Technicolor Life
“There can be plenty of cinema and interesting characters if you pay attention.” –Bill McCullough
Artist Bill McCullough’s vivid color series, “Technicolor Life,” explores the ritual of weddings in the United States. McCullough is a professional photographer who has had unfettered access to the personalities and pageantry of wedding celebrations. His unique style emphasizes the mysterious, more ambiguous side of this phenomenon of modern American life.
“My background is rooted in science and music, which has created in me a deep understanding of patterns and rhythm. I view scenes as giant kinetic events; in that compressed atmosphere, I am constantly moving because time is finite and the number of interesting situations seemingly infinite. I strive for a pure approach to photography, letting moments play out without my interference. My idea of a great photograph is one that transcends its context and allows for many different interpretations. My intent is not to compartmentalize life and art, but to find some space that links the two together.”
We Shall
“The subject of public housing, its sudden eradication, and its significance to the history of race and class issues in the U.S., though fascinating, is beyond the reach of photography.” –Paul D’Amato
In 2003, artist Paul D’Amato began photographing three public housing projects on Chicago’s near west side: Rockwell Gardens, Henry Horner, and Cabrini-Green. “We Shall,” as a much larger portfolio, is dominated by pictures of the area’s residents. These portraits are taken from a close, but not intimate, middle distance and feature the direct gaze of subjects who seem open yet guarded. Their expressions register somewhere between resistance and resignation, as intense and complicated as their situation.
“As a photographer my strategy is to make photographs that insist on the significance of the person standing in front of the camera. . . The pictures have to be specific and equal to the uniqueness of the individual pictured. This requires a certain kind of performative achievement by both my subject and myself. We have to act, pretend even, that our common humanity is far greater than differences in ethnicity, class, education, age, and gende
Blue Sky is a nonprofit exhibition space and community research center dedicated to educating the public about photography through exhibitions, public programs, and publications.
Founded as the Oregon Center for the Photographic Arts by a group of five young photographers in 1975, Blue Sky became an established venue for local photography. Over the course of three decades, the organization expanded its offerings to include national and international artists, many of whom exhibited at Blue Sky early in their careers.
Blue Sky’s special mission continues to be the exhibition of emerging and established artists that exemplify the finest in photographic vision and innovation. As such, Blue Sky has earned the accolade as having “the best record of discovering new photographers of any artists’ space in the country.”
Today, from a 3,700-square-foot facility in Portland’s historic DeSoto Building, Blue Sky presents between 20 and 30 exhibitions annually and offers monthly artist talks and programs, all free to the public.
www.BlueSkyGallery.org
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