DOCSLIB.ORG

Corvette Feature

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Corvette Feature 127B&WPointOfDeparture(12)Version4.qxp_BWM 33 DeDienes-Pg- 2/27/18 2:16 PM Page 1 Alternatives Point of Departure: Three Abstract Photographers Steven A. Heller Lyle Rexer’s The Edge of Vision is a comprehensive analysis of abstraction in photography that establishes a chronological basis for how the medium has succeeded in providing a glimpse of the “unseen seen.” As with most aspects of human advancement, every accomplishment and success has a precursor that can be identified as the inspiration—science, art, politics, education, reli- gion all have beginnings that lead to the present and beyond. In some circumstances these advances thetic hierarchy that positions one above the are considered heretical, subversive and out- other, because each is capable of things the sider. But viewed from an alternate view- other can’t do at all. Sometimes one picture point these same visual solutions are is equal to 30 pages of discourse, just as noteworthy in their progression of a technol- there are things images are completely inca- ogy that affords repeatable accidents, access pable of communicating.” And so “abstrac- to the subconscious, and entry points for tion” functions seamlessly as a noun, verb deeper conclusions to the ongoing question and adjective in pursuit of abandoning reality asked of the photographic image: “What is in place of ideas and emotions. it?” For Amanda Means, making abstract pho- Perhaps no other art form has been tographs “is full of mind twists.” For Ellen plagued by that question seeking an answer; Carey it is a “newer reality that is humbling it is part of the equation created by light sen- and soul crushing.” Ion Zupcu describes a sitizing silver. But abstraction in photography “bling-bling moment.” Each of these con- is not just a chemical playground in the dark- temporary photographers investigates room or a conscious act of throwing a sub- abstraction along the boundaries of represen- ject out of focus during a long exposure. tational imagery and continues a long journey Abstraction is a doorway into the rhetorical of visual history that has taken both evolu- conversation of what lies beyond representa- tionary and giant leaps from the medium’s tion of the world. There is mystery and magic 19th century pioneers. and illusion that asks the viewer to reconsid- er the ease with which one can answer the Ion Zupcu question: “What is it?” The more difficult it Ion Zupcu works from his home in may be to answer the question, the more it Hopewell Junction (a fitting name), located in is appreciated as an expression that may not upstate New York with his wife, Rodica. “My have ever been previously entertained. studio is a small room with two large win- American postmodern artist and Beat Gen- dows; a perfect setup, as all my images are eration writer William Burroughs stated: shot with natural light, where I wait for God’s “Visual art and writing don’t exist on an aes- light to help me complete an image.” 0 127B&WPointOfDeparture(12)Version4.qxp_BWM 33 DeDienes-Pg- 2/27/18 2:16 PM Page 2 March 6, 2004 March 8, 2004 March 2, 2006 0 127B&WPointOfDeparture(12)Version4.qxp_BWM 33 DeDienes-Pg- 2/27/18 2:16 PM Page 3 Zupcu’s fascination with architectural realm of objects that transform into other forms is shared with his daughter, with states of being. Alvin Langdon Coburn and whom he has a very close relationship. Their Paul Strand, both working in the early passion for architecture and design has been decades of the 20th century, used the cam- the seed for much of his work. “We visit era and objects together with light and shad- many architectural sites together and enjoy ow to create an abstraction of a modern ethic “I remember lengthy discussions about proportions, forces exemplified by the Industrial Revolution. And wishing that I within a space, shape and outlines.” Lotte Jacobi’s “photogenic” work in the late could remove Zupcu began his career in Romania as a 1940s is a delicious connection to Zupcu’s commercial studio photographer, primarily contemporary abstractions. rocks, branches concentrating on people and product. After a These paper constructions of Zupcu origi- and trees from visit to the International Center for Photogra- nate with the concept of abstraction as both the landscape. phy, “I realized that I was seeing forests, a verb