Viewpoint Exhibit History

When photography began its shift from chemical/metal-based processes to digital, Jeff Redman began to fear that manufacturers like Kodak and Ilford would stop making the common black and white papers he had used for decades. So, Jeff began to consider adopting one of the more “hand-made” processes that had been used in the early days of photography. After a bit of research he came to love the look of the few “carbon prints” he was able to see in museums and collections and began to seek information about the process.

A mutual friend introduced Jeff to Vaughn Hutchings, who kindly spend a day teaching him the basics of the carbon process. Under Vaughn’s tutelage Jeff made three very nice small prints that day. He went home and began trying to make carbon prints in his own environment. Jeff states that It would be almost four years before he made another “very nice small print”.

In Jeff’s ongoing efforts to make engaging, compelling, and beautiful images he has grown to love the “look” of carbon transfer prints. Their lush tonalities, their openness, and the surface “relief” they have that imparts a subtly three-dimensional “feel.”

Ann Mitchell is an artist who uses photography to explore space and place, actively en- gaged in creating worlds of poetic experience. After completing a BFA in Photography from Art Center College of Design, she worked as an award-winning advertising and edi- torial photographer for over a decade. She then returned to school to complete a MFA in Art from Claremont Graduate University. While there, in addition to producing her own work, she also curated several large art projects and has continued that commitment to community through the organizing of photo-related events. Shortly after graduation she joined the Art & Photography Department (now Visual and Media Arts) at Long Beach City College, where she has served as Chair and now as Digital Media Program Coordinator.

Ann Mitchell’s mother is a painter and her father was a film-maker. Over time, she’s come to realize that her photography...and her thoughts about the medium in general has been deeply influenced by both those artists. She’s always seen photography as an expressive medium that plays with the “real” but is not bound by it. She wants to create images that people can get lost in, that give the essence of a time or place in a way that speaks to the heart.

Typically, Gordon Reynolds does not preplan his photographs, nor does he work on projects, though he has several series that are constantly expanding. Mainly, he relies on luck, and a good bit of walking around. The subjects that interest him most are things from the man-made world, especially those that seem odd, mysterious, and/or timeless. While he has come to enjoy making photographs in the landscape it’s really the urban setting he most likes to explore.

These photographs were taken a week apart on two days in January, 2015. He has been to the area, Discovery Park, many times before and since, usually during the fall and winter months. On these two occasions the American River was low and flat with barely a ripple on the water, making a fine reflective surface. He felt like he was walking among finely preserved monuments from the past. They are hulking things, these pillars, and he wanted to capture a sense of serene ageless grandeur.

Claude Duplat has been a photographer all of his life. He owned The Black and White Photo Lab in Sacramento for twenty-five years (1979-2004). During that time, he had many photography shows. Always pushing limits with his photography, manipulating his photos with an artistic eye. After years of owning The Black and White Photo Lab and his own studio he experienced burnout and stepped away from photographic projects. However, in retirement he found his way back to his passion and love for photography.

In his 30’s (mid 1980-1990’s) he had multiple shows of his photography. During those years he also had photography in the KVIE Art Auction, the Crocker-Kingsley Art Completion and photographed art for the Crocker Art Museum. His last exhibition of his 4’x5’ black and white woven photos was 30 years ago at Chan Elliot Gallery in Sacramento, CA. Most recently, his work was exhibited at the Viewpoint Photographic Art Center and Blue Line Art. This one man show includes his current work pushing boundaries with photography and photos reflecting movement through daytime time exposures. Claude feels that he has come full circle; having created large woven photos in his darkroom, and now creating his images digitally at home in his lightroom.

