Art Intersection presents Light Sensitive, our twelfth, international juried exhibition of images created using traditional darkroom, historical, and alternative photographic processes and methods. This year we are honored to have photographer and alternative photography process artisan Elizabeth Opalenik jury the submitted work.
As we have seen technology trends continue to drive digital photography and presentation, Light Sensitive highlights art from artists working in traditional and historical printing processes.
Light Sensitive seeks to celebrate, promote, and reaffirm the art of handcrafted prints that uniquely belong to the tradition of light sensitive creative processes. Each year we are in search for work that represents creativity, passion, and displays the beauty of these light sensitive processes.
Banner images by Randall Tosh, Lynn Bierbaum, Mary Nation
Awards
Choosing awards in the diverse juried selections of this year’s Light Sensitive presents the challenge to weigh qualitative aesthetics of the presentation, with the strength of the image, and technical mastery of the process. From cyanotype to platinum to ambrotype prints, the wide gamut of techniques and presentations made a formidable task to assign awards. Presenting awards acknowledges accomplishment and excellence in presentation, image, and technique, and encourage everyone to continue to push their work through into the next level.
Congratulations to the awardees and everyone juried into Light Sensitive.
First Place – Lou McCorkle Second Place – Marita Gootee Third Place – William W. Fuller Award of Excellence for Collaborative Work – Kenro Izu / Veritas Editions Honorable Mentions – Gary Baker, Chuck Davis, Sarah S. Curley, Jon Jeffery, Annie Lopez, Marek Matusz, Alyssa McKenna, Mary A. Nation, Cyd Peroni, Phyllis Schwartz, Fred Ullrich, Angela Franks Wells, Ryan Zoghlin
About the Juror
Elizabeth spun a map on a lazy-susan in 1968 and left home to the sound of peace marches and her mother saying, “I knew you were different from the time you were two.” She discovered photography as a metaphor for life in 1979 at the Maine Photographic Workshops and discovered passion and possibilities in Provence in 1983 where she later began her evolution as a Mordançeuse. Traveling through six continents, camera in hand, she connects life’s possibilities through teaching workshops, humanitarian projects and making art.
“I am a photographic artist, educator and freelance photographer traveling the world with my camera and I love it. Philanthropic projects keep me grounded and connected universally.
I believe that all good photographs are self portraits and know that my many former lives manifest themselves in my images. My heart is still in my darkroom working in the Mordançage process, but I use today’s technology when appropriate to explore all the creative paths.
My photographs are collected and published internationally and all work is for sale. Mordançage images are unique, others are silver gelatin, platinum, hand painted or digitally printed in very limited editions on beautiful handmade papers.”
Fiona Howarth,
The Trees Returned,
Platinum/Palladium Prints,
2022
Kenro Izu / Veritas Editions,
Impermanence (Edition 1 of 13),
Platinum/Palladium and Gum Over Platinum,
2020-2022 Award of Excellence for Collaborative Work
Michael C. Hughes,
Saguaro and Storm Clouds,
Platinum/Palladium Print,
2022
Michael C. Hughes,
Seashore Fence,
Platinum/Palladium Print,
2021
Michael C. Hughes,
Shore Forms,
Platinum/Palladium Print,
2022
Jon Jeffery,
Event Horizon Warehouse,
Cyanotype on Recycled Cardboard,
2022
Jon Jeffery,
Big Sur Redwoods,
Cyanotype on Recycled Cardboard,
2022 Honorable Mention
Alex Krajkowski,
Untitled, from Knots,
Unique Gelatin Silver Print,
2019
Alex Krajkowski,
Untitled, from Knots,
Unique Gelatin Silver Print,
2019
J. Jason Lazarus,
Vasquez Rocks, Agua Dolce, California,
Mordançage,
2022
J. Jason Lazarus,
Saguaro National Park, Tucson, Arizona,
Mordançage,
2022
Jen Leahy,
Queen of the Universe,
Cyanotype and Mixed Media,
2021/2022
Annie Lopez,
Not a Blue Bird,
Cyanotype on Watercolor Paper,
2022
Annie Lopez,
Too Much Like Me,
Cyanotype on Tamale Paper, Thread,
2022 Honorable Mention
Lloyd Matthews,
Ember (Edition 1 of 13),
Platinum/Palladium Print,
2020
Exhibition
Considering Possibilities moves the viewer through the intentional mystical imagery of Elizabeth’s photography that breaks the realism of photography to the moods only available through the magic of experimental and alternative photographic processes.
Ryan Gallery presents a collection of prints by Elizabeth Opalenik with Mordançage work also found in her book Poetic Grace, the never exhibited platinum print series from her personal experiences A Journey Home, and a collection carbon prints created using the same negatives from her Mordançage prints.
Elizabeth will join us for the opening reception on July 16 from 5pm to 8pm, and on Friday July 15 at 7pm she will give a talk about her art and experiences as a photographer.
About Elizabeth
Elizabeth spun a map on a lazy-susan in 1968 and left home to the sound of peace marches and her mother saying, “I knew you were different from the time you were two.” She discovered photography as a metaphor for life in 1979 at the Maine Photographic Workshops and discovered passion and possibilities in Provence in 1983 where she later began her evolution as a Mordançeuse. Traveling through six continents, camera in hand, she connects life’s possibilities through teaching workshops, humanitarian projects and making art.
“I am a photographic artist, educator and freelance photographer traveling the world with my camera and I love it. Philanthropic projects keep me grounded and connected universally.
I believe that all good photographs are self portraits and know that my many former lives manifest themselves in my images. My heart is still in my darkroom working in the Mordançage process, but I use today’s technology when appropriate to explore all the creative paths.
