Alter Ego at the Nave

Clearly, I suck at blogging and will give any of y'all still checking in on this thing a serious update soon, but for now, I wanted to link over to the show Greer and I just curated at the Nave Gallery in Somerville. The opening is this Thursday from 7-9, and we'd love to see you there! We're super proud of this show and the artists involved. Also, fellow Clarkies Cade Overton and Sara Lawler are featured, as well as fellow Worcesterites Erica Sidor and Eric Nichols. We'd love to see you at the opening!


http://www.navegallery.org/nave/2009/alter.html


Please Join us for "Alter-Ego!"
An exhibition of images made with toy cameras and alternative photographic processes.

Curated by Bridget Kane and Greer Muldowney

May 2-21st
Opening Reception Thursday, May 7th 7-9PM.

Curators’ statement:
During times of change, there are always those who rebel. In the current era of digital media, many photographers are reaching for ways to create work that is relevant in the world today, but by using manual processes that have enriched photography since it's inception. Be it with taped up plastic toy cameras from the 1970s, to making their own pinhole cameras, to creating cyanotypes outside in the sun—these are not photographers who simply want to plug in their memory card and click away to create an image. There is a lot of trial and error, duct-tape and elbow grease in making each of these images.

Many alternative photographers live by the mantra “don’t think, just shoot”. There are minimal options and settings in the cameras, and much is is left to chance, intuition and happy accidents. The process takes on a life of its own--be it light leaks in the camera, one frame overlapping to the next, or variations in environment and chemistry-- the intentional loss of control over the medium gives the artist an ability to let go of what might be sacred, as what is being captured through these mediums many times is unknown until the film is processed. It is a balance of give and take between the artist and the medium.

These photographers portray work that is whimsical, nostalgic and engrossed in their respective mediums to create the work that has been chosen to display. With polaroid, cyanotype and other analogue techniques falling to the wayside in this digital age, we hope to celebrate these artists and their unique processes at the Nave.

Artists Displayed in Show:
Leslie Bastress
Heather Blakney
Kayla Brenes
Mark Richard Brown
Derrick Burbul
Myriah Leshea Douglas
Erica Frisk
Alice Grossman
Melissa Grutkosky
Ariel Kessler
Theresa Kelliher
Mary Kocol
Sarah Lawler
Cassandra Martin
Karen Molloy
Natasha Moustache
Dana Mueller
Denyse Murphy
Eric Nichols
O. Gustavo Plascenica
Cade Overton
Serrah Russell
Erika Sidor
Annie Smidt
Roberta Stone
David Strasburger
Andy Takats
Molly Van Nice
V Van Sant
Anne Zelle
Lexie Zippin
Shayna
Tricia
Janisha
Christina

Also, shout out to my girls Lili and Rebecca

Pretty much the loves of my life.  Lili has a blog and you can follow their adventures as up-and- coming Parisian artists who's faces I want to eat off.  I miss my girls like whoa.   GIMME SOME SUGAR.

Par l'odeur alleche

working on secret stuff

hi there.  working on some secret art stuff that i dont want to post here and incriminate myself, but had a great night going over some of this secret stuff with frank, stephen, rachel and eric last night.  will post next week.  PROMISE.

More from the neon graveyard

Hey all-

Just posting a bit cause its been a while. My tailbone is much better now! Some of these need more editing, but I thought I'd post anyways. Thanks for all the comments and love.

-B

sarahpalinsarahpalinomgsarahpalin

Hey all-

Sorry for the lack of posts.  I've been dealing with a broken tailbone for the past two weeks, and after spending my days sitting at my desk at work, its a literal pain in the ass to come home and sit some more, so I've been spending most of my evenings after work laid up on the couch watching TV with an ice pack and obsessing with the rest of the nation over Sarah Palin (who I've decided to be for Halloween this year!) and waiting for the Fall TV line-up to start.  I've done some scanning, but not much in terms of editing.  Bear with me folks, I haven't let go of this blogging thing yet!!!

xoxo, bridgie

Oh, and for the lulz, here's a gem I found on Perez Hilton:

Tuesday/Wednesday Post: The Neon Boneyard

These are a few in-progress images from the Neon Boneyard in Las Vegas. This place is a true gem- and for a kid like me, it was like Christmas morning the moment I entered through the gates. If you ever find yourself in Sin City, you should really make a stop here. The folks that run the place just have a great love for the history of their city, and the neon designs that shaped its past. It was hot as hell the morning I went there, I was sweating my mascara down my face as I shot, but I basically didn't stop shooting for the entire hour tour, and just hoped for the best. There are many more, but here are a few I liked. I haven't yet decided if I want to leave the dust or not, and I may or may not still be playing with color.

