eight monographs of his black and white
photographs have been published, and he has earned two National
Endowment for the Arts Regional Survey Grants as well as the
Lange-Taylor Prize from the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke
University; his work has also been profiled on the national network
television show CBS Sunday Morning; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Carter holds the endowed Walles Chair in Fine
Arts at Lamar University in Beaumont, and he has been recognized
with that institution's highest teaching honor, the University
Professor Award; he has also been named the Lamar University
Distinguished Lecturer; and
WHEREAS, In all of his endeavors, Mr. Carter has benefited
from the love and encouragement of his wife, Patricia Royer Staton;
and
WHEREAS, Wholly dedicated to his art, Keith Carter has long
demonstrated a commitment to depicting the people and places of
Southeast Texas, and his eloquent and evocative photographs have
contributed immeasurably to the rich cultural tapestry of the Lone
Star State; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas
Legislature hereby congratulate Keith Carter on his receipt of a
2009 Texas Medal of Arts and extend to him sincere best wishes for
continued success; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for Mr. Carter as an expression of high regard by the Texas
House of Representatives.
Deshotel
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 1706 was adopted by the House on May
7, 2009, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House