Barbara Van Cleve (b. 1935)
View Artist Biography
Title:
Horse Power
Date:
2007
Size:
20 x 13 7/8 inches
Medium:
Archival Pigment Print
Signed:
L/R
Artist Statement:
Obviously, part of being a photographer is getting the image on film and developing it. The other part, and equally important, is the work of putting the image on paper so it reveals what I saw, experienced and knew when I made the photograph. There are many variables in this work: papers (surfaces, textures, colors or tones), developers, and the interpretive darkroom work of dodging and burning. Because my approach to the world is one of openness, curiosity and warmth, I prefer to make warm tone black and white photographic prints which invite the viewer to enter the image. Tactile paper surfaces don’t “reflect,” rather they seem to “absorb” the light which can draw the viewer into the image and help to reveal the image’s “self” or “being.” Sometimes, a matte surface paper can emphasize environmental aspects of the image, for example, dust, rain and snow. At the very least the tactile surface of the matte papers reveals, reinforce or enhance the essence of the image.
Obviously, part of being a photographer is getting the image on film and developing it. The other part, and equally important, is the work of putting the image on paper so it reveals what I saw, experienced and knew when I made the photograph. There are many variables in this work: papers (surfaces, textures, colors or tones), developers, and the interpretive darkroom work of dodging and burning. Because my approach to the world is one of openness, curiosity and warmth, I prefer to make warm tone black and white photographic prints which invite the viewer to enter the image. Tactile paper surfaces don’t “reflect,” rather they seem to “absorb” the light which can draw the viewer into the image and help to reveal the image’s “self” or “being.” Sometimes, a matte surface paper can emphasize environmental aspects of the image, for example, dust, rain and snow. At the very least the tactile surface of the matte papers reveals, reinforce or enhance the essence of the image.