Photographs, Remixed
Charlotte
January 28 through February 20
Helena Davis Gallery
Photographs, Remixed
I created these images from black and white film negatives; digitally adding color and altering tonal values to change lighting. I allowed the images to tell me what was really going on in them, then found the image I saw in each photograph, using light and color to bring it out. I did not let "reality" limit what I saw within the original image.
While the addition of color and modified light values has altered each image significantly, I did not otherwise change the image�s composition from what was recorded on film. The placement and structure of elements in each picture is the same as the original black and white photograph. All of the images are full-frame, representing only what was recorded in the camera with no other cropping.
My goal was to represent what the images said to me. In many of these images digital technology has allowed me to create what my mind saw when looking through the lens. Older images caught my attention in ways they didn�t when the photos were first created. The black and white negatives that these images came from were exposed between 1970 and 2004; scanned with a high-resolution film scanner and printed using archival pigment on acid-free paper.
All the images have personal significance. Because I originally created them as black and white photographs, I borrowed the term "remix" from the recording industry to describe the changes in perception that result from adding color and modifying light. Altering the images the way I have reminds me of musical performances recorded originally, then altered later to sound different � "dance remix" � but still containing the original musical performance. Some consider remixed music cheesy, like colorizing black and white movies. On my own images, I don�t mind a little extra cheese � as long as I am the one adding it. Sometimes adding color and light helps me see more clearly the hidden realities in the gray areas of life. Sometimes, it�s just fun.
John MacLellan
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Web page: www.jkmac.com/index.htm
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Opening Reception Fourth Friday
January 28, 7-10 pm
Free and Open to the Public
Closing Artist Talk
February 20, 4 pm
Free and Open to the Public
David: Atlantic City
Dennis: Tree
Dennis: Tree
Charlotte: Royal Devil
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