ABOUT THE PROJECT
I'm not a collector of nostalgic or sentimental bric-a-brac. But when I saw a box full of 1950s era ceramic figurines
free for the taking,
I saw the potential for an interesting photographic exercise.
These are flashlight paintings, taken in the dark with the camera shutter held open using only short burst of light
from a small flashlight for exposure.
In some images I tried to create a sense of motion with multiple exposures. In others I tried to heighten the mood evoked by the piece by
combining the figurines with other objects.
HOW THE PROJECT CAME ABOUT
Although this gallery was first posted in July 2010, the images were actually
made in November 2007 and April 2008.
In the late fall of 2007 my friends Garry Pyles and Atticus Adams (both talented artists) bought an old
factory in Lawrenceville, which they converted into a high-end rental apartment as well as a loft/studio for themselves
and Garry's sons.
When Garry and Atticus closed on the property the place was floor to ceiling junk. Many, many dumpsters
of scrap metal were sold and countless more went to landfills.
Among the junk was a box full of ceremic figurines reflecting the 1950s nostalgia for the 1920s and 30s, wnich Garry and Atticus gladly parted with when
I described the ketchy
photographic project I had in mind.
Although I had finished with it and displayed a few small prints at an art booth or two,
I mostly gave up on the project. I used a few of the pictures to produce Christmas cards and then
largely forgot about it. Recently, I mentioned it to an artist/photographer friend, who encouraged
me to at least document it on this web site.
