June 30 through July 24
The Center for the Arts presents
An exhibition of photographs by
Gene Crowe
Artist’s Reception: Sunday, July 11, 1:00 to 3:00PM
Gallery Hours: Wednesday - Saturday from noon - 5:00PM
Gene Crowe has taught photography for 31 years at Sierra College and taught art and photography for 31 years at Nevada Union High School. His work runs the gamut from black and white to color to digital photography.
He's found that the computer allows a great deal of latitude in working with images that are scanned from film (transparency or negative) or that originate in a digital camera. The works in this exhibit are printed with an inkjet printer (Epson Stylus Pro 3800) using inks and papers intended to last generations. The color images in this show are printed on an acid free drawing paper. The black and white prints are printed on Lasal Glossy Photo Paper. All prints are archivally mounted and matted.
His work ranges from architectural photography to portraits to landscapes to more abstract images. Among his influences, Crowe cites the work of painters Clyfford Still, Franz Kline, Mark Rothko, and Charles Sheeler. Crowe says, “There is pleasure in composing the image so that the photograph works as a whole, not as a collection of unintended parts. The possibility of failure is the threat that makes success all the more exhilarating.”
The color series represented in the exhibit is a group of photographs of “Details” some no more than light playing on a surface; others contain glassware, wilted flowers, pieces of fruit, and found objects.
The black and white photographs are “Details” of Nevada City. The images are almost equally divided between the restoration of the old Elks building following the fire of spring 2002 and found sights/sites around town.
A resident of Nevada City, Crowe moved to Nevada County in 1964. He and his wife Judy have a daughter, two sons, and four grandchildren.
I believe that my work should stand on its own without captions or explanations. Those devices serve only to limit the viewer’s contribution to the work. There is pleasure in composing the image so that the photograph works as a whole, not as a collection of unintended parts. The possibility of failure is the threat that makes success all the more exhilarating. Lately my work has been with digital images that I call “Details” including macro images, still lifes, architectural elements, reflections, and the manipulation of light on a variety of surfaces. The project became a series that now contains a library of between 200 and 250 images, some with no more than light playing on a surface; others contain glassware, wilted flowers, pieces of fruit, and found objects. The final images in this series are developed in Photoshop and printed on acid free drawing paper with pigment inks. This theme had its genesis in the early 1960’s when I obtained a Mamiyaflex twin lens reflex. It has a bellows that allows extremely close focusing. I have been experimenting with different cameras and printing methods ever since. |
INTENTIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: 
I play with variations on “straight photography” in which the image is the completion of an idea stimulated by something seen on the ground glass. Frank Stella once said that one doesn’t know how good an idea is until it’s hanging on the wall. Often I spend a great deal of time playing with light, subject, and/or camera position. In the darkroom or on the computer, I work to enhance the idea with as little manipulation as possible. Other influences are Jack Welpott, Don Worth, Roger Vail, and the work of painters Clyfford Still, Franz Kline, Mark Rothko, and Charles Sheeler. 
Grass Valley, California 95945