On my recent delivery trip – what we now call – The Search For Gas In The Carolinas – I got to see two exhibitions by Columbia, SC, area photographers. One of the exhibits was in Columbia and the other was in North Charleston, SC. Both exhibits fell into what seems to be a developing trend in photography – as least in recent exhibits I’ve seen – a move toward abstraction or near abstraction in the imagery offered. Both artists demonstrated that the camera is but a tool in the creative process – not a machine that takes pictures. The artist using the camera is the creative force.
Don’t get me wrong, I love straight photography, whether it be nature photography, portrait photography, journalistic photography, architectural photography, etc. Good photography takes skill and creativity. Otherwise anyone could do it. And believe me – everyone can’t.
With the invention of digital cameras and computer programs like Photoshop – photographic imagery can be manipulated in numerous ways – even creatively in some people’s hands, but they are only tools.
You can put a paintbrush in my hands and it is the same tool an artist uses, but the results will never be the same.
“Overflow” by Todd Oelze
While delivering papers in Columbia on a Sunday, I ran into an unexpected – open door – at Gallery 80808 at Vista Studios, at 808 Lady Street in the Vista. The exhibition was, Strokes of Light, featuring abstract photography by Todd Oelze (Blythewood, SC), on view from Sept. 26 – 30, 2008.
It’s not that I don’t read my own paper – I process a lot of information and usually by the time I’m delivering one paper, I’ve been working on the next month’s calendar of exhibitions. It’s hard to keep it all straight. What’s not a problem for me, but still seems to be for a lot of people in Columbia, is the fact that I know that Gallery 80808 is open when exhibits are taking place – even on the weekends. Not many galleries are open on Sunday in Columbia.
It was not too long ago that I did a review of another photography exhibit at the Saul Alexander Foundation Gallery at the main branch of the Charleston County Public Library in downtown Charleston, SC, It was abstract photography too. So here was another very interesting exhibit of more abstract photography.
“Cosmic Sneeze” by Todd Oelze
When I later checked the Vista Studios/Gallery 80808 web blog (http://www.gallery80808.blogspot.com/) I found this statement offered by Oelze. “Strokes of Light is a result of my recent endeavor to produce digital photographs that convey movement, while accentuating color and displaying the illusion of depth. I achieve this look by employing uncommon camera and lighting techniques, while keeping post-production effects to a minimum. My ultimate goal is to establish a recognizable style that I believe is extremely difficult to accomplish in photography. This collection of photographs is my first step in achieving this vision.”
I believe Oelze was very successful in pulling off his stated goal and look forward to seeing where his work goes in the future. I got him to send us a couple of images (another post exhibit review) and you can see more work on his website at (www.toddophotos.com).
My drive on Sunday started Saturday night and lasted well into the afternoon, but the short break in viewing Oelze’s works stayed with me a long time.
James Cheatum
On Monday, I was roaming from Calabash, NC, through Myrtle Beach and the Grand Strand, eventually making my way down the coast to Mt. Pleasant and Charleston, SC. Some of my last stops were in North Charleston where I ran into the exhibition, Lens Paintings, Flower Photography by Jim Cheatham, from Columbia, at the North Charleston City Gallery at the Charleston Area Convention Center Complex, 5001 Coliseum Drive. This exhibit started on Oct. 1 (put up just hours before I arrived there) and will be up through Oct. 31, 2008.
In this exhibit, the images were sort of straight photographs, but taken so close in that they were abstracts of the real thing. They are images of objects, in this case flowers, that can’t be seen by normal vision – well maybe if you get real close and squint your eyes.
In a handout offered at the exhibit, Cheatham offered the following statement about his work. “My photography of flowers attempts to give expression to what might be called the spiritual dimension present in all living things – to the reality ‘behind’ the reality. In doing so, I am not concerned with presenting images that are photographically ‘correct’, but images that are ‘painterly’ as well as beautiful from a textural standpoint. I also strive for a strong graphic quality. Particularly in the collage mosaics.”
The results is a presentation of “sort of” straight photographs of flowers with the abstraction being offered by the closeness to the subject. In the photography world this might be considered “macro” photography – using lenses which are designed to take crisp images – real close in on subjects, but focus in not a goal here by Cheatham – delivering that “painterly” look – which is soft and sensuous.
You can see more images of Cheatham’s at (www.lenspaintings.com), but the exhibit will still be up through Oct. – so you can go see this one.
Both results seen in both of these exhibitions are nothing new in photography, the techniques have been seen before, but these two artists are taking the techniques to different levels – using their cameras and subjects as just tools to achieve abstracted imagery which reach beyond traditional photography.
I know some people in the art community don’t respect photography too much – they think it’s easy. Photography is an evolving fine art medium. If you’re not threatened by it, you might be able to see the possibilities and recognize that in the hands of the right people it can be as creative as any art medium.
Keep an eye out for further exhibits by Todd Oelze and Jim Cheatham – I know I will.