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| Vanessa Marsh, Western Landscape 1, Archival Pigment Ink Print (from scanned Cyanotype), 15x20 in, Editon of 10, $1600 |
We are thrilled to present Western Landscapes by the incredibly talented Vanessa Marsh!
About this work, Marsh writes, "The images depict the infrastructure and amusements of modern culture set against otherwise remote locations. The darkness of the sky and the prevalence of stars allude to ancient skies before light pollution changed our everyday experience of the universe. The images act as a meditation on our connection to the story of humanity, as well as our place in the vast geologic history of the earth and the cosmos."
In this conversation, we discuss curiosity, making photographs without a camera, printing processes, and more.
Anne Kelly: What role does curiosity play in creating your artwork?
Vanessa Marsh: I think it plays a significant role; the best new pathways come from experimenting and trying new combinations of factors. Each new series is born from a curiosity to learn a new process.
AK: Please describe your process as simply as possible.
VM: I work in various photographic processes using opaque stencils and cut paper to make multiple exposures on light-sensitive paper. The result is the illusion of a layered and dimensional landscape.
About this work, Marsh writes, "The images depict the infrastructure and amusements of modern culture set against otherwise remote locations. The darkness of the sky and the prevalence of stars allude to ancient skies before light pollution changed our everyday experience of the universe. The images act as a meditation on our connection to the story of humanity, as well as our place in the vast geologic history of the earth and the cosmos."
In this conversation, we discuss curiosity, making photographs without a camera, printing processes, and more.
Anne Kelly: What role does curiosity play in creating your artwork?
Vanessa Marsh: I think it plays a significant role; the best new pathways come from experimenting and trying new combinations of factors. Each new series is born from a curiosity to learn a new process.
AK: Please describe your process as simply as possible.
VM: I work in various photographic processes using opaque stencils and cut paper to make multiple exposures on light-sensitive paper. The result is the illusion of a layered and dimensional landscape.
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| Vanessa Marsh, Western Landscape 11, Archival Pigment Ink Print (from scanned Cyanotype), 15x20 in, Editon of 10, $1600 |
AK: You started creating camera-less photographs in 2011. What motivated you to make this transition?
VM: In graduate school and the years afterward, I was working with scale models that I would set up in front of my camera against real skies to capture semi-realistic-looking landscapes. Around that time, I was teaching a beginning photography workshop and used some of the scale models and some torn paper to demo how to create photograms. From the moment I saw the results of that demonstration, silhouetted figures set against a hazy landscape, I was hooked on making photograms of these imagined places. I no longer use scale models, but the basic ideas of layering silhouettes and graduated exposures began that evening.
AK: Over the years, you have experimented with photograms using different printing techniques. Are you drawn to the process or the resulting color plate?
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| Vanessa Marsh, Western Landscape 4, Archival Pigment Ink Print (from scanned Cyanotype), 15x20 in, Editon of 10, $1600 |
AK: Over the years, you have experimented with photograms using different printing techniques. Are you drawn to the process or the resulting color plate?
VM: I think both; the technical side of learning a new process excites me, and I love the challenge of translating my core materials into different photographic forms. As I get to know a new process, the color and mood, the benefits and limitations, inform the subject matter, which shifts a bit with each new project.
AK: Do you feel that the color plates result in a different psychological experience for the viewer?
VM: Yes, I think the various print processes evoke different experiences for the viewer. For example, my series, The Sun Beneath the Sky, is very bright and airy and could be seen as quite calming. On the other hand, some of the images set in the nighttime can have a somewhat uncanny feeling.
VM: Yes, I think the various print processes evoke different experiences for the viewer. For example, my series, The Sun Beneath the Sky, is very bright and airy and could be seen as quite calming. On the other hand, some of the images set in the nighttime can have a somewhat uncanny feeling.
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| Vanessa Marsh, Western Landscape 7, Archival Pigment Ink Print (from scanned Cyanotype), 15x20 in, Editon of 10, $1600 |
AK: You recently moved from the Bay Area to Oregon. How have the changing seasons in Oregon impacted how you work?
VM: Well, on a practical level, I had to re-think making Lumen prints with sunlight year-round as I had been able to do when I lived in California. This obstacle led me to investigate other ways of making that could be done in my studio during winter months. The seasons also inform how I collect reference images, as the flora shifts way more dramatically with the seasons here in Oregon than in California. Also, my subject matter is moving away from things like palm trees and towards ferns and blackberries. The images have always been amalgamations of various Western landscapes. However, the landscape I am presently living in comes to the forefront.
VIEW THE COMPLETE WESTERN LANDSCAPES SERIES HERE
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PRINT COSTS ARE CURRENT UP TO THE TIME OF POSTING AND ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
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If you are in Santa Fe, please stop by we are open Tuesday– Saturday, from 10am- 5:30pm.
PHOTO-EYE GALLERY
300 Rufina Circle, Unit A3, Santa Fe, NM 87507
For more information, and to reserve one of these unique works, please contact
Gallery Director Anne Kelly
You may also call us at (505) 988-5152 x202
PRINT COSTS ARE CURRENT UP TO THE TIME OF POSTING AND ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
* * *
If you are in Santa Fe, please stop by we are open Tuesday– Saturday, from 10am- 5:30pm.
PHOTO-EYE GALLERY
300 Rufina Circle, Unit A3, Santa Fe, NM 87507
For more information, and to reserve one of these unique works, please contact
Gallery Director Anne Kelly
You may also call us at (505) 988-5152 x202