Thursday Post-Checking in.

Hey y'all. Not a good week to post. Have been doing some scanning, but nothing I'm ready to post yet. I'd rather not post than rush and post shit that isn't edited the way I'd like, i think. So that's where I'm at. This weekend I'm hoping to finally build that Zoetrope I started to play with for my thesis. Next week this blog should have some fun images from the Neon Boneyard in Las Vegas, among other things. Lots of love!

-B

Tuesday Post: Shooting my friends

Today I thought I'd post some photos of people. These are all fairly recent- most from the end of April. Also, I think I might change my deadline to Wednesday starting next week. Tuesdays are feeling rushed after the weekends, and I'm not giving this blog the care or attention it deserves, in terms of both my editing as well as the "blogging" part of blogging. Anyway, on to the photos....

Jeff on Moving Day

Just In Case...

Sarah and Cameron

Matt

Paul

An Inspirational Quote

"I believe entertainment can aspire to be art, and can become art, but if you set out to make art you're an idiot. " — Steve Martin

Tuesday Post: Ogallala, NE (in progress)

I've mostly been scanning since I picked up my film, but here are some images I'm playing with:

Tuesday Post: Some New, Some Old

Marlborough, MA- Last week.  this is where I've been getting gas on the way home from work, and I had to bring my camera one day to capture this gem.

Oh gee, more from the trip.  I'll be picking my negs up this weekend, so brace yourselves!







Some oldies taken from my roof deck in LA, 2006







Spencer, MA Early Spring 2008





This past weekend in New Hampshire.  Yeah, they're snapshotty, but I kinda like them.

Tuesday Post: Not posting tonight

Sorry folks, I had a root canal done today, and I'm too out of it to deal with blogging. I think this is okay cause i made 2 posts last week. More to come soon!

More from the Potash Road

Some Petroglyphs:





And a more recent inscription, just inches from the ancient ones:



A lizard making his own mark:



And just some moments in the sandstone that caught my eye:

Tuesday Post Continued

I thought I had uploaded this one, but apparently not:

Tuesday (ish) Post- a few from the road

So, its past midnight, but I gave myself this Tuesday as an optional posting day, so it's all good. The trip was everything I could've hoped for. Had a great time seeing friends in Cleveland, Chicago, and Colorado, family in Iowa, and everything else in between. Was an amazing adventure to have with my sister before she started her brand new life in Las Vegas as well. Didn't get to do as much shooting as I would've liked (My sister prefers the interstates, and this was her trip) but I shot a fair amount with my toy cameras (about 20 rolls which are over at Wheaton's getting processed as we speak), and even broke out the DSLR for a bit. I haven't used that thing in so long- it was fun but I'm rusty, for sure. This is also not really typical subject matter for me. In fact, I don't feel even justified photographing some of these places, but hell, I did it anyways. Here are some images from (and of) the road:

This one, taken for my boy Cade Overton:



My first attempt at HDR (please excuse the watermark from the program) at Arches:



A couple from the Potash Road (not Pot-Ass) on the way out of Moab, for Frank after his recommendation to drive it:




Some images driving into Arches, playing with cropping:

Leaving (for) Las Vegas

Thought I would post this test roll from the Savoy. Muchas Gracias to Frank and Erika for lending me some 620 reels to use in it. This is 400 film but I'm about to spool some 800 on them for the trip, and then sleep a bit before I hit the road. The lens on this thing is a lot wider than I expected, which is a good thing. K must sleep. Lots of love.

620 Spools

Hey y'all.

