Larissa Leclair

310 conTEMPORARY / RELATIVE EXPOSURE: photographs of family
December 6, 2010 — January 29, 2011
310 S. Michigan, Chicago, IL
Monday – Saturday 11:30-5:30

Artists’ Reception: Thursday, December 16, 2010 5:00 — 8:00 pm

“RELATIVE EXPOSURE | photographs of family” features the work of Nick Albertson, Matt Austin, Latrice Dixon, Aron Gent, Julie Jones, Heather Kouros, Natalie Krick, and Eric Pickersgill. The 310 conTEMPORARY Gallery is a collaborative project between the Columbia College Chicago Photography Department and the Hyde Park Art Center. This exhibition is part of Chicago Loop Alliance’s Pop-Up Art Loop initiative.

I’m a big fan of Matt Austin and his photographic work and for this exhibition I love the fact that he is the only one not showing work in a framed photo form. Instead, his artist book “Wake” will be on view (see images above)-  a stunning hand-made box of loose prints and text. This format for presentation slows down the reading of the work and creates an intimate dialog with the viewer.

“Wake,” as well as three other titles, “Freedom Isn’t Free,” “Try to be more positive,” and “Desert Days,” can be found in the permanent collection of the Indie Photobook Library. And if you live in Chicago, copies of “Wake” can be borrowed for a two-week period. Love that. To find out more about Matt Austin, visit his website and tumblr, and read his recent interview at Geronimo Projects.

Larissa Leclair has teamed up with One Hour Photo to feature photographers from this exhibition. Read the initial post here. Today’s photographers are Lisa McCarty, Michael Kenny, Chris Davis, Katy Rossing, and Matt Austin.

11-noon: Lisa McCarty

Describe the photograph selected for One Hour Photo in three words:
Ghostly, inexplicable, fortuitous

How does one go about selecting a photograph that is good enough for an exhibition but that can never be seen again?
When submitting an image to any show I don’t think in terms of quality, but what image do I feel strongly about and would best fit the concept. The knowledge that my image would be seen for one hour and then never again actually made me want to select something I wouldn’t want to let go of rather than an image I was ok with never seeing/showing again. I saw it as a challenge to give away something that was truly meaningful me.

What are your thoughts on letting go of this image?
I’m really excited. This is an experiment, and I can’t wait to see how I’m affected, how the viewers are affected, and eventually how the image changes in my mind as time passes.

Website: www.lisamccarty.com

12-1pm: Michael Kenny

1-2pm: Chris Davis

Describe the photograph selected for One Hour Photo in three words:
mantis on windshield

How does one go about selecting a photograph that is good enough for an exhibition but that can never be seen again?
all data has a shelf life, some longer than others: there is no permanence.

What are your thoughts on letting go of this image?
this photo has been sitting in a box for almost ten years, i am happy that it will have a moment to shine. the photo is of a truly fleeting moment in time – an unexpected event where a mantis hitchhiked a ride from College Park, MD, through DC, and left us somewhere around 14th and U St NW.

Website/Blog: http://blog.defbyte.com
I’ve just started this whole blogging thing, bear with me…
it doesn’t really reflect me in totality

2-3pm: Katy Rossing

Describe the photograph selected for One Hour Photo in three words:
Full-sized American jest

How does one go about selecting a photograph that is good enough for an exhibition but that can never be seen again?
I looked for a photograph that I thought captured something I found both quotidian and thought-provoking. Those qualities seemed to fit the bill.

What are your thoughts on letting go of this image?
The photograph was taken spontaneously; I literally did not break my stride to photograph it as I walked by. So the image itself seemed like a lucky fluke to me, so I feel like it’s somehow right to let it go this way.

Website/Blog: http://www.katyrossing.wordpress.com

3-4pm: Matt Austin

Describe the photograph selected for One Hour Photo in three words:
accidental elegiac goodbye

How does one go about selecting a photograph that is good enough for an exhibition but that can never be seen again?
It wasn’t easy to choose. At first, I was sorting through images that I’d made a long time ago that I really liked at the time but never did anything with. I was thinking it would kind of ensure the idea of never using it again in a more formal way. But then after searching far too long for the “best image” of that category, the concept of swearing to never show it again interested me much more. The idea of challenging myself with that kind of discipline became far more appealing than choosing which image would best represent me to the public. I wanted the concept of saying goodbye to something to be embodied by the image that would then be embodied by the exhibition. The process of spending the time selecting the photograph was rewarding in itself, I was satisfied with that experience on its own.

What are your thoughts on letting go of this image?
It feels good to do; I choose to interpret it as a kind of tribute or honor. The photograph was initially a mistake: an accidental double-exposure of my mom’s boyfriend Richie’s bed and snow falling on his front lawn. I made the images on the day that he passed away on January 25, 2010. I wanted to take the opportunity of the one-hour existence of the piece and use its impermanent dynamic to create a photographic elegy for Richie.

Website: http://mattaustinphoto.com