Judith Monroe believes that we are often overstressed and too busy in our modern world, numbing our senses and making us feel disconnected. She sees the natural world we live in as an amazing place full of potential for refreshment and connection. As she goes through her daily routines, Judith endeavors to focus on the natural elements she encounters, whether taking a walk through nearby woods, walking her dogs in a local park, or stopping to view an insect. She collects natural objects, takes photographs and makes artworks to surround herself with the nature that energizes her. Judith finds solace and peace and reminders of her faith in nature. She says, “A breeze is God’s caress across my face, a leaf is a symbol for growth, a butterfly is a reminder of our potential for transformation into something better than we are today.”

Visual & Verbal is the theme of the 11th annual juried show, TWELVE. Visual & Verbal focuses on the relationship of words to pictures, specifically to photographs. These two realms, visual and verbal, come from different portions of our brains and obviously have different roles in communication. But they are partners. The exhibit Twelve: Visual & Verbal explores that complex and stimulating partnership. The photographic subject matter and methods are wide open, limitless. However, words should accompany photographic entries in one or both of the following ways:

1. The image contains whole or partial letters, words or numbers in any language as a design element. These textual elements might appear in the original photograph, such as a street signs, or may be added to the image, for example, handwritten or digitally applied text.
2. The title extends the meaning of the photograph.

Umbilicus is a creative response to motherhood and the transformative nature of the female body.  The spherical form that appears in my work references the womb, the first dark hollow we inhabit. The uterus can resist or allow potential candidates for occupancy. Once occupied, the long wait ensues, and then - the inevitable surrender. The cord will be cut, but the tether remains. There is a sense of biology in my work, where organic forms meet graphic elements.  These elements allude to the pull from the outside world - the man-made world, where straight lines come from.  Some images in the exhibition began as lumen prints, born in the sun. I enjoy the playfulness of objects on a wide array of papers and the reference to historic photographic methods. I shoot film and experiment quite a bit with alternative processes.  I like when outcomes cannot be predicted, and control is relinquished to the light.

Mircea Ouatu-Lascar finds great joy being outdoors to photograph nature, architecture and  occasionally people.  Although he likes to travel, Mircea enjoys very much photographing close to home, in our local parks and around town.

Looking through the viewfinder with the lens wide open the fences disappear, the subject comes close, and for a brief fraction of time the crowds also seem to disappear leaving the impression of an intimate ‘one-on-one’ moment. Bringing the viewer into the world of animals through his lens and his heart, Mircea advocates for wildlife conservation, care and education.  Perhaps a photograph can start a conversation, which leads to awareness that grows into compassion, which in turn motivates positive action.

Traveling was always part of her life, and when her husband’s occupation made it possible for them to live abroad, her travel photography opportunities expanded. Armed with her camera and a ready smile, Cecilia ventured out on her own to explore her new surroundings.

Since 2007, she has lived in Republic of Georgia, Egypt, Tajikistan, Macedonia, Ukraine, Moldova, Serbia, Kyrgyzstan, and in April 2019 a short return to North Macedonia (formerly known as Macedonia or the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM)). In total, she has set foot on all continents and made photographs in more than 78 countries plus Transnistria, a “country” that no other country recognizes.

In summer 2018, I began asking friends, family and other participants to choose a few objects that they live with and that are special in some way: sentimental, frequently used or just interesting looking. I tried not to give them too much direction so that the participant had total control over the objects to be photographed. I then shot the objects in the room in which they exist. The backgrounds remain consistent in that the object is on a solid surface with a blank wall behind but they change in color and texture due to the style of the room.  The photographs are put into grids based on common characteristics of the owners or the objects themselves.

My artistic practice has often involved the pairing of photographs. I find that image juxtapositions can both disrupt and stimulate the normal process of “reading” the images to extend, clarify or otherwise modify perceived meanings. Indeed, many photographers other than myself have experimented extensively with image pairings, including Ray Metzger, Nathan Lyons, and fellow Philadelphian James Abbott, to name just a few (Note that I consciously avoid the term “diptych” for these pairings because – as one of my art historian colleagues explained - a diptych is a continuous image in two parts, rather than a pairing of distinct images.)