Inspiration, Born Out of Wonder
By Henry K. Long
Ryan Linke was born and raised in Venice, CA. He was first introduced to photography in 1993 when he was in fifth grade. He was immediately intrigued by it. He loved the whole process. “We would go to a lab on 6th & Broadway in Santa Monica and develop our own rolls of black and white film. We also got to print our own black and white pictures.” His love of photography has continued as an adult.
Linke talks about the inspiration for his new series…“One thing that inspired this body of work was my time spent in a photo lab. The photographer has created a unique process that is very much like an older photo process. “Because I laminate and transfer images to wood each piece is truly unique. I have combined the use digital cameras with an analog process. A click of the shutter creates my score. A fraction of a second becomes the blueprint for each piece. Several gestures are then incorporated and the pieces become figments of a unique moment in time. Ultimately each piece is a tribute to our earth and the beauty it supplies us with.”
Linke’s solo exhibition entitled “Aquatic Figments” opens at dnj Gallery on September 14th, 2019. Also opening is “Radiate” by Karen Amy Finkel Fishof.
Finkel Fishof was first introduced to photography by her father, who was an amateur photographer. “We had a darkroom in my house growing up so I’ve always been aware of photography. He actually won some awards and taught me how to see things with a discerning eye.” Her father taught her the basics of photography and encouraged her. When she was just seven years old and heading to summer sleep away camp, he bought her a camera of her own. He later bought her a professional Canon with interchangeable lenses and filters and a carrying case, when she was fifteen. She has both cameras to this day.
When asked what type of photographs Finkel Fishof shoots, she replied, “My work is cameraless, so I don’t “shoot” any pictures with a camera although they are all analog black and white photography. They are photograms. I stage scenes and then expose them on the photo paper. I then process the paper traditionally in the darkroom using standard black and white development chemistry. Since there is no negative each piece is a one of a kind, like a painting.”
The Collection Room will feature an exhibition of photographs by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Louis C. Stoumen. He published ten photography books in his forty-year career. He passed away in 1991, and 1992, MOPA received these archives, which hold all of Stoumen’s photographs, films, publications and professional documents. This exhibition features works from his New York series from MOPA’s permanent collection.
The opening reception will be held on Saturday, September 14th, 2019 from 7-10pm. dnj Gallery is located at 3015 Ocean Park Boulevard, Santa Monica, 90405. The exhibition will remain on view through October 26th, 2019. 310.315.3551; http://dnjgallery.net
