PINHOLE DREAMS - ART 163 PINHOLE PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION

PINHOLE DREAMS
- an exhibition of pinhole photographs
organized by the students of the ART 163
Pinhole Photography class during the week
of April 17-21, 2006 in the Witt Gallery.


Diane Angel	Joe Armour	Lauri Brocchini	Karen Buckland



Mike DiSantis	Laura Edmisten	Emily Kelley	Adam Lindsey



Chris Lott	Matt McGregor	David Parrish	Arie Roberts



Matt Swanson	Hilda Wehe	Ernest Zarate

INTRODUCTION

Pinhole: A very small opening, or aperture, made with a sharp tool, such as a sewing needle.

Camera: A light-tight container, allowing the photographer to record images on light sensitive materials such as film, digital sensor or photographic paper.

Pinhole camera: A way to capture dreams and other alternate realities.

The photographs in this exhibition, organized by the students in Art 163, are all made using very low-tech cameras. Most of the cameras used - many on display in this exhibition - are handmade, one-of-a-kind cameras. They are made from a wide range of materials: foam core board, oatmeal boxes, PVC pipes, wood, tin cans, Legos, and whatever else the maker could make light tight. Some cameras are from readily available designs, some are modified traditional cameras, and others are wholly from the imagination of the maker. Additionally, some of the cameras use multiple pinholes, while others use slits or a series of concentric rings to let in light, rather than the traditional single pinhole.

Pinhole cameras all share some distinct characteristics. One of these characteristics is very long exposures - some as long as half an hour! This fact requires the photographer choose his or her subject matter carefully. While even the most consumer friendly camera on the market today may have shutter speeds of up to 1/1000 of a second - fast enough to stop speeding cars in their tracks - pinhole cameras would not be able to freeze a snail plodding along. This passage of time is an essential element of these photographs.

Unlike traditional cameras, which use glass or plastic lenses, pinhole cameras have only that – a hole. The very small hole, typically drilled in a thin sheet of metal, not only allows in light, it also creates an unlimited depth of field and depth of focus, something a glass or plastic lens cannot do. This requires the photographer to carefully consider the placement of the camera in relation to the subject.

A third characteristic of these cameras is that rarely do they have any type of viewfinder to select the exact framing of the photograph. This means there is a lot of “serendipity” involved. Once a likely subject matter is found and a suitable placement for the camera is decided upon, the photographer sets up the camera and makes the exposure. Then, he or she rushes back to the darkroom to process the film (or in many cases, photographic paper negative) to see exactly what was captured. Oftentimes the result is very different than what was imagined. The photograph is always surprising and many times more than expected.

All of these characteristics create a very distinctive type of photography compared to traditional methods and approaches. As the title of the exhibition suggests, you will find on these walls alternate realities and dreamscapes.

Introductory text by Ernest J. Zárate

Exhibition Poster designed by Laura Edmisten


Witt Gallery Entrance.

Witt Gallery Front Room.

Witt Gallery East Wall.
Arie Robert's Make-Up Case Double Double Slit Camera.
		Emily Kelley's Animal Crackers Box Pinhole Camera.

		Hilda Wehe's Girl Scout Cookie Box Pinhole Camera (left) and her Bronze Jewelry Pendant PInhole Camera.

		Adam Lindsey's ABS Black Pipe 4x5 Pinhole Camera with Interchangeable Lenses.



Witt Gallery Front and Back Rooms.		Witt Gallery Back Room.
Charlie McComish's Multi-Hole 8x10 Hat Box Pinhole Camera.
		Lauri Brocchini's Trash Can Pinhole Camera.
Four Pinhole Cameras by Karen Buckland.
		Emily Kelley's Whitman's Sampler Box Mulit-Hole PInhole Camera (upper left); Hilda Wehe's Black Bush Whiskey Container Pinhole Camera (upper right); David Parrish's Cardboard and Foam Core Multi-Hole 4x5 Pinhole Camera (lower left); Kathy Threet's Lego Dual Format 4x5 or 120mm Pinhole Camera (lower right.)



Karen Buckland's Pinhole Cameras and Prints.		Witt Gallery Back Room.

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