Capturing the Light: Yesterday and Today in Fine Art Photography.

Capturing the Light: 

Yesterday and Today in Fine Art Photography

New Work by Ellen Jo Roberts and David Neely

Featured Artist Show at Jerome Artists Cooperative Gallery, 

March 2-May 2, 2013

Opening reception March 2nd, 2013, 5:30pm-8:30pm. 

A camera is a tool a photographer uses to make images and whether it’s a simple box with a pinhole or a mega-pixel DSLR a certain vision is required behind the lens to make an interesting photograph.

“Capturing the Light: Yesterday and Today in Fine Art Photography” features new works by Jerome Artists Cooperative Gallery members Ellen Jo Roberts and David Neely.

Utilizing cameras both ultra modern and vintage mid-century, these two photographers come from different generations and complement each other's distinct styles. Prescott-area resident Neely is a dark-room trained professional photographer who went digital in 2006. He captures compelling scenery and social landscapes in high tech fashion, infusing the images onto a variety of surfaces, from paper to metal. Clarkdale's Roberts is best known as a painter, but over the past 10 years has developed more than a passing interest in photography. In “Capturing the Light” she shares instant film images, born from a 1950s Polaroid Pathfinder Land Camera and blown up into large-sized prints.

       David Neely, native to Washington DC, first developed an interest in photography when he was a junior college student prior to attending the University of Maryland, “I had friends who came back from Vietnam with 35mm cameras they purchased at the PX. I was always artistic, but could not draw or paint so photography was a natural avenue for me to pursue.”

      He worked in photography professionally for just over 40 years, starting in Washington DC as a commercial photographer. In 1982 he moved his studio to Dallas, Texas where he worked for many of the top commercial clients nationwide including Neiman Marcus, Sears, JC Penney’s and Saks 5th Ave as well as many magazines and ad agencies.  Neely was also a contributing photographer for Playboy magazine from the late 1970s until the mid-1990s. “I was sent out on all kinds of assignments for them and traveled extensively,” he recalls, “I have pictures of my one year-old son with about ten bunnies in Atlantic City, and many nice memories and wonderful people I met and worked with. But let me tell you, it was very demanding and difficult work and back in the film days it took some serious skills and lighting to achieve the images they expected.”

    In 1995 he and his wife Sheila arrived in Arizona where Neely attained teaching credentials. He taught photography for several years at Metro Tech, a career technical education high school in central Phoenix. Living full time in Prescott for the past four years, he was an Adjunct Professor at Yavapai College teaching photography courses prior to budget cuts at the school. His son carries the family tradition of education as a math teacher and head basketball coach at Prescott High School.

           Now in his fourth year as a member of the cooperative, David Neely uses his keen photographic eye for art rather than advertising. “I try to interpret things I see and am moved by,” he explains, “I look for shapes, texture, lines and balance in every image I take. I want people to feel what I felt, see the composition and be excited by things that we may walk right past. I use photography as a way ‘to speak’ to others and let them know something about me and how I see and feel about things in our world.”

David Neely

       How did he transition from dark room to digital? “I was an old-time darkroom and film-based photographer! So I kind of went kicking and screaming into digital imaging,” says Neely, “But it did not take me long to adjust and fall in love with digital. It made so many aspects of photography so much easier and for me, more creative.  There is something still special about black and white prints made on top-notch paper in a darkroom. The feel, the tonal quality and the surface of the papers is still special to me, But, I don't miss the smell, the long hours and the tedious work required by expert black and white printers. PhotoShop and similar programs have just opened up so many new creative avenues to pursue!”
 Utilizing many different software tools and plug-ins, Neely says, “I can get so involved I spend hours and hours tinkering and working on new effects and the ‘feeling’ I can bring out in selected images.”
    As digital cameras continue to evolve, results that once could only be achieved on film now are possible electronically. “The mega-pixel count is so high now the ability to achieve super high detail and tonal quality, thought only possible with an eye like that of Ansel Adams with an 8x10 view camera, is now being achieved with the top end digital cameras.”

