March 11, 2005

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Palo Alto Online

Two x 20

by Molly Tanenbaum

Artist Brigitte Carnochan fondly recalls her discovery of Modernbook Gallery four years ago, a serendipitous encounter that introduced her to owners Mark Pinsukanjana and Bryan Yedinak.

"I originally walked into the store thinking it was a shoe store," she said. "They laughed and said that was one block away we got to talking."

That fortuitous meeting resulted in three solo shows for Carnochan, whose hand-painted photography focuses on nudes and flowers.

For the last five years, Carnochan has also been teaching an advanced photography workshop through Stanford Continuing Studies. So when it came time to select a venue for a student exhibit, Carnochan did not need to look any further than Modernbook.

The exhibit, entitled "Two x 20," features 40 works: two images by each of the 20 local photographers who attended Carnochan's workshop. The majority are amateur photographers who come from different backgrounds: company executives, engineers, librarians and other professionals.

Images range from global landscapes to floral work to street photography using a variety of methods, including traditional silver-based, digital and hand-painting. The works are interspersed along Modernbook's back walls as one, unified exhibit.

"It's not only challenging but it's also energizing, being with 20 other motivated people and being able to put two pieces in the gallery, to see how the public reacts to it," said Brad Evans, whose urban street photography is available for viewing and purchase at "Two x 20."

This event, which runs through March 31, is unusual for Modernbook, whose exhibitions usually consist of solo shows.

"First and foremost, we're supporting a local artist community," Pinsukanjana said. "There's not enough of that going on around here."

In selecting works for "Two x 20," Pinsukanjana, Yedinak and Carnochan chose photographers who had strong, consistent bodies of work, such as Gabriela Klerian's work shooting bicycles in black-and-white, or Richard Phillips' series of pieces featuring neon signs.

"The work you'll see is definitely top-notch because Bryan and I refuse to put anything in the gallery that isn't top-notch," Pinsukanjana said.

During the eight-week workshop, Carnochan taught experienced photographers how to market themselves to galleries, including writing press releases and bios, creating portfolios and designing postcards.

"I think it's tremendously important for an artist to be exposed to that," said participant David Hibbard, whose abstract nature scenes appear in "Two x 20."

Hibbard has participated in shows in the past, but took Carnochan's class to gain practical marketing experience.

One of the major tasks in the class was to create a portfolio, which often means choosing 10 images that stand out among thousands. These portfolios are also available for viewing at Modernbook throughout the exhibit's duration.

"So much of photography is editing, choosing images," said Barbara Boissevain, whose landscapes of Greece allowed her a deserved departure from her work as a commercial photographer. Because she employs a digital camera for her day job, she opted to use traditional film for her avocation.

Hibbard, a former technical writer and on-screen help developer for Hewlett-Packard and Intuit, now focuses exclusively on his photography.

"I retired from all that three years ago so I could do this. I feel very fortunate that I'm in that position," said Hibbard, who body of work is set in Gazos Creek, Calif., where he has been photographing for a decade.

Several students, including Hibbard and Evans, are previous students. Katy Boggs learned to hand-color black-and-white images from Carnochan.

Carnochan enjoys watching her students grow and continue to pursue their passion for photography.

"It feels wonderful. It makes me feel that it's one of the rewards of teaching, sort of nurturing talent," Carnochan said.

Boggs has developed a body of still-life work featuring fruit and flowers "in their environment." Pastel flowers dangle from their vases; deep-red pomegranates and raspberries glisten on silver platters.

"Still-life is a practical venue for me since I have two small children and it's a little hard for me to go traveling and go to the Grand Canyon," Boggs said. "Part of it is a love for simple subject matter and things I saw around the house and in the garden."

Hand-coloring one photograph takes between five and seven hours, Boggs said.

"I try to enhance the color. A red has a lot of orange in it, a lot of yellow in it. So even if you're sticking with the basic red of a pomegranate, you're adding a lot of colors to make it more rich," Boggs said. "And that's what you can do as a painter that you can't always do as a photographer. You can add dimensions of the color and the complements. [Carnochan] talks about it as imagination and I'm finally beginning to understand what she means by that," Boggs said.

Carnochan believes that cultivating a group of photographer friends is crucial and encourages her students to do just that. The connections and relationships students build with other photographers are as useful as the skills they learn in the class, she stressed.

"One of the hardest things for adults wanting to do this who have day jobs is finding a community to feed and nourish your creative juices," Carnochan said. "One of the nice things that I find in each of these groups of students is the community spirit that they have about sharing sources and information and techniques."

Student Sara Yerkes is thankful for this opportunity to display her work. Her photography provides a "sense of place," featuring the bright colors, textures and character of Italian facades. Her photographs have been shown in Washington, where she attended school, as well as in her Santa Barbara camera club, but this event marks her first true gallery exhibit.

"I feel like this is a real start for me," Yerkes said.

What: "Two x 20," an exhibition of Bay Area photographers

Where: Modernbook Gallery, 494 University Ave. in Palo Alto

When: Through March 31

Cost: Admission is free. Works on display begin at $300.

Info: Call (650) 327-6325 or visit www.modernbook.com.

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