The Paine Art Center and Gardens

• Suzanne Rose Residency
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• Exhibitions

As the climate cools and the landscape is transformed from green to white, we as a nation have our eyes on Washington this November. The airwaves are filled with the now all too familiar phrases of "emergency economic stabilization," "global financial crisis," “war on terror," and "escalating energy demand and tightening supplies." As both major party candidates ran on a platform of change and reform in Washington, this welcomed shift still has us deeply imbedded in troubled times. As a nation with a newly elected president, we together must navigate the future as carefully as we so do the now icy roads with ever falling snow.

In the upcoming exhibition Seeing Ourselves the curator of the collection had all these topics (and more) on her mind when putting together this traveling exhibit. The show is categorized into five thematic groupings: American Masterpieces, American Faces, America at War, America the Beautiful and American Families. As stated by the Eastman House "The groupings reflect the ways contemporary viewers know photography, thus linking their understanding of the present to the practices of the past."

As I study the Eastman House collection of over 150 photographs, I’ve begun to clearly see the historical connections to present-day current affairs.

For example -in the photographs by Dorothea Lange and Mary Ellen Mark, both classic documentary photographers but separated by more than 5 decades, reveal the American family come upon hard times. The depression-era photographer, Lange, revealed through her work our nations most harshly stricken. Migrant Mother sums up in one image the desperation of that time. Mark, a contemporary photographer, shows us similar hardship: a family living out of their car. These images are sobering. With the recent collapse of the housing market – the photographs connect us directly with the face of American homelessness, past and present.

With the Thanksgiving holiday just around the corner, it cannot come at a more fitting time. Giving thanks and reflecting on the positive aspects of our individual lives is much-needed to balance out the chaotic national hardships that have been set upon our collective shoulders.

We as Americans begin to settle in and succumb our busy schedules to the on-slot of the holiday season. We shape our celebrations on our personal traditions and make a great effort to balance the many demands and pleasures. The Eastman House collection, in the American Families grouping, offers a bright and optimistic view on the seasonal paradigm from the 1930’s -quite charming, but clearly fiction.

In these uncertain times, I find strength and resolve in making art. The stark contrasts of the winter landscape offers inspiration and a cleansing quality that seems to put everything back into appropriate proportion.

When metering a scene of vast expanses of snow, I adjust the my settings about 1.5 -2 f-stops to over-compensate and begin to extensively bracket so I may successfully capture the subtle textures, shadow and light in this notoriously difficult subject.

In photography, as in life, one must find a balance in light and shadow -choose aperture priority to avoid overexposure and blur -and in so doing, one may safely get back into the zone of 18% grey to gain consistency and find success.

In November at the Gibraltar High School in Fish Creek, I was invited by The Hardy Gallery to offer two half-day workshops through their Exposure to Creativity series. My ambition was to offer courses that would reignite the interest and understanding of traditional photography. I offered two classics: Darkroom 101 and Photography 101. In these completely hands-on workshops I taught darkroom basics, composition skills, and the art of making a powerful photograph. The workshop participants were submerged into a world most have never ventured.

In all my teaching experience, it is the most rewarding to be active in the education of children of all ages.

The Hardy Gallery workshops

All that I have achieved are these dreams locked in silver.

Paul Caponigro

In recent years, I've had asked of me: Why haven’t you gone digital? I began by just shrugging my shoulders, because I hadn’t – at that point, early on – really explored the pros and cons of the medium. As time progressed, my workshops began to fill with more digital users than with traditional photographers. Then sometime in 2007, it happened – all my participants were digital and I was the last dinosaur standing using film, manual focus and a hand-held light meter.

I’d been using a Mac for almost a decade and, not so much secretly -but lets say below the radar -I began learning the ways of Photoshop and the other Adobe and iMac creative programs. When an iPod came along and it became necessary to accommodate the ever-growing storage of music, movies and yes – jpegs, but I’m ahead of myself.

Along this virtual journey of pixels, histograms and alpha channels, I’ve become knowledgeable of the digital photography universe. In so doing, I’ve become a stronger instructor of photography and an active member in the modern age of email and the Internet.

