David Emitt Adams, 111 Degrees, Facing West, 2014, Wet plate collodion tintype made on object found in the Sonoran Desert, 4x6.5" Image, Unique, $2200 |
We reached out to Adams' for insight regarding his works on view in LIGHT + METAL as well as how his practice has changed over time.
David Emitt Adams, Eagletail, 2014, Wet plate collodion tintype made on object found in the Sonoran Desert, 6x8" Image, Unique, $2200 |
photo-eye: What inspired you to create the pieces that are included in LIGHT + METAL?
David Emitt Adams on location in the Sonoran Desert. Image courtesy of the artist. |
pe: What type of work did you make prior to the work you are making today, what inspired the change?
DEA: My earliest work was all made in a very traditional fashion with a large-format camera and darkroom-based practice. As my passion for photography grew so did my interest in the medium's history. This led me to work with the collodion process and out of financial necessity, I began to use discarded metal as a substrate for the image to sit on. I began to make tintypes on any metal I could find that I could flatten and put into my camera. It was this act of necessity that led me to think more deeply about the metal I was creating images on. The first series that really illustrated this idea is titled 36 Exposures and can be found on my website: davidemittadams.com
David Emitt Adams, Pickepost, 2015 Wet plate collodion tintype made on object found in the Sonoran Desert, 8x6" Image, Unique, $1800 |
pe: Do you have a story you can share about making one of the pieces in the show?
DEA: No one story comes to mind about a specific object in the show but many from Conversations with History do have interesting back stories involving wildlife encounters and the creatures that may have temporarily inhabited these found objects. Let's just say, I am very cautious that nothing is inside the found objects before I bring them into my studio now.
David Emitt Adams, The Valley Between, 2015 Wet plate collodion tintype made on object found in the Sonoran Desert, 6x6" Image, Unique, $750 |
pe: Is there anything else you would like to add?
DEA: I would just like to say thank you to photo-eye, and if anyone is interested in seeing more of my working methods you can do so on my Instagram: @davidemittadams.
David Emitt Adams Image © Michael Matthew Woodlee |
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LIGHT + METAL is on view at photo-eye Gallery
through September 15th, 2018.
For additional information on David Emitt Adams' work,
and to purchase prints, please contact Gallery Staff at
505-988-5152 or gallery@photoeye.com.