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| Matthew Brandt | |||
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Edges of Light: Explorations in the Photographic Process October 2-November 6, 2010 Curated by Christopher Nickel and Mark Eanes
In the current exhibition “Edges of Light”, on view at Arts Benicia from October 2nd through November 6th, a diverse range of artists have been brought together to examine how photography can exist outside the usual expectation of the medium. Co-curators Mark Eanes, associate professor at California College of the Arts (CCA), and Chris Nickel, director of CCA’s photo lab, have structured an exhibition that exposes the viewer to works of art that challenge existing ideas of what a photograph is, what it looks like, and what techniques and materials are possible in its creation. To most, defining a photograph is straightforward: a print or an image on a screen created through the use of a camera to capture a moment in time and space. For most photographers, the tools and materials of this discipline are simply a means to the end of making an image. However, a growing number of contemporary artists are exploring and experimenting with different tools and materials to create dynamic, innovative works that are pushing the boundaries of what defines a photograph. |
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| From the moment of its invention in 1837, photography has been the subject of continual experimentation at the hands of scientists, hobbyists, entrepreneurs, and artists eager to explore ways of creating images from captured light. Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, numerous photographic processes were invented, most of which barely survive as footnotes in the history of the medium. Further creative experimentation during the twentieth century included artists such as Man Ray and Lazlo Maholy-Nagy, whose images went far beyond the usual documentary approach. This chapter of innovation and experimentation carved a path followed by many of the artists included in this exhibition. In the works on view in “Edges of Light”, there are a number of distinct approaches taken by the artists, both in the materials and processes utilized, but also in the conceptual connection to photography as a whole. The images that bear the most resemblance to traditional photography are those using antique processes. In the Daguerreotypes made by Binh Danh and Eric Mertens, viewers come face to face with modern iterations of the first-ever viable photographic process. With their highly reflective surface and supernatural rendering of detail, these photographs display realism and a three dimensional quality that is unlike any other object. Stephen Berkman and Rachel Heath, on the other hand, create images using a wet plate collodion process that produces a uniquely distorted and specifically nineteenth century appearance. Through the use of these near-forgotten processes combined with contemporarily produced images, the artists play with a sense of anachronism to confuse and intrigue their audience. |
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| Brice Bischoff | |||||||||||||||
| In another approach, Chris McCaw and John Chiara are both using cameras and traditional photographic materials to create images, but again, the product of their efforts are unlike any typical photograph. While the end results are radically different, both start by using unusual cameras of their own design, then exposing their images directly onto photographic paper. McCaw uses this technique to create minimal black and white solarscapes by aiming his camera directly at the sun, often burning holes directly through the paper. Chira, on the other hand, creates shifted color landscapes that are at once familiar and foreign. In both cases, the object on the wall is an actual one-of-a-kind sheet of paper used to capture the image. Although the work at Arts Benicia represents a broad range of expression stylistically and conceptually, the common thread that unites this group of artists is the significance of process, and in most cases, chance and mystery. These images are not a product of a quick snap of the shutter (in fact, several of the images are made without a camera). Instead, the photographs are carefully crafted, and in certain cases, take hours to create and develop. In sum, the nature of the process itself is what distinguishes this exhibition from most photographic shows. |
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| The thirteen artists selected have carved out substantial careers and are represented by galleries and museums, nationally and internationally, including SFMOMA, NYMOMA and Hammer Museum, among others. Eight artists are from the Bay Area, four are from Los Angeles and one is from Philadelphia. The artists featured in Edges of Light are listed here in alphabetical order: Steven Berkman, Brice Bischoff, Matthew Brandt, Natalie Cheung, John Chiara, Binh Danh, Rachel Heath, Jason Kalogiros, Chris McCaw, Eric Mertens, Christine Nguyen, Maggie Preston, and John Roloff.Mark Eanes and Christopher Nickel | |||||||||||||||
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| Steven Berkman | |||||||||||||||
| EVENTS 2010EDGES OF LIGHT RECEPTION Saturday, October 9 – 6:00-9:00 PMEDGES OF LIGHT FAMILY DAY Kids have the opportunity to create amazing photographs of their own Sunday, October 10 – 1:00-3:00 PMSOUND WALK Led by Andrea Williams, with discussion following Sunday, October 10 – 4:00-6:00 PM EDGES OF LIGHT ARTISTS’ TALK WINDOWS OF SOUND |
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| Binh Danh | |||||||||||||||
Thank you to our generous sponsors:
Benicia Magazine • Umpqua Bank • PS Print
Donald Dean • Tim Rice • David Trumbull