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The Bakersfield Californian Thursday, June 16, 2011
Editor Jennifer Self | Phone 395-7434 | e-mail jself@bakersfield.com
Making art click Photographer prefers to keep his work old-school BY JENNIFER SELF Californian lifestyles editor jself@bakersfield.com
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ith their auto-focus, auto-exposure — auto-everything — today’s sophisticated cameras have convinced many of us point-and-shooters that we’re quite the photographer. And when you throw in the endless digital tricks and software that allow us to tinker and fuss until we get the exact image we want, the whole process is pretty much idiot-proof. But to the real artist, that’s just cheating. And, more to the point, though digital wizardry is all well and good, it’s certainly no substitute for a true artist’s eye for composition and content. Just ask Harry Wilson, who spent 34 years as a professor of art at Bakersfield College. Wilson is the first photographer included in the five-year history of Eye Gallery, the annual series coordinated by The Californian and the Bakersfield Museum of Art. “The art of photography is simply about expressing yourself regarding what you see and feel,” said Wilson, 67. “My photographs are rather varied; some are about the act of seeing, some are studies of form or the other graphic elements. But organizing the frame is of utmost importance. I think of this as the geometry of the camera. But regardless of the actual subject matter, the photographs are usually about self and place, about being human, and the beauty and horror that we experience.” As college students, photojournalists and even casual shutterbugs move in droves to digital technology, Wilson prefers film and a darkroom, shooting almost exclusively in black-and-white. He concedes — a bit grudgingly — that he’ll likely buy a digital camera himself one day. But not yet. “The important thing for me is the seeing and self-expres-
What is Eye Gallery? Eye Gallery, a partnership of The Californian and the Bakersfield Museum of Art, is celebrating five years of bringing the works of dozens of local artists into the homes of our readers. The series, which featured 10 artists this year, concludes today with a reception at the Bakersfield Museum of Art, starting at 6 p.m. See the accompanying article for more information.
sion,” he said in an email exchange. “So I like to keep the process and techniques simple. I appreciate color but, personally, I want the least between me and the image, and black-andwhite is an important part of keeping it simple. “For this exhibit I have decided to print larger than is possible in my darkroom. So I had a custom lab make a 20-by-30 digital print from my 35-millimeter negative.” More of our discussion with the well-traveled Wilson, who retired from BC in 2005. Tell us about your Eye Gallery photo, “Night Club, Weed Patch, CA, 2011”: This photograph is from a body of work that explores the small towns in the West, unlike most of my photographs that have been made overseas. I have photographed in about 40 different countries around the world. Most of my photographs deal with the travel experience and my response to place. Its history, culture, politics, art and design. I like to think, that for the artist, there is no preferred subject matter. Everything is a possible subject. The key is to remain open, receptive, with no preconceived ideas. I like the Lisette Model quote: “You are the subject, life is the object. It’s your own response to what’s happening in front of you that you’re actually photographing.” It seems a shame that many photography students are no longer taught to use film and to process their work in darkrooms. That’s Please see PAGE 32
PHOTO COURTESY OF HARRY WILSON
“Night Club, Weed Patch, CA” is a work by Harry Wilson. “This photograph is from a body of work that explores the small towns in the West,” Wilson said.