and a noun. The process demands a water and cloudy skies in a similar way that reductive reasoning of a three-dimensional That’s when I Michael Kenna has explored. I remember object followed by manipulation into an illu- realized that I wishing that I could remove rocks, branches sion of space, light and shadow. The circular- needed to stage and trees from the landscape. That’s when I egg shape of “March 6, 2004” takes turns realized that I needed to stage my images.” morphing from an object with a core shadow my images.” Already inspired by modernists like Josef along the lower left front edge but then Ion Zupcu Sudek, Jan Groover and Paul Outerbridge, winds around to the top in a mistaken linear Zupcu began to integrate architectural pio- darkness that holds the form into the tight neers like Mies Van Der Rohe into his vision. compositional edges. It is the cast shadow of “That’s when my work turned a corner into a the form leading the eye out of the lower- neat and clear process of minimalism.” right frame that anchors the abstraction and There is a rich history of photographers completes the “emptiness with something” who have imagined the unimagined into a the viewer can identify. “March 8, 2004” reveals an extraordinary degree of mystery and magic with the astute simplicity of the compositional optical center. Soft edges of light and shadow are quietly compromised by the foreground focus on an almost imperceptible millimeter of paper- thickness form. The white background show- cases the architecture of balance and symmetry, while the luminescence of natural light reminds the viewer of Michael Kenna’s ocean waves transfigured into luxurious folds of fabric amid motion blurred by time. Zupcu takes the methodology a step fur- ther on “March 2, 2006,” as the pyramid no longer takes on an object of weight and sub- stance, but rather is realized as negative space held together by softened edges bare- ly touching the compositional edges. It is the apex of the triangle with its rich, deep-black shadow that truly cuts all ties with a spatial reality. Rexer in The Edge of Vision describes this new way of seeing reality with remarkable simplicity: “It is possible to see the world yet not understand what you are seeing, then, permanentIon Zupcu reference—especially within the having deciphered it, still not grasp its mean- 0 127B&WPointOfDeparture(12)Version4.qxp_BWM 33 DeDienes-Pg- 2/27/18 2:16 PM Page 4 Here Comes Andy Square Separation Unfinished Target 0 127B&WPointOfDeparture(12)Version4.qxp_BWM 33 DeDienes-Pg- 2/27/18 2:16 PM Page 5 ing (like a poem)—a profoundly unsettling “I began cutting, folding and crumpling experience.” paper, and then, in the darkroom, gave As Zupcu meanders the abstract highway, myself the freedom to let liquid chemicals he detours into territory of incomplete state- drip, splash and flow over the photographic ments that require the viewer to participate if paper,” she explains. A free-form visual one is to realize any answer. “Here Comes expression began to formulate into a strate- Andy,” “Square Separation” and “Unfinished gy for creating abstractions that “allowed Target”—grayscale departures from the the deepest, darkest tones to transition into “I seek to cre- white ambiguity of the “dated titled” the lightest, barely visible highlights.” The ate a sort of forms—discover a more concrete architec- technique was nothing short of darkroom ture that is equally void of meaning, purpose magic. perceptual or application. Gray backgrounds hold arcs, Means’ description of the process is in reverie—the straight lines and semicircles into a mystical itself a narrative of experimentation in pur- experience of mirror that offers back no reflections as the suit of abstraction. After very delicately scor- viewer now peers down into the forms from ing gelatin silver photographic paper and an elevated a bird’s eye vantage point. folding it into the shape of a fan, she expos- sense of visual es it in different directions at an angle to the awareness of an Amanda Means enlarging light before placing the paper into For nearly 50 years Amanda Means has the developer. “Then I slowly pull the paper object.” been married to traditional black-and-white out of the tray allowing the chemistry to Amanda Means photographic techniques in capturing flow, creating a myriad of different effects images and printing. For several years after depending upon how