INSECTICIDE AN ART EXHIBITION May 15 thru June 22, 2010

ARTIST STATEMENT

My work illuminates the natural world and enables the viewer to become a tourist in a surreal display of natural specimens collected from throughout the Los Angeles area. By affording the viewer an opportunity to experience a symbiotic connection to nature’s smaller creations, I am hoping a greater appreciation for their intricate beauty is attained. My lifelong passion for photography and nature, as well as my darkroom expertise, have merged together to create this body of work called “Illuminated Negatives” which are created without the use of film, camera, or computer. Original Illuminated Negatives are collections of limited edition color photograms consisting of leaves, flowers and insects. The resulting large scale prints created by my photogram process allows the viewer to experience heretofore unseen hidden wonders of the specimens. Color photograms are unique ?X-ray type? photographs created in the darkroom by placing objects between light-sensitive color paper and a light source [color enlarger]. Most commonly seen photograms are Black & White and are limited to the size of the specimen. With the use of a dichroic enlarger and color photographic paper, I dramatically alter the size and color of the specimen. My original photograms generate limited editions because once the objects are removed or start to deteriorate, that particular arrangement is gone.  The two images being displayed here are reproductions of the limited edition originals.

BIO
Christine M. Caldwell was born and raised in St. Louis Missouri. She relocated to California to attend Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. Since graduating in 1995 with a BFA in Photography, she has worked continuously as a darkroom technician mastering the intricacies of both Color and B/W darkroom printing. As a successful commercial photographer since 1995, she has combined her photographic talents with her lab expertise to effectively deliver images to a wide range of Publications and Ad Agencies. As the General Manager of Translight Photography Center, a self-service photography lab Christine also provides private instruction and conducts workshops in darkroom printing.

Additionally, Christine has a Fine Art endeavor called ‘Illuminated Negatives’. She has developed a unique ‘spin’ on the Photogram process where she creates vibrant and colorful work in the darkroom without the use of camera, film or computer manipulation. Her images have been exhibited at Galleries throughout the United States and select juried Fine Art Fairs in the Western US. Illuminated Negatives has been awarded second place at the ‘2010 Juried Show’ at Topanga Canyon Gallery, the Blue Ribbon for Photography at the 2009 Beverly Hills Affaire in the Gardens Fine Art Show, and was chosen for the ‘Images of the Year 2008’ issue by American Photo Magazine. Illuminated Negatives was enthusiastically reviewed by the LA Times in August 2008.