David Neely

        Complementing the high tech future, Ellen Jo Roberts lands from an opposite direction, entrenched somewhere deep in the 20th century, though with images no less instantaneous. “I probably have a tendency to be anachronistic in general, and I think this is what initially fueled my interest in vintage cameras and film photography. Though, as I learned more and became more skilled with the equipment, I grew to adore the results obtained from shooting on film,” the painter explains, “The capturing of the light burning images onto the analog materials lends a sense of time that is very human and tangible.” Though many imagine film has gone extinct, a vast culture of film photography remains active. “Ironically,” says Roberts, “it’s the internet that keeps film alive, with on-line communities devoted to analog photography. The enthusiasm for film is similar to the music scene’s vinyl album culture. Teenagers are shooting photos with cheap plastic 35mm Holgas and The Impossible Project’s SX-70 instant film.”

       A native to Chicago, Roberts graduated from Northern Illinois University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in painting and soon afterwards married and moved west, arriving in Arizona in 1995. She and her husband Chad lived in Flagstaff and Jerome prior to settling into a historic brick bungalow in Clarkdale in 2001. She has been a member of the Jerome Artists Cooperative Gallery since 1997. With a stable of analog cameras at her disposal, Roberts is never without one, always at the ready to capture the joy of the world around us. “As a painter, I have a natural enthusiasm for color, composition and the play between light and dark, but I also like to capture funny juxtapositions. The little moments of small town life out west. Roadside America. Arizona. Vintage cars, motels and old signs. Double exposures, color flashes and long nighttime exposures are fun. ”



Ellen Jo Roberts

She is also perhaps known for photographing her three small dogs, Floyd, Ivan and Hazel, each of them very patient for the lens. “I am definitely inspired by William Wegman, and the creative costume work he did with his Weimaraners.”  Her 1950s-era Polaroid Pathfinder Land Camera is quite the conversation piece, always attracting attention when popped open, bellows extended. “People go nuts when they see the camera,” she laughs, “It’s as big as a Buick, very cinematic and eye-catching. They say, ‘Oh! I haven’t seen one of those in years! Where do you get film for it?’ ”



Ellen Jo Roberts

     Originally made to take a now extinct instant roll film, the camera was modified to take pack film, which is still manufactured. Though she counts her 1954 Argus C3 35mm as her other favorite camera, all of Roberts’ work in Capturing the Light was created with instant film, either expired Polaroid or new Fuji. “Though Polaroid quit producing instant film in 2009, Fuji still makes new peel-apart instant film which fuels many of my Polaroid cameras. ‘The Impossible Project’ is a New York based company which bought Polaroid’s factory in the Netherlands so that they could manufacture integral instant film again.”
Roberts does no post-editing to the images other than straighten the scans and remove wayward dust.
“Photography is a bit like life in that you’re continually solving puzzles and problems,” she says, “As I size up a shot I have to make adjustments to the speed and the aperture, the angle and the distance, to best capture and share what I am seeing and what feeling I am trying to convey. Because it’s film, it’s expensive, and I have to put extra thought into each image before I click the shutter. If it works as I saw it in my mind, it’s a victory.”

Ellen Jo Roberts

Both Neely and Roberts share an admiration for each other’s photography and can appreciate the skills, ideas, experience and vision shared. “David captures an electric quality of light in his images that makes the viewer feel a calming energy. His photographs are always very uplifting,” said Roberts of her show partner, “He’s a great champion of photography in general, always very enthusiastic and encouraging.”
Says Neely of Roberts, “I love her approach to image making and her desire to keep the older tools of the trade alive and prospering! Once I saw some of her Polaroids and images from her vast array of vintage cameras I knew we were a perfect match.”