the paper is scored, moving to New York, Means printed for folded, exposed and ultimately manipulated Robert Mapplethorpe, Berenice Abbott, in the tray.” Petah Coyne and Roni Horn; an impressive Means is engaged in alchemical improvisa- client list, to say the least. It was during tion, and is passionate about this “mix of these years that she began experimenting controlled and spontaneous” imagery. Of with “camera-less, alternative approaches” particular importance has been a sharp to her photography projects. awareness of how positive and negative spaces interact in the composition. “Both are equally important in a picture and should be paid attention to equally.” She created a seemingly simple but com- plex exercise to refine this central supposi- tion by walking around the city with a sketch pad and training her vision on the “beautiful shapes that originated as negative space between things.” The quick brush drawings using black tempera and newsprint inspired not only an attachment to the flat paper sur- face, but more importantly, led to a deep understanding of the significance of negative space.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Carey Black Swans 2014
    On the Cover Ellen Carey Pulls with Mixed & Off-Set Pods, 2010 top • Polaroid 20 X 24 color positive prints • YRGB • 80”H x 22”W (80”H x 88”W overall unframed) bottom • Polaroid 20 X 24 color negatives prints • GBRY • 80”H x 22”W each (80”H x 88”W overall unframed) Collection of the artist Courtesy of Jayne H. Baum Gallery New York, NY All images contained in this publication are copyright © protected by Ellen Carey. Used with permission of the artist. Let There Be Light: The Black Swans of Ellen Carey January 9 – February 20, 2014 symbols and signs, which create and extend my art’s meaning. Introduction Visual structures and the ubiquitous codes of the circle (camera When we look at art, we try to find a connection to it. We go lens) and square (camera body) underscore my choice to practice through a series of internal inquiries based on images planted in our photography; my images act as mirrors and metaphors, their echo is minds from the very first time we picked up a crayon as small chil- timeless, found in my compositions. Parallel work emphasizes color, dren. We have been molded by our teachings through time to make that it has purpose and exists for a reason. Joyful feelings of creativ- careful selections that align with widely accepted social and cultural ity reflect a discipline where I dig deeper into color’s mother lode, justifications. Ellen Carey brings us back to that pre-molded juncture revisiting traditional terms, like “color processing,” in new ways.
    [Show full text]
  • EXHIBITIONS at 583 BROADWAY Linda Burgess Helen Oji Bruce Charlesworth James Poag Michael Cook Katherine Porter Languag�
    The New Museum of Contemporary Art New York TenthAnniversary 1977-1987 Library of Congress Calalogue Card Number: 87-42690 Copyright© 1987 The New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York. All Rights Reserved ISBN 0-915557-57-6 Plato's Cave, Remo Campopiano DESIGN: Victor Weaver, Ron Puhalsk.i'&? Associates, Inc. PRINTING: Prevton Offset Printing, Inc. INK: Harvey Brice, Superior Ink. PAPER: Sam Jablow, Marquardt and Co. 3 2 FROM THE PRESIDENT FROM THE DIRECTOR When Marcia Tu cker,our director,founded The New Museum of Contemporary Art, what were Perhaps the most important question The New Museum posed for itself at the beginning, ten the gambler's odds that it would live to celebrate its decennial? I think your average horse player would years ago, was "how can this museum be different?" In the ten years since, the answer to that question have made it a thirty-to-one shot. Marcia herself will, no doubt, dispute that statement, saying that it has changed, although the question has not. In 1977, contemporary art was altogether out of favor, and was the right idea at the right time in the right place, destined to succe�d. In any case, it did. And here it most of the major museums in the country had all but ceased innovative programming in that area. It is having its Te nth Anniversary. was a time when alternative spaces and institutes of contemporary art flourished: without them, the art And what are the odds that by now it would have its own premises, including capacious, of our own time might have.remained invisible in the not-for-profitcultural arena.