Surprisingly, I never once had the urge to abandon my traditional approach successfully kept the two quite separate but in tandem harmony. The ever-demanding need to produce jpegs for professional purposes, such as to have my work online, have became mandatory. The "bridge" to digital came in form of a scanner. Producing, in the darkroom, a smaller 6" x 6" print, I scan this and then import it into Photoshop. Ultimately converting a traditional gelatin silver print into the ether of digital. The manipulation done in this application is minimal never altering the essence of the original. This process is relatively easy but is nonetheless time consuming -a necessary evil I’m more than happy to oblige.

When I’m now asked why I haven’t gone digital – with a strong resolve, I simply reply "Not unlike the painter – they have the choice of either oil or acrylics. But in the end the final goal is same – a work of art." Common ground is such a great place to stand – on any subject, even digital.

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As temperatures drop, I migrate indoors and get into the darkroom for some much needed lab time.

Every time I enter the darkroom butterflies flutter in my stomach. It is always begins this way. The excitement and anticipation of seeing new work for the first time is palpable. Despite all the positive energy and confidence, a healthy undercurrent of real fear intermittently surfaces. This real fear is of possible and irreversible failure. The combination of the two never fails to produce a powerful shot of adrenaline that gets me easily through my 8 or 9 hour days – in which I rarely sit or take a break.

When it comes to my skills, I’m very comfortable in the darkroom. It’s become second nature, an extension of personal vision as a photographer. When I begin a day, I must start by regulating all the temperatures of the chemicals I’ll be using for film and prints. This process is very comforting, for I use a running water bath to either raise or lower the temperature to reach the ideal 68º necessary for accurate processing. It is a meditative time I gather my thoughts and lay out my day’s plan.

When I develop film, I process just two rolls at a time. By the time the twenty or more rolls are developed, washed, dried, cut and safely stored 8 hours have quickly passed and it is time to clean-up.

Next I must proof my negatives, usually a day unto itself: I will make contact sheets of each roll of film making multiple sheets under a multitude of exposures – to allow for my bracketing I had done while the film was in the camera. From the contact sheet I’ll choose the most promising shots, I’ll proof a 9" x 9" print on a RC or "resin coated" paper. If this image is to my liking - sharpness, composition and density - I’ll begin the task of making a final print on FB or "fiber based" paper.

When I begin printing enlargements, I feel quite pleased if I’m able to make a final print in the morning and then another in the afternoon. During which I find my "recipe" of dodging and burning, filters, f-stop and various exposures. I’ll make note of the set formula and repeat it about a half dozen times knowing that each print in the end will be slightly different. These FB prints are air-dried overnight then pressed, cooled, spotted and stored awaiting mattes and frames.

This process may sound tedious and time-consuming but the magic that happens within this little room under the orange-ish glow of the safe light is truly sublime. Conjuring and cajoling an image to come to life on to a sheet luxurious paper, coaxing it in baths of silky soft chemicals is one part poetry and two parts alchemy and I would not trade it for the world.

The final product – on a good day, is a rich image full of deep blacks and creamy whites. Each print after waiting in the dark and at the moment I can turn on the over head white lights and really see the image -well, it’s just like Christmas morning each and every time.

In the exhibition Seeing Ourselves: Masterpieces of American Photography there are a great number of living artists in the collection. In attempts to deepen my connection to their work and understanding their process, I plan to contact several during my residency.

Here is my email to Mr. Hido followed by his response:

Dear Todd,

Hello from the snow cover Midwest.
I’m a traditional fine-art photographer currently the artist-in-residence at The Paine Art Center in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

This residency is in conjunction with the upcoming exhibition Seeing Ourselves: Masterworks of American Photography on loan from the George Eastman House. On exhibit June 6 -October 4, 2009 at the art center.

In my residency, I’m contacting a handful of the living artist included in this exhibition with the attempt to connect the artist with the image.

Your work, which I’m very familiar, is amazing in content, quality and quantity. Your images speak so softly of American melancholy making the pedestrian landscape and cast-away woman reach levels of the beauty that are beyond words.

