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From Pale to Brilliant: Through the Infrared Lens Curated by Barry Parsons
Show available:
June 13, 2009 through
September 12, 2009
THROUGH THE INFRARED LENS
Infrared photographs are dreamy and evocative because artists are recording not only visible light but invisible infrared radiation. In an outdoor scene which is sunlit, grass and green foliage will take on a white, snowy appearance because the chlorophyll in a healthy plant reflects infrared radiation, but absorbs most of the visible radiation. Buildings will appear very light or white with a glow around them since they also reflect a great deal of infrared rays.
The exhibition Through the Infrared Lens will be on view at the St. George Art Museum from June 13th-September 12th, 2009. Participants are David L. Hurst, Pat Hurst, Gary Hurst, Craig Law, Nard Nebeker, Rob Oliver, Barry Parsons and Julie Parsons. David and Pat Hurst are married as are Barry and Julie Parsons. There are 53 photographs in the show, and all of the images were shot with a digital camera and an infrared filter.
For the exhibition, Barry Parsons transformed an image of fallen, burned trees into a vision that is dramatic and mystical due to the marked contrast of the thin, dead tree trunks scattered in the foreground and the glowing, upright trees in the background. Parsons says he likes working with infrared because it imparts an unearthly radiance to a scene. Parsons, who lives in Wellsville, curated the exhibition. He is an adjunct professor at Utah State University, Brigham City campus, where he has taught basic photography for 10 years, and he has been taking pictures for 25 years. When questions about unique experiences he has had, Parsons remembered a visit to Yosemite National Park where he stood alone at the lookout where Ansel Adams made one of his famous images. Parsons noticed there were a lot of tourists in different locations taking photos with their point-and-shoot cameras. He set up his eight-by-ten view camera, and pulled a dark cloth over his head to darken the daylight. When he emerged from the cover, there was a long line of people behind him photographing the scenery. Unlike the tourists, Parsons didn’t take one image at the site.
Craig Law, a professor of art at Utah State University for 31 years, states the challenge of infrared is to obtain an image that feels like it is ethereal and a step removed from normal reality, yet not having the technique dominant. Law, who lives in Logan, has been involved with infrared about as long as he has been a professor. He recalls, “My first notable infrared images were done in the late 1970’s, and they are still with me. The images are part of a body of work with the figure as the subject using black-and-white infrared film as the recording material.” His work resides in notable collections, including the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. His photographs have also been published in Smithsonian Magazine.
Nard Nebeker’s image of two Las Vegas palm trees brings out a softness and mood unlike traditional photography. The trees have chalk-like highlights, and the foliage in the background has a feathered appearance. Nebeker loves the look of infrared imagery because it’s so different from black-and-white photography and because he’s utilizing a light spectrum that normally cannot be seen with the naked eye. He says, “Infrared…gives an alien-eye effect which is fun.” He hopes that patrons viewing his compositions say, “I never noticed that before”.
The mountain scene Rob Oliver shot in Paradise has a magical quality in as much as the tree trunks seem to emit white smoke and the swirl of leaves looks like the clouds overhead. Oliver says, “I see myself as an artist, with a camera, who is able to use light, instead of paints, pigments or even words, to create and bring to life my vision of the world.” Oliver, a resident of Brigham City, experiences an adrenal surge from infrared photography because he can’t see exactly what he will get when he looks through the lens. For 15 years, he has been photographing places, especially Promontory Point.
Pat Hurst’s photo of Nancy Holt’s Sun Tunnel in the desert west of the Great Salt Lake seems worlds away with its mysterious shine. The tunnel constructed in 1976 is one of four 18’ cast concrete earthwork tunnels or tubes laid out in an open x configuration by Holt. The alignment of the tunnels corresponds with points at the solstices and constellations. Each tunnel is punctured by holes creating a constellation whose shadows are cast and move about through the tunnel as the sun moves across the sky varying by time and the seasons. Hurst, who lives in West Haven, has an eye for the uncommon. The first photo she produced was of an old, rusty truck with a pine tree growing out of it. The piece was included in the corporate calendar of Autoliv where Hurst worked on the assembly line. Concerning the first infrared piece she created of a grain field and barn roof in Idaho, Hurst says, “I was in awe of what both my eye and camera saw and the resulting print.”
David L. Hurst declares he always has his eyes and ears open to find or hear of a new place to explore and maybe find animals and scenery to photograph. He quest took him to the south fork of Chalk Creek near Coalville where he shot a mountain range that looks like disjointed buildings designed by the famous architect Frank Gehry. The interrelation of the mountains and the infrared lens initiates a surreal look, which is one of the effects Hurst likes most about the medium. He has been energized by photography since the mid 1980’s when his goal was to compose high-quality fine art, which included converting the only bathroom in his home into a weekend darkroom.
Julie Parsons took her first photograph at age ten for 25 years since that time. She earned a BFA and gravitated toward infrared because it’s a little odd.
It wasn’t a big leap from infrared film to digital for Gary Hurst of Roy because he’s been pushing the limits of infrared for 15 years. What fascinates Hurst about the effect of the invisible radiation wavelengths is the varying sensitivity of the subjects notable in his photograph of towering redwood trees in a large grove in Northern California. He says photography allows him to let go of day-to-day rigors and stresses and tap into his creative self.
Information for this exhibit comes from Mary Alice Hobbs, and the exhibit is courtesy of the Brigham City Museum/Gallery where it was on view from 11/7-12/6/2008.
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