May 14, 2004

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Palo Alto Online

Everything old is new again

by Robyn Israel

S he calls herself "The Skeptic" and she beckons you forward with her sly expression. Beguiling and bewitching, you can't help but be drawn to her aristocratic face, which is partially hidden by a decorative hand-held mirror.

Her bluish-green left eye is the most captivating, staring at you no matter where you stand in the room. Several seconds later, you catch sight of her right eye, which is temporarily obscured by the mirror.

It's the kind of image you might see on the cover of a mystery book set in 19th century Europe. Though it looks like an old watercolor, it is actually a contemporary photograph that has been artistically enhanced, using a technique that dates back to 1873.

Rajul Iyer's image is one of nearly 50 works that will be on display through May 26 at Keeble & Shuchat Photography in Palo Alto. The exhibition, entitled "Expressive Images -- Intimate Photography," is comprised of images that exemplify contemporary pictorialism, a classic style that regards photography as a means of personal and artistic expression.

"I think that's what's appealing about pictorialism -- you can put more of yourself in the picture," said Jim Flack, the exhibit's organizer and the president of the New Pictorialist Society. "You look at 'The Skeptic' and she's so intimate with her subject."

Store owner Terry Shuchat had never even heard of the New Pictorialist Society until Flack approached the gallery a couple years ago. This show is part of Flack's ongoing efforts to revive the society, which was first established in 1969 but whose popularity has been on the decline since the 1980s.

'I'd like it to be active and functioning again, to be a resource for photographers to share their ideas and become more involved with this as a style," Flack said.

This exhibition -- culled from photographers in Canada, the United States and Belgium -- is a rarity for the group. In its heyday, the New Pictorialist Society would shun galleries, as members would simply mail each other works for viewing purposes. But these traveling shows eventually became cost-prohibitive, and the exchanges ceased.

The mission of the New Pictorialist Society dates to the turn of the century, when Alfred Stieglitz and others endeavored to have photography be more than a tool to capture visual records; they thought it could also be used by artists to express emotions and ideas.

"They tried to create pictures you'd hang on the wall," Flack said. They believed these works could be beautiful, sensitive and poetic."

From the 1890s until about 1940, pictorialism dominated the photographic art world. The early artists loved the processes -- platinum, gum bichromate, carbon and bromoil printing -- that afforded them a high degree of personal control in the making of the final image.

Pictorialists of the 21st century employ these same, now arcane techniques, for the very same reason. And the end result can be achieved by using either a traditional or digital camera.

"It doesn't matter where the image comes from," said Flack, a resident of Los Altos Hills who has been involved with photography for over 30 years. "It's really much more about the aesthetic of the result."

Visitors to the exhibition will learn about the variety of photographic processes that can turn a simple photograph into a work of art. A fine example of the pictorialist style is "Heading Out," a haunting image by Maine artist Eliza Massey (depicted on the Weekly's cover). The photograph depicts a man standing in his dory, presumably heading out to sea. His back is turned to the viewer, adding to the mystery of the scene.

"The photograph isn't about him and his boat. It's a picture about an idea -- he's heading out, he's going wherever you imagine him to be, depending on your mood -- a day's work. Or perhaps he's going out to be alone," Flack said.

Massey took the photograph on Vinalhaven, an outer island of Maine ,and one of her favorite places to photograph. She had met the fisherman -- "a salty and gregarious character" -- in the image and admired his traditional fishing dory.

It was a morning I'll never forget," Massey recalled. "For three hours I followed the fisherman while he hand-pulled his lobster traps, and I paddled a kayak behind, beside or in front of him. The fog that swirled about us and the forms of the dark rocky coast made the image I was looking....or hoping for..."

To Massey, "Heading Out" conveys the theme of traveling to the unknown, coupled with all the fears and uncertainty that can accompany the journey. On a darker note, it also conjures up the notion of death, or rather, passing.

"Its seems to me it's the in-between," she said. "It's peacefulness and calm, gliding silently, heading out of life into another place, time or space."

To create her photograph, Massey employed a bromoil process. With this technique, a conventional silver-gelatin print is first enlarged to the desired size. Then, the silver image is bleached from the gelatin, leaving voids in the gelatin in place of the silver. Then, the artistry begins -- after soaking the blank gelatin matrix in water, oily lithographer's ink is applied by hand using a stiff bristle brush. Ink fills the voids, while the water-soaked gelatin repels the ink.

The end result, according to Massey, is a photograph whose painterly and etching-like qualities capture the feeling and mood of each particular image. And because each bromoil is hand-made, no two are ever alike.

"The creative freedom is endless. And the choice of subtle colors, depth of layers and artistic hand with a brush all contribute to the beautiful and timeless qualities that make bromoils stand out," Massey said.

Photographer Dominic Calarco also loves the bromoil process, particularly the hands-on chemistry and the application of the ink in the creation of the print.

"Memory is not photographic. Your mind changes what you see," said Calarco, a California-based artist. "This experience is universal, because everyone's impressions become the thing remembered. The remembrance of things seen is what bromoil printing is all about."

One of Calarco's works, "The Trekkers," shows a group of people in front of a rock wall, pulling a rope. Though photographed in 2003, the work resembles a vintage print.

That sense of nostalgia surprises most visitors to the gallery, according to Shuchat.

"People think they're very old (photographs)," Shuchat said. "It takes a lot of people back in time."

Gallery director Pat Hausmann has been thrilled with the reaction to the show.

"I've never seen so much interest," Hausmann said. "It's totally different than anything we've ever done."

Unlike so much of modern photography, which emphasizes the subject, pictorialism stresses formal composition. As a result, the images often transcend their time and place.

"It represents more than just a moment in time," Flack said of "Heading Out." "It doesn't matter that it's set in Maine. It doesn't matter where it is. It doesn't matter who the person is. He's iconic. He can represent a fisherman, an old person, a single person. It's not just Billy in a boat. It's how the whole picture strikes you." .
Arts and Entertainment editor Robyn Israel can be reached at risrael@paweekly.com.

What: "Expressive Images -- Intimate Photography," presented by the New Pictorialist Society. The majority of images will be available for sale.

Where: Keeble & Shuchat Photography, 290 California Ave. in Palo Alto

When: Through May 26. Viewing hours are Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Cost: Admission is free.

Info: Please call (650) 327-8996 or visit www.kspphoto.com.
Jim Flack will give a presentation on pictorialism and alternative processes on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at Keeble & Shuchat.

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