November 2013 N E W S L E T T E R In Viewpoint’s Main Gallery David Ashcraft, Jimmy Fike, and Magnus Stark The Order of Things November 6 to December 7 Members Reception: November 8, 5:30 - 8:30 Magnus Stark, Younique David Ashcraft, untitled (from The California Coast) In November, Viewpoint’s main gallery features three photographers – David Ashcraft, Jimmy Fike, and Magnus Stark – who have very different approaches to making photographic art. David Ashcraft David Ashcraft is a Californian whose work fits comfor- tably in the tradition of West Coast photography. He studied with many of the iconic West Coast photogra- phers, including John Sexton, Richard Garrod, Alan Ross, and Henry Gilpin. His subject matter centers on continued on page 2 Jimmy Fike, Dandelion Viewpoint Photographic Art Center • 2015 J Street, Sacramento, CA 95811 • 916-441-2341 • www.viewpointgallery.org Gallery Hours • Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: 12 to 6 p.m. • Friday, Saturday: 12 to 5 p.m. • Sunday, Monday: Closed November 2013 Page 2 N E W S L E T T E R The Order of Things, continued from page 1 the hallowed West Cost themes of the natural land- scape, closely observed details, and abstractions. His concerns are with beauty and personal expression. “For me, the creation of art is a form of active meditation and the making clear or known of what is inside of me,” he writes. “Art gives birth and expression to the emo- tions and feelings inside that I cannot express through other means. I find it helps me to explore and discover the mysteries of the universe and to create my own mysteries. It gives a depth to life that I would not other- wise experience and enjoy.” Ashcraft's photographs are created using film cameras. The film is scanned and digitally processed; then digital negatives are created and used to make contact prints on art paper hand-coated with platinum/palladium solutions. Ashcraft moved to Oakhurst, California, in 1985, and began photographing the southern Yosemite Sierra. He has remained in Oakhurst, opening the David Ashcraft David Ashcraft, untitled (from The Sierra Nevada) Gallery there in 1999. He has exhibited frequently, especially in the Central Valley. His photographs have appeared in major magazines, and are held in many public and private collections around the world. His website is davidashcraft.com. Jimmy Fike Jimmy Fike's exhibit comprises selections from his series, J.W. Fike's Photographic Survey of the Wild Edible Botanicals of the North American Continent. “Within my system,” Fike explains, “the plant is excavated, arranged in the studio, photographed, then illustrated digitally in such a way as to render the edible parts in color while the remaining parts, less emphatically, read as photo- grams. The plants in these images hover above an infinitely black space, referencing contact prints of botanical specimens from the dawn of photography.” The photographs “serve as archive and guide for an uncertain ecological future…. These edible plants grow all around us, in yards, alleys, ditches, and empty lots. Each testifies to our symbiotic evolution with all of life, and functions as both poetic metaphor and concrete proof of our intimate tether to the natural world.” continued on page 3 Jimmy Fike, Indian Paintbrush November 2013 Page 3 N E W S L E T T E R The Order of Things, continued from page 2 Jimmy Fike was born in Birmingham, Ala- bama, and earned BA in Art followed by an MFA in Photography from the Cranbrook Academy of Art. He has taught art at Wake Forest and Ohio Universities and is currently an Art Faculty Member at Estrella Mountain College in Phoenix, Arizona. His photogra- phic work endeavors to find creative, con- temporary ways to approach landscape by incorporating place, identity, ecology, and mythology. His website is jimfike.com. Magnus Stark Magnus Stark, who was born in Sweden and resides in Bangor, Maine, makes film-based images without using a camera. “Like a chemist in a lab, I experiment with the raw film by sometimes treating it with a variety of common organic substances, before exposing it to extreme elements. What happens to film if you pop it in the microwave? Submerge it in a hot tub? Stick it in the freezer? And what happens if you do that for an hour, a week, a month or a year?” The goal is to create “something new ... something I have not Magnus Stark, No Map To Follow seen before; something which surprises me. I seek to create images which have the power Duane Michals. After moving to California, he worked to provoke and therefore illuminate the his way through various photography-related jobs to a unknown, the esoteric.” career in architectural photography. His workhas been exhibited throughout the U.S. and Europe, and pub- Stark says that after processing the film, “I lished in