EUGENE, Ore. – The Lane Community College Art Gallery is proud to present a two-person photo exhibition, The Verge and 18th Century Gowns by Camilla Dussinger and John, A Tale of Two Photographers, by John Watson.
Camilla Dussinger and John Watson are both faculty within the Department of Art and Applied Design, at Lane Community College. Both work in photography as their primary medium but approach subject matter very differently.
Camilla Dussinger, Artist Statement:
The two series of work in this exhibit explore various ideas behind beauty, desire and identity. The larger color photographs deal with the body in repose and attempt to reveal a state of surrender and vulnerability that one may experience during sleep, while the black and white photographs are a result of a fortuitous encounter with a fashion designer and her male models wearing 18th century gowns and wigs.
While the photos of the latter follow a more traditional sense of portraiture, The Verge photos are glimpses of sleeping figures shrouded in some sort of liquid glaze. The flowing liquid movement is obtained during the making of the prints in the darkroom. No two prints are exactly alike, because of how the manipulation is applied. In some of the images, the colors sweep across the surface blurring and distorting the figure. In others, a veil of liquid covers the sleeping figure as if the body is suspended in gelatin. While half the process of creating the images occurs while shooting in the studio, the other half lies in the elements of surprise that develop in the darkroom.
John Watson: Artist Statement:
On one day I may be documenting an event, and suddenly see something. My mind shifts gears and I transition from documentarian to artist. But aren’t there beautiful photos of places and events? True, but when the intent of the photographer changes, the results can be dramatically different.
Why the juxtaposition of these particular images? The images of the churches document an all-encompassing obsession with the Divine. This obsession is realized most graphically in churches of the borderlands and on into southern Mexico. The religion, a syncretic combination of 16th century Catholic faith with the old Aztec gods and goddesses, wraps you like a cloak, sometimes keeping you safe, sometimes becoming a spiritual albatross, keeping you from the life you imagined for yourself.
The cyanotype images of the Girl (from the series “The Girl and God”) convey what it is to abandon the faith you were raised with, only to find that it is in your DNA and you may never be truly free of it. The nakedness of the female figure in the church speaks to the flaunting of “freedom” from God. But as with Eve in Eden, she finds herself physically naked, facing an evil world without protection. The separation from her Maker isn’t quite working out the way she planned.
Taken together, the series of images speak of the currents and undercurrents of life under the shell of religion. The interiors of these churches are beautiful, and beckon one to spend time with the Creator. The coldness of the cyanotypes reflects the world outside of the church, a coldness one feels even as one sits inside of one of these marvelous places. Will she return to the fold, or find the strength to move on?
The show runs from January 4 to February 11 with an artist lecture and reception on Thursday, January 14 at 3:00 pm. The gallery is located in building 11 on the main campus, 4000 E. 30th Avenue. There is no charge for admission. The Art and Applied Design Department phone number is 541-463-5409.
For more information about Lane Community College:
Lane is an AA/EEO/Veterans/Disabilities Employer
###