Your image in the Eastman House collection, Untitled #2810, of the aged mobile home at night is such a fine example from your Homes at Night series. In the show it is included in the “America the Beautiful” category. The image is in mighty fine company, too: Adams (Ansel + Robert), Stieglitz, Weston, Caponigro and Plowden to name a few.

If you could take a moment, would you share with me what inspired you to make the image in the exhibition, as well as, what triggered your beginning to making so much work at night?

As long as I’ve brought it up, I’m SO curious --just how did you hone "night shooting" skills: trial & error, art school training, or possibly even working with another photographer? I’ve always been a bit mystified by the process but with our recent bombardment with perfect snowfalls making the beauty of street lamplight on the snow-covered landscape almost more than I can bare. I need a nudge...

I work with a Hasselblad, now exclusively, with a couple of lenses. Are you medium format as well, or 4x5 or even larger?

Thank you for your patience with my attempt to make a virtual community of like-minded souls in this modern digital age.

Congratulations on all your successes.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Best Regards,
Suzanne Rose

Mr. Hido’s response in full:

hello to you too

i wish i could see this show--i have been tempted to go to them but i am not traveling as much these days

thanks for your kind comments abut my work--i appreciate it

i attached some stuff that will answers your questions about what got me started shooting at night and how it all works

i came at my shooting style by trial and error--not one really taught me--just bracket a bunch and one works
i do F22 for 4-10 minutes and that usually works for me this came from lots of trial an error early on

i use a pentax 6x7 medium format--shoot color neg film

i am good in the darkroom too--all still analog--not digital at all

hope that helps good luck with your work

all the best,

todd

Mr. Hido generously attached an interesting interview from 2007 to the above email: Conscientious -Jörg Colberg's weblog about fine-art photography:
A conversation with Todd Hido

Saturate yourself with your subject and the camera will all but take you by the hand.

Margaret Bourke-White

In contrast to all the festivities of the holiday season – I find myself immersed in the study of the Native American culture. I’m truly fascinated with the traditions, the acknowledgement of the seasons and the genuine connection to nature through core philosophical and spiritual beliefs.

The Seeing Ourselves exhibit has a handful of images that directly depict Native people. I’m doubly moved that Eastman House saw fit to include such rare and beautiful examples by some of America’s first photographers.

Edward S. Curtis, the most significant photographer of Native people and culture, is represented in the exhibit with two stunning photogravures from The North American Indian portfolio. Originally issued in a limited edition from 1907-1930, the collection was made into 20 volumes that are organized by tribes encompassing the Great Plains, Great Basin, Plateau Region, Southwest, California, Pacific Northwest, and Alaska. His talent and ambition were eclipsed only by his passion and sheer willpower to continue this enormous undertaking. It is unfathomable, to me -the modern photographer -to forge ahead in a time that had not yet ready-available running water, plastic containers, prepackaged photographic chemicals or, not to even mention, the S.U.V. Curtis, at the sacrifice of family and personal finances, portrayed the traditional customs and way of life of more than eighty tribes capturing the last fleeting moments of authentic regalia, ceremonies and daily life. Curtis, who was born in Whitewater, only enhances my endearment for him and his work with a Wisconsin connection.

Images of the North American Indian
By Edward S. Curtis
From The Library Of Congress

Though none of the images made by one of America’s first Native photographers, Horace Poolaw -a member of the Kiowa tribe, are included, the essence of his mindful approach paired with Curtis’ grand vision has inspired me to continue my research and to then somehow translate my discoveries into photographs.

With my primary focus on the Menominee tribe, Like a Deer Chased by the Dogs written by Scott Cross for the Oshkosh Public Museum was an excellent resource on the history of this Algonquian-speaking tribal leader.

Chief Oshkosh, as you can image, had one foot firmly placed in the Native tradition and the other was required to be deeply entrenched in the commerce, politics, daily lives and languages of the newly settled people. The contrast of his heritage to "postcontact" existence was most likely a weighty realization. One that the tribe will never inhabit their vast territory or return to their original ways as tribal life had been under his grandfather’s, Chief Chakauhkama, rule just two short generations earlier.

Marshall Pecore, current head Menominee forester, wrote in the Journal of Forestry (1992) "It’s said of the Menominee people that the sacredness of the land is their very body, the values of the culture their very soul, and the water is their very blood."

