Negative And Positive

Photographer takes viewers back to the beginning

Friday, August 8, 2014

"Having a good negative is key to having a good final print," photographer Ron Lutz says.

Lutz notes that oftentimes people outside of photography don't have the benefit of seeing how the image started out. "The Art of Negative Thinking," a photography exhibit by Lutz on display through Aug. 29 at the Eureka Fine Art Gallery, shows the relationship between the start of the process and the end product, he says.

FAQ

‘The Art of Negative Thinking’

WHEN — On display through Aug. 29

WHERE — Eureka Fine Art Gallery, 63 N. Main St. in Eureka Springs

INFO — 363-6000

BONUS — Reception for artist Ron Lutz 6-9 p.m. Saturday

Each work is a diptych, which shows the negative and the final image in the same frame. All the works are black and white archival digital prints. The majority of the images in the show were shot with 4-by-5 inch film, Lutz says. He scanned the negatives, so there is a 4-by-5 negative image and a matching 4-by-5 positive image in each frame. Lutz adds that he handmade all the oak frames.

Lutz, 60, prepared 17 or 18 works for the show, all shot over the past 20 years. There are a few portraits but most of the images are landscapes, some from a project he has been working on for about 20 years documenting capitol buildings and courthouses. These include steps from the courthouse in his hometown of Greeley, Colo., a stairway in the Wyoming State Capitol Building in Cheyenne and a scene of the North Dakota State Capitol in Bismarck. He says each capitol has "its own unique flavor."

"I tend to gravitate toward stairways a lot for some reason," he adds.

Almost all of the images in the exhibit were shot with existing light, Lutz notes. One of his favorite images was taken in 1994 at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colo., which was the inspiration for Stephen King's book "The Shining." The shot is of a stairway in the hotel. He says he has always thought it was "a really cool hotel," and he likes the lines and light in it.

Lutz, who owns Studio 62 in Eureka Springs, has been involved with photography for about 40 years. He has shown work in Colorado, Wyoming and Arkansas, and in 1994, he was artist in residence at Rocky Mountain National Park. Lutz uses digital at times, but he says he is very biased toward film. He says in working with film, a photographer has control over the exposure of the negative. One of the reasons he wanted to do this show was to give people an idea of the history involved in the early processes of photography. Lutz will be available to answer questions and interact with guests during a reception from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday at the gallery.

Lutz hopes that people who come to the exhibit will appreciate the medium.

"We're so saturated with color that I think there's a lot of value in appreciating black and white work."

NAN What's Up on 08/08/2014