    [Show full text]
  • On Distance in Photographic Images
    https://theses.gla.ac.uk/ Theses Digitisation: https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/research/enlighten/theses/digitisation/ This is a digitised version of the original print thesis. Copyright and moral rights for this work are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This work cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Enlighten: Theses https://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] On Distance in Photographic images Susanne Ramsenthaler Presented in fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Submitted to the University of Glasgow Faculty of Arts December 2006 © Susanne Ramsenthaler 2006 ProQuest N um ber: 10390612 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10390612 Published by ProQuest LLO (2017). C o pyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code Microform Edition © ProQuest LLO.
    [Show full text]
  • CAREY Artworks 2008-14
    Ellen Carey Struck by Light (Photogram) and Photography Degree Zero (Polaroid) #1. Title: Dings & Shadows Date: 2014 Size: 24"H x 20"W (each) or 24"H x 100"W (each row) or 8’ft.H x 8’ft. 4"W (all) Medium: Color Photograms - Unique - 20 total Collection: Ellen Carey – The Artist Description: This large grid, a monumental installation (8' ft.H x 8' ft. 4"W) of photograms sees photographic color theory (RGB=YMC) as its contextual point-of-departure in palette, partnering it with a "split filter,” borrowing this reference to the special effects filter on a camera’s lens. These two concepts centerpiece light, photography's indexical. The medium has its own color theory, located in light, a unique characteristic. Color is universal, important to art and in nature light finds color through the rainbow, a distinct phenomenon equal to the one in photography. A color photogram begins the series of five, found in each row (of four), as: RG; then GB; to BY; then YM; ending as MC. The composition of each unique image purposely and seamlessly moves from one to the next, extending abstract form and spectral range. The edges connect to make another color composition, splitting again, between the two prints and support a fluid, linear progression of "off-frame" space. Collectively, once installed as a grid, this rectangular format (the camera body) is repeated from panel to panel, from row to row, seen as one monumental installation, that cascade from bright, luminous colors in saturated hues found in photographic color theory (RGB=YMC).
    [Show full text]
  • The Avant-Garde
    Studies in the Fine Arts: The Avant-Garde The Library of Professor Stephen C. Foster Professor Emeritus at the University of Iowa, former Director of the Fine Arts Dada Archive and Research Center, University of Iowa; General Editor of Crisis and the Arts: The History of Dada including The Library of Estera Milman Curator, University of Iowa Museum of Art, Founding Director of Alternative Traditions in the Contemporary Arts (ATCA) Project, Special Collections- University of Iowa Libraries 2,401 titles in circa 2,500 volumes Stephen Foster received his Ph.D. in Art History from The University of Pennsylvania and has been the recipient of honors and awards from The National Endowment for the Humanities, The National Endowment for the Arts, The Getty Grant Program, The Mellon Foundation, and The Smithsonian. Foster has served the field widely in reviewing the scholarship of his peers for The National Endowment of the Humanities, The National Endowment of the Arts and the Getty Post-Doctoral Grant Program. Additionally, he has administered and directed numerous fine arts and interdisciplinary programs of international scope; most notably, the University of Iowa’s Program for Modern Studies (with Estera Milman), widely respected as one of the best and most successful programs of its kind, the Corroborate (Intermedia Program), and The Dada Archive and Research Center, the largest American research center devoted to study in this field. As faculty involved in teaching and research at major art history programs from 1972 through 2001, Foster taught a full spectrum of twentieth century graduate courses and advanced seminars, and supervised numerous M.A.