My photographs are collected and published internationally and all work is for sale. Mordançage images are unique, others are silver gelatin, platinum, hand painted or digitally printed in very limited editions on beautiful handmade papers.”
Art Intersection’s eleventh-annual All Art Arizona exhibition opened its doors on May 14th, 2022! Local artists, their families, and their friends joined us for wonderful evening to discuss and appreciate the talent and broad range of creativity here at home.
This year we celebrate the twelfth anniversary of All Art Arizona at Art Intersection through the breadth and diversity of art created by Arizona artists. The range of artwork encompasses sculpture, photography, painting, ceramics, wood, printmaking, mixed media, and more.
All Art Arizona presents exciting work created by both well-known and emerging artists living in our own back yard, the state of Arizona.
The All Art Arizona opening reception draws artists, art collectors, and art lovers from all over the state to one of our best attended exhibitions of the year. As always, the exhibition is free and open to the public during business hours.
Banner images by: Michael Pierre Price, Rosalie Vaccaro, Martina Skobic
All Art Arizona Online Gallery
Look through the exhibition online and then come in to see the work in person. If you wish to purchase one of the pieces in the exhibition and can’t come in, give us a call and we will take payment over the phone and ship worldwide.
Submission Deadline Extended To Thursday, August 4
Submit your images taken from marches, protests, rallies, and demonstrations, whether you are in solidarity with the marchers or documenting their voices. Your images should show people, in the public view, voicing their passion for change. This Picturing Resistance exhibition at Art Intersection gives your photographs visibility and exposes the energy you captured.
There are no timeframe restrictions for photographs, only that you are the photographer or you own the copyright to an historical image from your collection. We wish to present the landscape of people engaged in the act of creating change by exercising their right to be noisy.
If you use a phone camera to photograph protests and marches, let us know if you need help printing images from your phone for this exhibition.
Our juror, Ken Light, photographer, author, and a Reva and David Logan Professor of Photojournalism at the University of California, Berkeley, will select from submitted images.
Melanie Light and Ken Light’s book, Picturing Resistance, serves as the inspiration for this juried exhibition, and a must own book for anyone interested in social justice movements in the past seven decades.
In Ryan gallery Ken Light’s images from his book Midnight La Frontera will be shown during the Picturing Resistance exhibition.
About the Juror Ken Light, a freelance documentary photographer for over fifty years, focuses on social issues facing America. A recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, his work has been published in twelve books, in magazines, exhibitions and numerous anthologies, exhibition catalogues and a variety of media, digital and motion picture.
His most recent book Course of the Empire, published by Steidl, portrays a decade of mounting tension in a polarized America, from Wall Street to the rural heartland and is a portrait of the American social landscape and is a riveting historical and visual record of a complicated country in a complicated time.
Midnight La Frontera (TBW Books) illustrates, in piercing words and in strobe lit images caught against the dark of night, the struggle and defiance of those who make the perilous hike for days and weeks in search of the American Dream.
Important Picturing Resistance Exhibition Dates
August 4: Online submissions due by midnight Arizona time
August 9: Email notification of artists selected for exhibition
3-day Mordançage Workshop with Elizabeth Opalenik, July 15, 16, 17, 2022, from 9am to 5pm each day with lunch included.
I vividly remember that first Provence meeting in 1983 when I heard Jean-Pierre Sudre say, “In mordançage you have the possibility….” For the next 30 summers I visited his studio and work discovering them all while learning the process in 1991 directly from this master. In this workshop we shall begin with a brief history of the mordançage process, looking at original work as we gather valuable insight into directions for making it your own creative voice.
Together we mix the chemistry and begin with an instructor demonstration on understanding the test strips to discover proper exposures for negatives and working with photograms, which is the best way to learn the possibilities. Mordançage takes time to master when working with intent and begins with a darkroom print. Information on making negatives, film or digital, and materials to bring shall be sent prior to the workshop. You will discover, when the silver print is put through the mordançage solution, the silver gelatin in the densest areas of the photographic print swell and can be removed with the pressure of a jet of water or cotton ball. Darkroom days will be spent testing various paper and redeveloper combinations, experimenting with oxidation, toners and hand painting to alter color, and deciding to save or not to save the veils. Often, just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Papers, chemicals and notebooks with formulas will be supplied.
After more than 30 years of committing to the mordançage process, Elizabeth has many possibilities, pitfalls and discoveries to share. Working collectively with a group of photographic peers, students can combine information on papers available today to further enhance their creativity. Experimenting is highly encouraged. A working knowledge of the darkroom is essential.
As artists, we much each find our way and hope to leave something of value behind. The “draped spidery veils” in the images are my contribution to this process, accomplished by using my breathe or drops of water to preserve and alter the delicate floating silver skin. As such, each piece is unique and truly made by hand even when created using the same negative.
This year’s No Strangers exhibition presents a diverse range of artwork created by Art Intersection members. This annual exhibition showcases the creative energy from the vision and talent of our members.
Memberships support Art Intersection, and through our membership program we strive to create an engaging atmosphere for creativity, networking, sharing work, and learning from each other. From a range of membership levels including Student, Friend, Sponsor, Patron and Collector, you can find the membership that works best for you!
Banner images by James Syme, Charlene Engel, Jason Salecki
Thank you to everyone who joined us at Art Intersection for this year’s Light Sensitive opening reception! It was wonderful to see a lot of the artists and their amazing creativity using traditional photographic processes.
This year marks our tenth All Art Arizona exhibition featuring artwork made by Arizona residents, who were invited to bring friends and family along to admire work sculpture, photography, painting, ceramics, wood, printmaking, mixed media, artist books, and much more.