The connectedness to their tribal lands and spiritual beliefs is of equal strength. The two apparently are interwoven – a primal balance -inseparable. A brief and almost out of place statement I happen to read on the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin official website sounded almost like lore: "Menominee Dreamers foresaw the coming of a light skinned people in large boats that would come into the bay of Green Bay and change our lives forever." In further investigation I found an in-depth explanation of this elusive ritual that is deeply rooted in ancient tradition.

The central experience of Menominee religion was the dream revelation, in which individuals used dreaming as a way of connecting with a guardian spirit in order to gain knowledge. Both men and women of the tribe were invited to engage in this ceremony. It required an individual to fast for days and live in a small isolated wigwam. Shamans would then interpret their dreams and identify the animal spirit. Religious Practitioners within the tribe possessed powers also obtained from their animal guardian spirits. This process of connecting with animal guides has been called being 'One with Nature.'

The old ceremonies and rites mostly went underground when Native people were relocated to the reservation. With some changes, the pattern of securing a guardian spirit through fasting and dreaming thankfully continues among the modern-day Menominee.

In the hope to capture the essence and honor of this belief, I’ve begun a series titled Spirit Guides photographing taxidermy. My subjects are of indigenous animals considered sacred in Native traditions.

Birds also act as guides. In keeping with the spirit guide theme, I’m making images of feathers. The happenstance of being a keen collector of hawk and turkey feathers made this project an extension of my already huge collection of found feathers. This camera-less process, called photograms, is proving to be not only very beautiful but also a powerful connection to the soul of these natural objects.

In these frigid winter days that now are upon us, with ice and snow transforming the landscape, I’ve been privileged to witness bald eagles flying quite low in the sky along the shores of Lake Michigan and late migrating Tundra swans taking one last respite before moving on to more hospitable climes. The wild turkeys are evident and in abundance along our country roads and deer are more visible with the later rising and earlier setting sun. The awakening of a deeper primal connection with Nature through my research has been profound. It is no wonder -in our modern lives -we instinctively seek out the tranquility of nature to cleanse our minds and reinvigorate of soul.

Following please find a select group of books I’ve found fascinating and informative:

Oshkosh: The Brave – Chief of the Wisconsin Menominees and His Family
By Phebe Jewell Nicholas (Mrs. Angus F. Lookaround)
Menominee Indian Reservation Centennial Edition
1954

Like A Deer Chased by the Dogs: The Life of Chief Oshkosh
By Scott Cross for the Oshkosh Public Museum
2002

Spirit Capture: Photographs from the National Museum of the American Indian
Edited by Tim Johnson Smithsonian Institution Press
1998

Native Land Native People: from the Edward S. Curtis collection
By Wayne Youngblood Chartwell Books, Inc.
2008

Moholy-Nagy: Photographs and Photograms
by Andreas Haus
Knopf Publishing Group
1980

Sun Gardens: Victorian Photograms
by Anna Atkins
Aperture Foundation
1985

House Hunting
Photographs by Todd Hido & text by A.M. Homes
Nazraeli Press
2001

Outskirts
Photographs by Todd Hido.
Nazraeli Press
2002

A favorite picture book of the Rose family that has a most amazing tale of a scientific photographer from a small town in Vermont whose life’s passion is the unique qualities of snow:

Snowflake Bentley
by Jacqueline Briggs Martin & Illustrations by Mary Azarian
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
1998
Recipient of the 1999 Caldecott Medal

With the winter officially ushered in on December 21st and as Christmas has come and gone, I’ve taken respite from the city if Oshkosh for the time being.

With the city’s parks, streets and "castle" beautifully transformed with holiday decoration and innumerable lights with holiday festivities galore, I’ve tucked myself in with my family to celebrate a quiet holiday season on our farm in Door County.

On this New Year’s eve I have a ginger and molasses "Beloved" cake just out of the oven awaiting whipped cream, raspberries and Champaign in the frig. The table is set and the many candles are lit. In the other room, I hear the giggles of my daughter and someone rustling in the kitchen… It must be pretty close to midnight:

Happy Creative and Prosperous New Year to All!

Continue to January/February Journal