Leighton Art Centre is pleased to announce the upcoming launch of two photographic exhibitions.
An opening reception for Leighton Art Centre’s summer exhibition season will be held Saturday June 18, 2022 (2 – 4 pm). Artists will be in attendance!
Admission by donation. Both exhibitions will continue through August 21, 2022. Operating hours: Tuesday – Sunday, 10 am – 4 pm.
About the Exhibitions
Coal In Alberta: A Journey To Obsolescence – Arturo Pianzola, Court Smith, Nigel Goldup, Fred Braakman, Robert Pohl SCA – Main Gallery
The Monochrome Guild is a group of film-based photographers founded in Edmonton twenty years ago. The processes used by group members to create art predate Albertans’ use of carbon resources by some thirty years. A small collective within the group has been working since 2015, to document both what remains of the coal industry of the past and contrast it with that of today, and possibly tomorrow.
Coal In Alberta attempts to illustrate the past history of the coal industry in Alberta and also includes some pieces that present the impact and scope of the modern industry. The monochrome print perfectly showcases the look and feel of what one imagines the coal industry to be like. The grit and coarseness and the dark and black mood of some of the work is intended to reflect the artists’ interpretation of the industry. Historically it was a very difficult existence for the men and women that dedicated their lives and well-being to an industry and a resource that was both demanding and sometimes deadly.
The exhibit also touches on the present, and hints at what the future might bring. The photographers hope that this exhibition will stimulate some meaningful reflection and consideration on this important matter.
Only traditional black and white film methods are used to create the pieces to be displayed. The use of old techniques and chemistry stand in perfect harmony with the history of coal. Since the evolution of digital photography, many people may have forgotten or may not even know what is required to produce a traditional black and white silver gelatin print. The photographer visualizes the image they wish to create. The photograph is taken, and the film developed by the artist, resulting in a negative. The process continues in the darkroom where the negative is used to create an image on light sensitive paper. Success is defined as a print which both conveys the artist’s initial visualization and is also technically perfect.
Paper Moon – Stacey Watson,
Tower Gallery
Paper Moon explores the intersection of artifice and landscape. This photographic series, taken on local film sets, portrays the quiet repose of non-filming days when props and false landscape elements are at rest. Lacking the lighting techniques and camera angles that were intended to mediate the viewers’ experience, these objects take on a different life. Their temporary nature is exposed and the marks of the craftspeople who made them come to the fore.
Alberta landscapes have lured countless film and television productions, many of which have operated in close proximity of Leighton Art Centre. Natural scenery as a backdrop often has the critical role of lending authenticity to a narrative. With many productions being historical in content, the landscape is called upon to appear in motion pictures as untouched by modern life as possible. Meanwhile, fleets of heavy machinery and high-tech equipment hide behind the camera. Hundreds of workers lend their skills as artificial terrains and whole temporary towns are built. The ultimate achievement of the lens is narrative control.
In this exhibition, the intended illusion is broken by the still camera of the artist. The photographs were created with 120mm Rolleiflex and Hasselblad cameras, a process that is slow and lacks immediacy.
Stacey Watson is a Mohkinstsis/Calgary-based artist and educator. Her work has embraced sculptural installation, collaborative performance and printmaking as well as lens-based practice in video and photography.
This exhibition was created with support from Alberta Foundation for the Arts.