    [Show full text]
  • Galerie Miranda Press Release Women in Colour
    press release WOMEN IN COLOUR Anna Atkins, Colour Photography and Those Struck by Light A group exhibition of colour photography based on original research by independent scholar Ellen Carey and featuring works by fourteen artists: Claire AHO, Merry ALPERN, Jo BRADFORD, Jo Ann CALLIS, Ellen CAREY, Patty CARROLL, Elinor CARUCCI, Susan DERGES, Sally GALL, Meghann RIEPENHOFF, Mariah ROBERTSON, Chloe SELLS, Brea SOUDERS, Nancy WILSON-PAJIC Vernissage Thursday 25 April at 6 pm Exhibition 26 April-15 June 2019 Ellen Carey will attend the closing of the exhibition on Saturday June 15 Flowers 1, 1950s Claire AHO 1 ABOUT THE EXHIBITION: Introduction: Ellen Carey's original research on the contributions of women photographers in colour/color started with Victorian Anna Atkins (1799-1871, England), who is also a pioneer in colour. Carey's thesis highlights the recent scientific discovery of tetrachromacy whereby women who carry this gene have four eye cones instead of three, allowing them to see more colours. The consequences of this discovery reframe the history visual arts. Women in Colour: Anna Atkins, Colour Photography and Those Struck by Light was first exhibited at Rubber Factory gallery (NY) in 2017, the Paris edition brings a European focus with works by fourteen artists: Claire Aho, Merry Alpern, Jo Bradford, Jo Ann Callis, Ellen Carey, Patty Carroll, Elinor Carucci, Susan Derges, Sally Gall, Meghann Riepenhoff, Mariah Robertson, Chloe Sells, Brea Souders, Nancy Wilson-Pajic. Curator's note: Research by Ellen Carey, guest curator and independant scholar, noted an absence that prompted the question: “Where would colour photography and women practitioners be without the work of Anna Atkins?" The British Victorian, Anna Atkins (1799-1871), was the first woman photographer, albeit camera-less, and the first in colour using the cyanotype, a method that yielded a Prussian blue.
    [Show full text]
  • ELLEN CAREY Education 1978 MFA State University of New York (SUNY
    ELLEN CAREY Education 1978 MFA State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo, NY (1976-1978) 1975 BFA Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI), MO (1971-1975) 1970 Art Students League, New York, NY (1970) One-Person Exhibitions: Ellen Carey 1976 – 2018 2018 Ellen Carey: Mirrors of Chance – la Photographie Expérimentale, Galerie Miranda, Paris, FR Dings, Pulls, and Shadows, Amon Carter Museum of American Art (ACMAA), Ft. Worth, TX John Rohrbach, Senior Curator; 200 Limited-Edition Book w/Carey Photogram/Essay 2017 Dings & Shadows, M+B, Los Angeles, CA; LA Times Review by Critic, Leah Ollman Hello…Again, TheaterWorks, Hartford, CT 2015 Ellen Carey:The Polaroid 20 X 24 ‘Self-Portraits’ 1984-1988, M+B, Los Angeles, CA 2014 Let There Be Light: The Blacks Swans of Ellen Carey, Akus Gallery, Eastern Connecticut State University (ECSU), Willimantic, CT; catalog/illustrations, Essay-Donna Flesicher-Poet 2012 Photography Degree Zero, Joseph Bellows Gallery, La Jolla, CA In Hamlet’s Shadow: Self-Portraits as Photo-Lithographs from 1987, Celeste LeWitt Gallery, UCONN Health Center, Storrs, CT Struck by Light, Nina Freudenheim Gallery, Buffalo, NY 2010 The Black Swans of Ellen Carey: Of Necessary Poetic Realities, West Hartford Art League, CT 2009 Struck by Light: Ellen Carey: Photogram Retrospective (1992-2009), St. Joseph University, CT 2008 Picture Nothing, Nina Freudenheim Gallery, Buffalo, NY 2007 Photography Degree Zero, Ibu Gallery, Palais Royale, Paris, FR Shadows & Pulls… A Short History, Diana Birdsall Gallery, Old Lyme, CT 2006 Moirés, Blinks,
