I love natural light. The way light surrounds an object and continually alters its appearance throughout the cycle of a day always fascinates me. I believe photography realizes the true process of capturing the light at a specific moment in time. This philosophy drives my pursuit of light, and armed with just a three-shutter pinhole camera I am able to explore unique visions of the human form contrasted with organic elements in nature.
This type of lensless photography demands that I be more aware of the varying intensity of light. I spend many hours chasing light, constantly surveying the environment for the opportune moment when the paper negative can capture the optimal contrast of textures and tones. The risk of under or overexposing the paper negative is ever-present, so trial and error becomes the daily norm. Lacking any real form of control pinhole photography remains an unpredictable process. Every attempt is unique and many of my favorite images are “happy accidents”. Moreover, a darkroom is required to load and unload each paper negative. This limits my work area to the backyard of my studio.
While under the influence of the red light I never know how the image will turn out until I develop the paper negative. The mystery of this process still excites me, and I always enjoy the anticipation of seeing each image float onto the surface of the paper. Many times what I see emerge surprises me. The multi-shutter pinhole camera I built from a cookie tin captures the soft yet distorted portraits that reveal a phantasmagoria of shapes and forms. Using multiple exposures I change perception, creating wispy, surreal, and often dream like images.
Words cannot fully express my pleasure in producing ethereal images like the ones that appear on the paper before you.
There appears to be confusion when the viewer sees this recent series of photographs by Oklahoma photographer, Melanie Seward . . . . some of the imagery is clear while other images are not, some of the images are correctly displayed while other views are sideways or inverted. The portraits themselves seem out of place or out of character most of the time. What is she trying to say, might be an obvious question.
Ms. Seward has created these “portraits” in a primitive manner with a lensless camera made from a cookie tin. Although she has been photographing people and figures for over fifteen years, Ms. Seward continues to explore primitive sources for picture making. The resulting effort yields a more primal vision from both the conscience and subconscious mind. The images she creates therefore becomes the question for the viewer where the viewer determines the appropriate answer.
We are living in a society where rapid technological advances seem to be making our lives easier. Or are they? We can reach information overload while multitasking . . . making telephone calls from our car while driving, texting friends while we are at work, seeking advice during a date, game playing on the toilet, digesting news bites over dinner with friends, twittering, or any combination of the above. Ms. Seward’s photographs convey a sense of disturbance, of chaos, much like our overwrought lives. The viewer must pause (or at least those viewers who will make that commitment) to assess the images and determine their relevancy . . . why does a head appear to rest on a woodpile, are the finger distortions natural, and what is the idea of a portrait turned sideways? Do these images relate to one another?
Melanie Seward created most of these photographs in somewhat of a serendipitous manner. Although she understands the basic principles of making the images, she only has minor controls over this primitive camera from the curved film plane, a multiple pinhole lens, and of course, no viewfinder to see the image that is being made. She demonstrates a true love for the craft of picture-making.
Please slow down and take a moment to “see” what is contained in this body of work. It might just surprise you!
John Seward
Education: New York University, B.A. History of Art
Workshops:
2008 Lensless Photography with Tom Persinger, Oklahoma Fall Arts Institute
2008 Alternative Processes with Christopher James, Santa Fe Photographic workshop
2008 Journaling & Etching with Betsy Barnum, Untitled [Press]
2007 Solarplate printmaking with Deborah Riley, Untitled [Press]
2004 Solarplate, printmaking with the sun with Dan Weldon
2003 Studio Lighting and Digital workshop with Joyce Tenneson
2003 The Human Form with Connie Imboden, Santa Fe Photographic workshop
2001 and 2000 The figure with Greg Gorman, Tuscany photographic workshop
Photographic Exhibitions:
2006 “Oklahoma’s Collectable Young New Artists” JRB Art at the Elms, Juried, Oklahoma City, OK
2005 “Visions in the Flesh” MAINSITE Contemporary Art, Norman, OK
2005 “Seven State Exhibition, Biennial III” Juried, Chickasha and Lawton, OK
2005 “Momentum” Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition, Juried, Oklahoma City, OK
2004 “Perceptions of the Human Form and Holga Portraits” Individual Artists of
Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, OK
2004 ”Edge Art Now” Individual Artists of Oklahoma, Juried, Oklahoma City, OK
2004 “Fusion04, Cafe City Arts” City Arts Center, Invitational, Oklahoma City, OK
2004 “Krappy Kamera 6” Soho Photo, Juried, New York, NY
2002-2007 “Four Photographers: Four Visions” Untitled Gallery, Oklahoma City, OK
Northern Oklahoma College, Tonkawa, OK,
University Science and Arts of Oklahoma, Chickasha, OK
Leslie Powell Foundation and Gallery, Lawton, OK
2003 “An Enduring Spirit” photographs of persons in hospice care, City Arts Center, Oklahoma City, OK
2003 “Texas National” Stephen F. Austin State University, Juried, TX
2003 “Photography 2003” The Stage Gallery, Juried, New York
2003 “Momentum” Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition, Juried, Oklahoma City, OK
