Friday, June 7, 2013

American Darkness at Danziger Gallery

The show American Darkness currently on display at the Danziger Gallery is a joint exhibit of photography work by O. Winston Link and Gregory Crewdson.  According to the press release, Crewdson claims to have taken the title of the exhibit from a film review of Blue Velvet by Pauline Kael.  It definitely is a catchy title but has little to do with the work shown other than in the most literal sense.

Of course, it is the work of Link that is of most interest in the exhibit.  These consist of black & white 16x20 prints of elaborately staged photos of old time railroad locomotives taken in the 1950's at various points along the train tracks where the Norfolk and Western Railway intruded on Virginia and West Virginia suburbia.  As such, they possess great interest simply as pieces of vanished Americana.  But they also represent a tour de force of off-camera flash lighting using an enormous number of primitive flash bulbs.  I have never encountered a technical explanation of why Link made this choice since, to the best of my knowledge, the more easily controlled "strobe" lighting was even then available (Speedotron had set up shop in 1939).  As it was, the overpowering lighting used enabled Link to stop down the lens on his 4x5 view camera to achieve maximum depth of field at high shutter speeds.  Not only are the trains frozen in place but every detail in the frame is in sharp focus.

Although no technical information was provided, the gallery attendant informed me that the prints shown had been made by Link himself in the 1990's.  If so, he was exceptionally talented as a darkroom technician.  These prints are incredibly accomplished and display a mastery of printing technique.  The glossy paper he used has the look of Seagull which was an extremely popular choice among photographers during that period.

The works by Crewdson are also elaborately staged.  They consist of oversize digital prints of moody low-light scenarios apparently intended to emulate snapshots taken on the "wrong side of the tracks."  The low key lighting is well handled and unobtrusive.  I do not have any details regarding post processing.

Unfortunately, I was not able to view the entire exhibit because the "Project Room" where a number of Link's photos had been hung had been closed without notice for private use.  I do not know when or if full access to these photos will be restored.

The exhibit continues through June 14, 2013.

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