    [Show full text]
  • Ellen Carey (B.1952 USA) Is an Educator, Independent Scholar
    Ellen Carey (b.1952 USA) is an educator, independent scholar, guest curator, photographer and lens-based artist, whose unique experimental work (1976-2015) spans several decades. Her early work Painted Self-Portraits (1978) were first exhibited at Hallwalls, an artists-run alternative space, home to the Buffalo avant-garde — Robert Longo and Cindy Sherman — and led to a group exhibit The Altered Image at PS 1, another avant-garde institution. The visionary curator, Linda Cathcart, of The Albright-Knox Art Gallery (AKAG) selected Carey’s work for this exhibition as well as The Heroic Figure which presented thirteen American artists for the São Paulo Biennale including Cindy Sherman, Nancy Dwyer, Julian Schnabel and David Salle, with portraits by Robert Mapplethorpe, for its South and North American tour (1984-1986). In 1983, The Polaroid Artists Support Program invited Carey to work at the Polaroid 20 X 24 Studio. Her Neo-Geo, post-psychedelic Self-Portraits (1984-87) were created, quickly followed by her stacked photo-installations Abstractions (1988-95). Her pioneering breakthrough the Pull (1996) and Rollback (1997) name her practice Photography Degree Zero (1996-2011). Here, she investigates minimal and abstract images with Polaroid instant technology partnered with her innovovative concepts, often using only light, photography’s indexical, or none, emphasizing zero. Her photogram work is cameraless; it parallels her Polaroid less-is-more aesthetic under her umbrella concept Struck by Light(1992-2015). Carey has worked in a variety of cameras and formats: Polaroid SX-70 and Polaroid PN film; black/white to color; 35mm, medium, and large format.
    [Show full text]
  • Nbmaa-Annual-Report-2015-2016.Pdf
    NBMAA NBMAA 2016 WINTER 2015 SUMMER NOR’EASTER: THE ART TODAY: 46TH ANNUAL JURIED MEMBERS EXHIBITION 2000–PRESENT ANDY WARHOL TO SALLY TOM YOST: MANN: THE COLLECTION A MODERN REALIST OF KEVIN MCNAMARA & NEW/NOW: KATJA CRAIG NOWAK LOHER: HOW CAN NEW/NOW: CLINTON WE COOL DOWN THE DECKERT GILDED SUNBEAMS? American Art New BritainMuseumof The concisewayofsaying NBMAA 2015-2016 NBMAA NBMAA ANNUAL REPORTANNUAL 2016 SPRING 2015 FALL CYCLE OF DIRECTOR’S FAVORITES: 1999–2015 LIFE IN PRINT: STONE ROBERTS: SALVADOR DALÍ STREET SCENES, STILL ERIC AHO: AN LIFES, AND FIGURES UNFINISHED POINT IN NEW/NOW: KATE O’DONOVAN COOK A VAST SURROUNDING ALL TIME FAVORITES OF NEW MEDIA: MAYA THE LOW ILLUSTRATION JEFFEREIS COLLECTION NBMAA ANNUAL REPORT CHAIRMAN’S & DIRECTOR’S REPORT 6 COLLECTIONS 10 EXHIBITIONS & INSTALLATIONS 22 MUSEUM PUBLICATIONS 24 EDUCATION PROGRAMS 26 VISITOR EXPERIENCES 32 FINANCE 34 DEVELOPMENT 38 MEMBERS 42 CORPORATE/INSTITUTIONAL/LIBRARY MEMBERS 52 DONORS TO MUSEUM OPERATIONS 54 ADDITIONAL DONATIONS & GIFTS 58 NBMAA FUNDS/ADDITIONS TO FUNDS/ HERITAGE SOCIETY 66 STAFF, TRUSTEES, ADVISORS 70 VOLUNTEERS 74 OUR THANKS TO NBMAA SUPPORTERS Jay and Lorraine Breummer Memorial Fund Director Emeritas Douglad Hyland with wife Tita Hyland, Museum Trustees and supporters Katherine Cox, Steve Girard, John Downes, Anita Ferrante, Bob Lesser, Katherine West, John Rathgaber, Donna Stout, Mayor Erin Stewart, Brendan Conry, Todd Stitzer, Steve Miller, Dave Jepson, Coleman Levy, and Barbara Bradbury Pape NBMAA CHAIRMAN’S & DIRECTOR’S REPORT 2016 marked a year of significant and dynamic transition that allows a richly informative approach to discovering for the New Britain Museum of American Art. In September, works from Colonial times through the 21st century.