In preparation for my trip, I realized I want to take this sick little toy camera called a Savoy with me. Problem is, it takes 620 film. If any of you have some empty spools laying around that you're willing to part with for a week or so, let me know! I'll be your best friend!

-B

Tuesday Post- Photography I've been meaning to deal with but haven't till now.

Its sad when your friends live on the opposite coast from you, but great when its 4am and you need some photoshop advice, and your good friend Jonah (who happens to be a photoshop guru) is online and willing to send files back and forth trying to make an image work. I took this photo in New Orleans this past March, and have given up every time I've opened the file. Below is the before and after:

before:


after:


Jonah and I played with different filters (High Pass, Gaussian Blur, Despeckle), as well as messing with the color with the channel mixer and in levels. I don't think this image will ever be what I want it to be (the grains make me want to gouge my eyeballs out, among other things), but I'm starting to like it for what it is. Just thought I would post to see if anyone else would've gone about this differently (Aside from shooting it again!!!)

I have more from this trip and not all are as out of control as this one. I will make that a different post, as I have thoughts on my experience shooting on that trip that should be saved for that posting.

Below are some images I haven't edited or shared before, from a weekend photo trip I took to Upstate NY this past fall. I fell in love with this motel when I came upon it, and had a great interaction with the fellow that owned the place. His parents, who ran the place since forever ago, had both recently passed away. He came over to me as I was photographing, and told me he hadn't seen someone drive by and fall in love with the place the way I did in a long time, which made both of us feel good, but also sad because how could you pass by this gem and NOT stop?

I'm kind of into finding old phone booths before they all get trashed. I have another from this trip I will post in the near future.









same image as above, but with more red:


That is all for now! Oh! The next few weeks I will NOT be posting (unless we both get very lucky!) as I will be driving my sister to Las Vegas, her new home in the West!!! I'm really excited about shooting a million rolls on this trip! I return the night of the 11th, but start my new job on the 14th. There may or may not be a posting on the 15th, but there absolutely will be one on the 22nd. If I have anything relevant to share before then, I will do it here. xoxo!

Tuesday Post- A Hodgepodge of Random

So, I thought I'd make an effort to at least post SOMETHING here today, even though I allowed myself this week to start working before I posted. Its not much, but here are a few bits of randomness to keep yourselves occupied until next week.

1. The Robins.



This is the third year in a row that the robins have built a nest in the wreath by our front door. I've been taking really crappy photos of them with my cell phone, so today I broke out the DSLR to get some pics you could actually see. This is about as close as I could get to them, as Mommy and Daddy Robin are really into dive-bombing my head these days-I actually shot this through the screen door.

2. The Mail Art.



I'm know you all mostly know me as this wonderful, giving, considerate person, but really, I'm kind of an asshole. My Senior Thesis class started a Mail Art project last summer after graduation, and I have had it basically since then. When Stephen Albano caught news of this blog, he suggested I maybe pull that envelope out and get to work, and I liked that idea. There's a bunch of different steps and activities that go along with it, so here's a taste of what's to come, without giving too much away beforehand.

Other things on my mind with all this art stuff:

I have here a list next to my desk of things I want to work on. Maybe attack building that zoetrope again. Also some text work as well. Last week I started a linocut, but as we all know, I'm a horrible printmaker, but fuck it, i enjoy doing it. I may or may not be posting that when its done.

Okay, I think thats all for now. BAINOW

Welcome to my new and (hopefully) improved blog!

So, I've decided to return to this site under a new title and with a different intention. My goal is that each week, by Tuesday at midnight, I will post at least one thing creative-- be it photography, sculpture, mixed media, whatever is working for me at the time. In this past year out of school, I've found that I'm someone who needs a little accountability and a strict deadline in order to start a project, and this seems to be the easiest and best way to go forth with my creative endeavors. I have no rules for now really, just the deadline of Tuesday by Midnight- an homage to the Tuesday night critiques at Stephen's. (When I thought to come up with a day of the week to make it, it was the only one that made sense in my brain!). So enjoy. I'm not making myself post tomorrow, however I might just surprise myself and do it anyways.

Thanks for reading. I hope to have great conversations and critiques filled with candor and of course, the lulz.

Love,

Bridgie