| Craig Hall Gallery: March 18 - 22, 2024 |
 Chloe Taylor Exploring Hidden Textures and Elements |
 Benjamin Washington Disenchantment and Divinity |
| Chloe Taylor Exploring Hidden Textures and Elements This project, “Exploring Hidden Textures and Elements” investigates abstract photography with the use of long-established darkroom printing techniques. New surfaces are observed from an abstract perspective, utilizing black and white film. This allows for a closer study of the details and textures of everyday objects and architecture. This project is inspired by early abstract photographers such as Aaron Siskind and Man Ray. Both adopted a non-traditional approach to film photography, which allowed for an emphasis on textures and details in photographs of the early 20th century. This project observes the relationships between light, shadow, and form across various materials. The sense of texture given by these relationships assign age to the various materials being observed. This project honors the careers of Siskind and Ray, pioneers in abstract photography. It also provides a contemporary account of the philosophy of their work. Through these photos, we can unearth the true human experience, seen through details often overlooked in everyday life. |
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| Benjamin Washington Disenchantment and Divinity The call of the divine always seems strongest in distress. Our experiences of suffering force us to change and grow as a person. What is more holy than those moments when our reality is completely altered and completely shifted from what we once knew? By utilizing film photography and alternative darkroom methods, I will explore the beauty in those moments where we mourn the life that we had seconds before and the ethereal nature of the growth of a human soul that comes with that pain. I believe film is the best way to achieve my vision because of its analog and tangible nature. Light is the most fundamental way in which most people perceive reality and every negative is a chemical representation of the light in that moment. I will be altering negatives and developing effects in the darkroom to help me abstract the moment to show the things that cannot be seen in the light. |
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