The opening reception for “Capturing the Light: Yesterday and Today in Fine Art Photography” takes place from 5:30pm –8:30pm on Saturday, March 2nd, coinciding with Jerome’s popular ARTwalk. Refreshments will be served. The show runs through May 2nd. The Jerome Artists Cooperative is open daily 10am-6pm. For more information visit jeromecoop.com

3 Ring Circus! March 13-April 21, 2010

“3 Ring Circus”

Jerome Artists Cooperative Gallery

March 13-April 21st, 2010

featuring:

Fashions by Christy Fisher,

Jewelry by Sarah Harms,

and Paintings by Ellen J.D. Roberts

-Opening Gala Saturday March 13th-

Kicking off the spring season in a wild collective romp, three artists with very distinctive styles and inspirations will join forces for a much-anticipated featured exhibit at the Jerome Artists Cooperative Gallery. The show, aptly titled “3 Ring Circus”, will showcase fashions from Jerome’s Christy Fisher, paintings and photos from Clarkdale’s Ellen Jo Roberts, and jewelry and metalwork from Camp Verde’s Sarah Harms.

“Our individual styles all vary quite a bit, but will complement each other in an awesome way when grouped together,” says jeweler Sarah Harms, “Having a common theme, and completely different works will make the show all that much more interesting to view.”

Christy Fisher, a Jerome resident since 1990, is well known and followed for her popular jewelry designs, boutique fashions, and ever-multiplying offshoots into new creativity. A coop member for 10 years, Fisher was born in Jackson, Mississippi. Prior to Arizona, she lived in Florida, both in the Tampa Bay area and Gainesville, Florida –as well as Boston, Boulder, Los Angeles and Atlanta. “I like living on the side of a mountain,” she explains of her home on Cleopatra Hill, ”I love the sunrises and sunsets-- the view here in Jerome is incredible.”

Fisher has an eclectic rock n’ roll history. “I started designing clothing when I was in junior high school, and sold my first garments when I was in high school. I have always loved the fashion industry...even as a child, I designed clothing for paper dolls”. Fisher modeled for Seventeen Magazine in the late 1960s and early ‘70s, where she met many interesting and helpful mentors in the fashion industry. She soon was creating stage clothing for many rock bands, and folks like Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney and Wings, and Frank Zappa's “Mothers of Invention”. “I owned a couple of shops in the ‘80s where I sold clothing to people like Leon Russell and Minnie Ripperton,” says Fisher, “I also performed in a few bands and did clothing for the tours. Some of the guys went on to perform with the Buddy Miles Express, and Lynyrd Skynyrd.”

Fisher continued on in the fashion business, where her lines were carried in places as varied as Macy's, Dillard's, Disney World, and the Smithsonian gift shop. She started her popular jewelry line in the early 1980s. By the late ‘80s, Fisher decided she wanted to concentrate more on the artistic side of design, rather than mass production pieces, so she began selling her work through art galleries and boutiques. Christy Fisher’s work is available through over 80 accounts across the US--including the Jerome Artists Cooperative Gallery. Fisher also owns 2 shops in Jerome: the Fool on the Hill, and Magpie, where she test markets newdesigns.

Why “3 Ring Circus”? Fisher responds, “One of my first summer jobs? I was the gorilla girl in the side show of a carnival”. Her other inspirations for the show are equally colorful: tattooed women, derby girls, sideshow wonders, clowns and carnival lights.

“I think the three of us are making a great bunch of clowns!” exclaims Sarah Harms.

A fan of the Rolling Stones, motorcycles, and fiery hot metal, Harms is one of the co-op’s newer members, having joined the gallery in May 2008. Born in Chicago and raised in Evanston, Illinois, Harms moved to rural Camp Verde, Arizona, 3 years ago with her husband and two young sons. “The Arizona landscape is very inspiring for me right now, and I have included some 'landscapes in metal' in the show. I also enjoy working with rocks, and AZ offers a slew of 'em!” Harms’ jewelry features hand-forged steel, beach stones, river pebbles, and gracious curves.

“I think forging steel is the coolest thing ever!”, she says with her typical high spirited enthusiasm.

Her spiral and heart series, in varying styles, are her most popular sellers. She is also creating brand new pieces withstainless steel washers, with a ring element, using sterling, copper, and gold overlays, as well as bells, to chime in on the “three ring” circus theme.

