Nicole Barrasse
Tim Butler
Liz Faist
Sara Fontana
Carly Griffith
Lisa Hinkle
Natalie Mennicucci
Mina Pikhala
Nicky Moser
Ward Roe
Robert Stark

All images in this exhibit started with light and then were printed by hand using various processes. These processes date back to times when photography was born and when a photographer had to go into a very time consuming journey to make a single image.

Why would these old, time consuming, and many times cumbersome processes still be used today in a time when it can be so easy to make a print by the touch of the button?

The answer is simple; the beauty and uniqueness of these prints is unquestionable. Artists can select a particular process to convey a desired feel to fine-tune their ideas. Since the emulsion is usually applied by hand it can become a part of the composition and each print is as unique as a painting. The processes can cross into other media, especially printmaking, and their use is further being explored in combinations with the digital process. Even though these processes are old, there is nothing old fashioned about them; the image can be as contemporary or as timeless as an artist chooses it to be.

These processes are chemical, using different materials. Some are costly, for example platinum. They are usually very stable archivally. We know now, they will last over a century.

When I was selecting works for this exhibit, I was looking for a diversity of the processes and an individuality of each piece, rather then looking for a cohesive theme. In my knowledge, most of these artists produce only limited amount of the alternative process images beside their usual work, and so these images are not shown that often. I wanted to bring them out to show that these processes are not forgotten and probably never will. The proof is in a new generation of image makers included in this exhibit beside more experienced artists.

Ivana Pavelka