    [Show full text]
  • Education ELLEN CAREY
    Education ELLEN CAREY 1978 MFA State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo, NY (1976-1978) 1975 BFA Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI), MO (1971-1975) 1970 Art Students League, New York, NY (1970) One-Person Exhibitions: Ellen Carey 1976 – 2015 2015 Ellen Carey:The Polaroid 20 X 24 ‘Self-Portraits’ 1984-1988, M+B, Los Angeles, CA 2014 Let There Be Light: The Blacks Swans of Ellen Carey, Akus Gallery, Eastern Connecticut State University (ECSU), Willimantic, CT (catalog/illustrations) 2012 Photography Degree Zero, Joseph Bellows Gallery, La Jolla, CA In Hamlet’s Shadow: Self-Portraits as Photo-Lithographs from 1987, Celeste LeWitt Gallery, UCONN Health Center, Storrs, CT Struck by Light, Nina Freudenheim Gallery, Buffalo, NY 2010 The Black Swans of Ellen Carey: Of Necessary Poetic Realities, West Hartford Art League, CT 2009 Struck by Light: Ellen Carey: Photogram Retrospective (1992-2009), St. Joseph University, WH, CT 2008 Picture Nothing, Nina Freudenheim Gallery, Buffalo, NY 2007 Photography Degree Zero, Ibu Gallery, Palais Royale, Paris, FR Shadows & Pulls… A Short History, Diana Birdsall Gallery, Old Lyme, CT 2006 Moirés, Blinks, Monochromes, Start & Stops, Mixes, Lyman Allyn Art Museum, New London, CT 2005 Moirés, Blinks, Monochromes, Start & Stops, Mixes, Nina Freudenheim Gallery, Buffalo, NY 2004 Photography Degree Zero/Matrix #153, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum, Hartford, CT (brochure) 2003 Photography Degree Zero, Katrina Traywick Gallery, Berkeley, CA Photography Degree Zero 1996 – 2003, Beacon Camera Club, Beacon, NY Mourning
    [Show full text]
  • Ellen Carey — Photography and Lens-Based Art: Introduction
    Ellen Carey — Photography and Lens-Based Art: Introduction Abstraction in photography and lens-based art presents a contradiction in terms, minimalism a further oxymoron. Well developed in the 20th century in other areas—Abstract Expressionism, Minimal and Conceptual Art — it is still emerging at the close of the first decade in the 21st century. It is here, in the early stages of modern and contemporary art that has roots in photography, that my work has a context. It is important to note these practices are largely based in America and fully aware of this legacy, their tenets are incorporated into my art practice. The American invention of Polaroid 20 X 24 camera/film compliments these breakthroughs in visual thinking with my discovery of the Pull in 1996, producing an abstract/minimal image that is simultaneously photographic/process; it fits under my umbrella concept Photography Degree Zero (1996-2018). Another legacy develops and continues under the photogram, a 19th century technique from the dawn of photography (1834) discovered by British inventor William Henry Fox Talbot (1800-1877); it parallels my Polaroid practice under the umbrella concept—Struck by Light (1992-2018). My art works contain aspects that are conceptually linked and informed through visual characteristics that highlight the properties of light; an outline-as-silhouette or the shadow-as-negative, seen in the object as form and metaphor, referencing this rich history. Formal issues of size and scale, in tandem with palette, create visual impact. The content- laden aspects of my work are weighed in — their echo is embedded and realized in my choices of method and material — acknowledging that these contain symbols and signs, creating and adding to my art’s meaning.
    [Show full text]