several major photography magazines. He now witness the extraordinary: the black and white lives in Bangor, Maine. His website is magnusstark.net. film has picked up color – astonishing color. And … it seems to have captured an image. Perhaps that image was there always, lying dormant until this very moment. Per-haps it was waiting to be awoken, waiting to be dis- covered. Or perhaps it is not there at all.” He then scans and digitally processes the images and makes archival inkjet prints, some in selenium-brown tones and some in full color. Born in Sweden, Magnus Stark moved to the U.S. in 1985. Growing up in Sweden, he was given a plastic Diana camera and instruction in his father's darkroom, and took inspiration from a wide range of sources, including Ingmar Bergman films, Edward Weston, and Chris Fraser, Passing 1 (from Wider Circles exhibit; see page 5) November 2013 Page 4 N E W S L E T T E R Volunteers Urgently Needed! Viewpoint Calendar Viewpoint urgently needs volunteers to fill November several open positions. If you think might be able to fill any of these needs, or would like Print Night, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 7 p.m. more information about these or other volun- Members Reception, Friday, Nov. 8, 5:30 - 8:30 p.m. teer positions, please contact Jeff Redman at Workshop, Judy Yemma, Creating Custom Note Cards, [email protected]. Saturday, Nov. 9, 9 a.m. - noon ! The Workshop Committee needs a new Second Saturday Reception, Nov. 9, 5:30 - 9 p.m. Coordinator to lead Viewpoint's work- Workshop, David L. Robertson, Digital Printing and shop program. Post-Processing, Sunday, Nov. 10, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Board Meeting, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 7 p.m. ! The Auction Committee needs someone to log auction prints as they come in. Student Print Critique Night, László Bencze, Thursday, Nov. 14, 7 p.m. ! The Reception Crew, which provides Workshop, Terry Nathan, Principles of Composition, refreshments for receptions and other Saturday, Nov. 16, 9 a.m. - noon events, needs a new Coordinator. Art Review Afternoon, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2 - 4 p.m. ! Viewpoint needs a writer to produce press Portfolio Night, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 7 p.m. releases for exhibits and other events. Student Lecture, Pete Perez, Flash Photography, ! We currently have a critical need for two Thursday, Nov. 21, 7 p.m. docents on Tuesdays (contact docents@ viewpointgallery.org). December Print Night, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 7 p.m. Student Print Critique Night, Ric Hornor, Thursday, Dec. 5, 7 p.m. Field Trip, Aerospace Museum of California, Friday, Dec. 6, 1 p.m. Workshop, Terry Nathan, Reading and Critiquing Photographs, Saturday, Dec. 7, 9 a.m. - noon Board Meeting, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 7 p.m. Student Lecture, Lewis Kemper, A Photographer’s Journey, Thursday, Dec. 12, 7 p.m. Members Reception, Friday, Dec. 13, 5:30 - 8:30 p.m. Second Saturday Reception, Dec. 14, 5:30 - 9 p.m. Holiday Party and Print Exchange, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 6:30 p.m. All events at Viewpoint except Field Trip. For printing, there is a full-page calendar on the last page of this Newsletter. Tim Engle, Blackbird (from Wider Circles exhibit; see page 5) November 2013 Page 5 N E W S L E T T E R In the Step Up Gallery for November Rebecca Gregg and Former Students Wider Circles November 6 to December 7 Members Reception: November 8, 5:30 - 8:30 Study. Learn. Teach. Share. Take. Give. The ten photographers in Wider Circles studied at Sierra College and then expanded the circle outward, each making a life while Michael Kirby, Fire making a living in photography. The exhibit includes work by Tim Engle, Chris Fraser, Jeff Gros, Drew Herrmann, Michael Kirby, Gene Rodman, Jon Sadler, Daryl Stinch- field, Tee Taylor, Kathy Walker, and Rebecca Gregg. Today they are studio owners, assis- tants, freelancers, commercial photographers, photojournalists, artists, and professors. The show is a small sample both of their work and of the professionals who are engaged in the dynamic lifelong process of being students of photography. Jeff Gros, Cafe Gene Rodman, Tempest Rebecca Gregg, Remnant 3 November 2013 Page 6 N E W S L E T T E R Student Program Art Review Afternoons Print critiques and lectures for high school and Art Review Afternoon sessions begin with a short presentation college students take place on Thursday eve- relating to the artistic aspects of photography. After the presen- nings, starting at 7 p.m. and ending by 9 p.m. tation, up to five members can show one print each for an in- depth discussion on the impressions of the works on the These events are free to all students.