“For as long as I can remember, I have always liked jewelry,” says Harms. During her freshman year in high school a friend working on a ring for the jewelry design class inspired her. “The light bulb went on for me then. I quickly talked with my guidance counselor, to see what I had to do to get into that class, and made it happen. Senior year, I got a job apprenticing with another jeweler in her studio, where I worked for ten years. Originally, what probably inspired me to make jewelry was just me love of it. The sparkle, noise, and joy of wearing something cool. I still am inspired by the adornment aspect, but I am now more interested in the symbolism included in the work, and wearing jewelry as talismans on some level.”

The third ringmaster in this “3 Ring Circus” is painter Ellen Jo Roberts, member of the gallery since 1997. “This show is going to be outrageous,” Roberts declares, “We all share a common joyfulness that’s so cheerful and light-hearted.” Roberts also shares several other common links with Fisher, and Harms. She and Fisher were Verde Street neighbors in Jerome, and have joined forces for a successful featured artist show in the past. She and Harms share an Illinois connection. Roberts was born in Evanston and grew up in Chicago.

“Christy and Sarah were both my ‘neighbors’ at one time or another. Plus they’re both Virgos, and I seem to have an affinity for partnering up with Virgos. I’m married to one.” Roberts has lived in Clarkdale since 2001, where she shares a vintage brick bungalow with her husband, Chad, and an assortment of pets. She has a bachelor of fine arts degree from Northern Illinois University, and works as Group Coordinator for the Verde Canyon Railroad.

Roberts’ paintings are small economical canvases, ranging from 6x8 up to 12x12, brightly colored and cheery, in durable heavy-bodied acrylics. “I call it ‘maximum artwork for minimum prices.’” Roberts finds inspiration in the American roadsides, western highways, vintage travel trailers, nature, and neon signs. “I think the traveling aspect of the circus is the element I bring to the show. The romance of the vagabond life. Plus, I am really quite fond of this here valley we all call home, being so close to the natural world, the river, and the interesting local history we have. ” An avid shutterbug with a collection of vintage analog cameras, she will also mix some photographs into the show, including several images that were captured with vintage Polaroid Land Cameras.

How will the three artists mesh for the show?

“Are you kidding?,” asks Fisher, “We are the best sidekicks EVER---- All three of us have a strong sense of humor that we bring to our art.”

“3 Ring Circus” opens Saturday, March 13th, with a festive party from 5:30pm-8:30pm. Come one come all to the party under the big top! Refreshments and amusements will be provided.

The show runs through April 21st, 2010. The Jerome Artists Cooperative is located at 502 Main, Jerome Arizona, and open daily from 10am-6pm. For more information call 639-4276, or visit the gallery’s website at http://www.jeromeartistscoop.com/

Trick or Treat • Ellen J.D. Roberts & R.V. Lovelace

October 14, 2006 - November 21, 2006

“From a ‘dramatic mental laboratory’, images are converted with odd humor and illusionism”, said Jerome artist Rick Lovelace in an attempt to describe his “Retro-Vision” pop surrealist style of painting. Lovelace’s newest works of pop-surrealism debut in the “Trick Or Treat” featured artists show with fellow painter Ellen J.D.Roberts. The two last partnered up for the very well received and well attended “Little Monsters” show in 2003, and “Trick or Treat” promises to bring more of the same fun.

Lovelace and Roberts are former neighbors who still maintain a strong friendship, frequently meeting up to enjoy martinis, rancid grade B horror films from the 50s and 60s, and compare their collective collection of kitschy artifacts. With influences ranging wild and wide-- dreams, “bad sign painting”, petroglyphs and road trips-- the two are connected by common vocabulary and subject matter though their styles are vastly different. Lovelace's style is clean and controlled, airbrush and mixed media, while Roberts makes a mess of the canvas with oil paint and pastels, carving into the painting with layers of texture. For the show promotional poster the two daringly mixed together their very different styles into one painting, a perfect blend of minimalism and maximalism.

"Phantom storytelling is always the key to unlock interpretation," declares Lovelace, perhaps getting right to the heart of "Trick or Treat's" theme. Phantom stories and ghostly memories-just in time for Halloween!

Photos from the opening: