Asheville Apotheosis Photographic Monoprints by Robert Asman
Robert Asman: Asheville Apotheosis Asheville Apotheosis is both an exhibition and photoessay of new and unique photographic monoprints by Robert Asman. A resident of Asheville, Asman is recognized as one of the most important American photographers of his generation with a career spanning 40 years. Each 16x20� monoprint in the exhibition extends the photographic lexicon as a unique artistic composition of selenium toned gelatin silver with hand applied developer through which Asman engages the viewer in both imagery and narrative to explore the visual iconography of Asheville with urban street and rural landscape studies.
Table of Contents Forward pg 2 Introduction pg 4 A Serious Enchantment pg 6 Influences pg 7 On the Monoprint pgs 8-9 Photographic Monoprints pgs 3,5,6-31 About Artetude Gallery pg 32 Š 2015
Artetude Gallery 89 Patton Avenue Asheville, North Carolina 28801 www.artetudegallery.com amedford@artetudegallery.com Edition 1.0 Cover: Guardian, 16x20� selenium toned gelatin silver print with hand applied developer
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Foreward I have to mention the final phase of art making: sharing it
It has been a wonderful relationship, and their courage
with the public. Quite often, the best art from a society is left
and open-mindedness allow me to show a variety of my work,
undiscovered. The process of sharing art with the public can be
which would not be possible in many southern venues.
very difficult, and for this reason, the business of art is of
Freedom to take emotional and personal risks with one’s work is
utmost importance. The impact of my work feels minimized
one of the finest offerings an artist can receive, even when the
on the computer screen, particularly when it is competing with
product may be uncomfortable. Russ and Kenny have given
the myriad of digital photography images on the Internet; in
me that gift, and I am immeasurably grateful. They have really
this setting, photography can feel homogenized by technology.
been a powerful force for inspiration and guidance, as well as great friends, and that magic is so important to art productions'
Several years ago, I was fortunate to walk into a new art
main ingredients: freedom and truth.
space opening on Patton Street while, by luck, one of the owners, Dr. Russell Medford was inside photographing some
Robert Asman
amazing sculptures. I introduced myself, and a week later, he
Montford, North Carolina
and his wife Dr. Margaret “Kenny” Offermann were at my
May, 2015
studio, which I call “The Cave”, and I was sharing my work, philosophy, and history with them. They already had a substantial stable of artists from around the country, but I became the first walk-on artist for their team.
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Resting between the barrels
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Introduction Asheville Apotheosis is an exhibition of new and unique
brief return to Washington, Asman lived for thirty-five years in
photographic monoprints by Robert Asman, recognized as one of
Philadelphia where he ran a commercial black/white photography
the most important American photographers of his generation.
lab and taught fine art photography at Moore College of Art &
An Asheville resident since 2006, Asman’s career spans 40 years
Design, Drexel University, University of the Arts, and University
and is characterized by a diversity of proprietary techniques and
of Pennsylvania in addition to working as a fine art photographer.
methods that experiment and take idiosyncratic risks while
His career has been marked by several honors, including a
stretching the boundaries of traditional black and white
Pew Fellowship in the Arts and a Fellowship from the Pennsylvania
photography.
Council on the Arts. His work has been exhibited internationally in
Each 16x20” monoprint in the exhibition is a unique artistic
many solo and group exhibitions including at the Institute of
composition of selenium toned gelatin silver with hand applied
Contemporary Art, Philadelphia; the Philadelphia Museum
developer by which Asman extends the photographic lexicon while
of Art; West Chester University, West Chester, PA; Galerie Paviot,
exploring the visual iconography of Asheville through urban street
Paris; National Museum of Art, Bucharest, Romania; Robert Klein
and rural landscapes studies. His manipulations of the content are
Gallery, Boston, MA; Delaware Center for Contemporary Art,
often striking and employ such techniques as manipulated
Wilmington, DE; Paul Cava Gallery, Philadelphia; and The Print
calotypes (paper negatives) and multiple chemical aberrations that
Center.
are quite diverse in both texture and coloring to what is normally
Asman’s work is found in numerous permanent and private
considered the lexicon of the black and white photographic print.
collections of distinction including Arcadia University,
The resulting alteration of the silver photographic paper's base
Glenside, PA; Haverford College, Haverford, PA; Free Library
metals in the darkroom (which Asman refers to as his cave) quite
of Philadelphia; George Eastman House, Rochester, NY; Houston
often resembles and is, in a sense, an alchemical change which
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX; Library
Asman controls seemingly effortlessly so the process and content
of Congress, Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia Museum of Art;
merge. This results in feelings and moods of great range; from the
Smithsonian Museum of American Art, Washington, D.C. and
sublimely beautiful to the bizarre which quite often communicates
The State Museum of Pennsylvania,Harrisburg, PA.
with a surface of ironic humor. Robert Asman was born in Washington, D.C. He received a
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Amy Medford, Director, Artetude Gallery
BA from Catholic University, Washington, D.C. in 1973 and an
Asheville, North Carolina
MFA from the renowned photography program at the Rochester
May, 2015
Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY in 1975. After a
Guardian
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A Serious Enchantment I began taking photographs in Asheville in 2005 after a serious enchantment overtook me. I was living in Philadelphia and running Asman Custom Photo, a black and white custom lab, which I had owned and operated for thirty-five years doing custom darkroom work for others and myself. The photography industry was changing. The rising popularity of digital photography, as well as “giclee” (spit in French), which describes fine art digital prints made on an ink jet printer, were redefining the art of photography. As many of my clients transitioned to electronic media, my business took a significant hit. In addition to affecting me professionally, I realized this change in photographic culture was also impacting my state of mind. After all those years working in the streets of Philadelphia, I began to crave a slower pace and a communion with the natural world. After taking several trips to Asheville with my camera, my imagination and circumstances propelled me here. I set up shop with a much smaller lab in an old rental house in Montford, where I have continued my work in an environment quite opposite from where I came. In addition to doing my own work, I have continued to do lab work for others because it sparks my own creative photographic work, which can be otherwise consuming both physically and mentally.
Halfway gone 6
Influences Asheville has a reputation for being a great art town. Because there are so many fantastic photographers here, it took me some time to come up with my own vision and vocabulary to photographically experience this stunning environment. Jack Burns was running a lab, but he was also exhibiting a poignant body of work nationally and internationally, which was shining a light on the ambiguity of the practice of religion in Asheville and around the South. Rob Amberg was using his intensity, honesty, and trusting nature to athletically and gracefully trap his subjects in the photographic frame in order to depict the culture and spirit of different groups in the mountains of Western North Carolina. John Dickson’s nature photography brilliantly captures the beauty and sensuality of the ecosystems, atmosphere, and unique diversity of species surrounding our great city. Asheville also has a photo gallery run by the fabulous figure photographer Brie Castell, who also brilliantly explores the medium while selflessly promoting the efforts of other photographers in the region. In addition to these local artists, I have also been i n fl u e n c e d b y n u m e r o u s l a n d s c a p e photographers, especially Eugene Atget, Robert Frank, and Lee Friedlander. I am inspired by their visionary portrayals of overlooked environments that permeate our existence.
Faceless drama 7
On the Monoprint With that background, I want to present my own vision and have my unique photographic "works on paper" monoprints add to the culture of the region to which I am so indebted. After photographing for several years here, I finally started to arrive at a method with which I could give soulfulness to the unexpected scenes lurking on the peripheries of the obvious. I rendered these images in the darkroom on silver paper and edited the work in such a way so as to capture these moments. I wanted to highlight the s t r a n g e, i m p e r m a n e n t b e a u t y i n t h e overlooked, commonplace aspects of life. The writer Thomas Wolfe is quite revered today, but his writings were banned here during his lifetime. He authored the great American novel "Look Homeward Angel." Wolfe’s writing, as well as the work of his revered illustrator, Ralph Steadman, both evoke a style not dissimilar from my photography.
American icon 8
I am very much "old school" in my photographic tastes; I like my images slow-cooked and unique. The working process is very much like breathing, and I have certainly ritualized it in my life. I inhale and go out into the world and collect content; I then exhale the images in my darkroom cave environment. Authenticity and honesty are very important to my work and the methods of its creation. I don't want to obscure the random and haphazard, but rather I seek to embellish these. The entire process is dependent on serendipity; wonderful accidents guide me, and I simply get out of the way to allow them to evolve onto photographic paper and create themselves. When working with my photographs on silver paper, I brush different dilutions on the developer, which creates a unique depth to the images. It is almost as if this method of preservation captures a sense of impermanence. Today, anyone can capture images of the world with visual recording devices. Content capture from phones, watches, laptops, drones and satellites is easy and commonplace. This process, however, does not take a conscious artistic effort. This is distinct from the artistic vision of my photographic work on paper. The idea of working with all five senses in art production is so fundamental to my belief system that I have a very hard time wrapping my mind around many of the digital photography products so popular today. The postman rings once 9
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Odyssey at summer’s end
Diamonds of McCormick Field
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Mist on the Blue Ridge
Waiting for the Spring
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Newton meets Einstein
Lightning strike
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Child’s eye view
Icon with graphics 17
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Structure on approach
Black spring in Aston Park
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Lonely chair, Tunnel Road motel
Gated 2008
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Last call, last dance
Cheerleaders with pom poms
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Before the party
Chained with implied motion
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Off the wall
Off road
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Reading between the barrels
The road running through
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The geometry of thought
Self serve
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About Artetude Gallery Artetude Gallery was founded in June 2012 by two physician-scientists who share a love for contemporary art, an understanding of its intrinsic power to heal, and a deep respect for the critical symbiosis between artist and art collector. By showcasing compelling, cutting edge contemporary sculpture, painting and photography from nationally and internationally recognized artists, Artetude Gallery focuses on three objectives: to effectively represent and advance the careers of our talented artists, to build long-term relationships that create new contemporary art collectors and exceed the needs and expectations of established collectors and to contribute to the physical and cultural health of our community by committing a portion of each sale of art through philanthropy. Our goal is to help our contemporary art collectors realize their personal and unique visions in building art collections of substance and meaning in both their home and office settings. Margaret “Kenny” Offermann, MD, PhD and Russell M Medford, MD, PhD are a husband and
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wife team who are co-owners of Artetude Gallery. They are also co-founders and managing partners of Salutramed Group, Inc (www.salutramed.com), an Atlanta and Boston based consulting firm that provides guidance to senior life science, foundation and institutional executives and Boards of Directors to address critical issues of corporate and institutional strategy. They came to Asheville when Dr. Offermann was recruited to serve as founding medical director of the Mission Healthcare SECU Cancer Center. Robert Asman is represented by Artetude Gallery. All works in Asheville Apotheosis are 16 x 20 inch selenium toned gelatin silver prints with hand applied developer. For more information, please contact: Amy Medford, Director Artetude Gallery 89 Patton Ave, Asheville, NC 28801 Tel: (828) 252-1466 amedford@artetudegallery.com
Russell Medford, Publisher Arielle Medford, Editor Amy Medford, Gallery Director Artetude Gallery 89 Patton Avenue Asheville, North Carolina 28801 www.artetudegallery.com June, 2015
Š 2015 Artetude Gallery