March 21, 2008
Everyday is “Dia de Los Muertos” in my new exhibit “Rest in Color.”
My photo show takes viewers “up close” to gravesites in the El Paso area. What I find are colorful celebrations of life, not the somber forbidden grays and browns most commonly associated with final resting places.
Of course we celebrate the lives of our loved ones in our area with Dia de Los Muertos, where grave sites are decorated and cleaned and on anniversaries. What I wanted to see was what cemeteries where like at other times of the year. Do we just remember loved ones once a year, year round, some in-between, or do we just forget about them? I hope that what someone will see in this exhibit is that we celebrate our loved ones throughout the year. And even those sites that are a little worn still can be colorful and memorable remembrances.
With an artist’s eye for detail and a new outlook for color, I have recently shifted his work from muted colors and black and whites to bold colors. I also has moved into large prints. For the first time in a 20+ year photographic career, I will be displaying my work in poster-size 20x30 inch prints.
My wife told me that I needed to start making my work larger and more colorful, and the venue at Lighthouse presented an opportunity to try the larger format. So this work is poster-sized photographic prints for the first time ever in my career. I think everyone will be happy with the results.
I use Nikon digital cameras, and for this show, did no photographic manipulation other than simply cropping the images. What you see in the prints is exactly what I saw when I took the picture. I like to keep the manipulation to a minimum, limiting it to things that only traditional photographers would be able to do, such as cropping, increasing contrast, or dodging and burning. I think that some photographers become enamored with computer software instead of the image, and use it as a crutch to “fix” an image after it was taken.
This is actually my second show in less than a year. My first was all about the bold colors and lines of graffiti found all around El Paso. That show was called “Public Art.” The response was very good, and many people commented that they liked how I was moving to more colorful images. I decided to continue that color direction, but with the idea of looking for color where most people don’t expect color to be. Thus “Rest in Color: The Color of El Paso Area Cemeteries.”
The 10 poster-sized images in the show were taken at several locations, including the famous Concordia Cemetery in El Paso and several in southern New Mexico. The show fits in very well as part of the Lenten season, and will remain on exhibit throughout April.
The fact that we open up the day before Good Friday was a coincidence, but after thinking about it, the images really work with the time of year. I guess it was a lucky set of circumstances. The folks at Lighthouse Coffee have been wonderful to me, and also to local photographers in general.
Indeed, Lighthouse has become sort of an informal local photographer hangout, displaying several local photo shows in the past year. The fact that Lighthouse co-owner Leland DeFord III is a professional photographer doesn’t hurt. He welcomes local amateur, semi-pro and professional photographers in his shop. Photography has always had a hard time finding a home in El Paso, but DeFord and his Lighthouse Coffee seems to welcome the niche with open arms.
I conclude: “The set up for the show is a little different than most “gallery shows.” The pictures will all be mounted above the viewer, not framed, and high enough to almost touch the ceiling. It is an unusual way to display, but after talking to the people at the shop, it made sense. Viewers will have a great view, but it will be an unusual viewing angle to say the least. I hope everyone enjoys what we have done.
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“Rest in Colors: Colors of El Paso Cemeteries” opened Thursday (March 20) at Lighthouse Coffee Company at 7:00 PM, 3021 McCrae and runs through April. For more information, contact Lighthouse Coffee at 594-7879. My photo website is located at www.snipurl.com/timholt