Tenleymayfield’s Weblog

Last day of class! There has been so much going on over the past few weeks, and for anyone that has been following my blog, I thought you might want to read my final artist statement regarding my Senior Exhibition.

PRESERVE TO MAINTAIN

In life I have found that there are many things you come to pass that are antiquated. These certain belongings that have evolved are, to some extent, inadequate. One such item is the camera. Photography equipment from the 1960’s to the early 2000’s has been replaced by new digital technology. Film cameras are now mostly retired due to the process of developing and due to environments moving quickly toward a future where time is of the essence. Those who might wish to use the “older style” certainly must not only possess the patience for the laborious process of film development, but also must appreciate the nostalgia that is film photography.

Over the past few years, I have developed a fascination with the forgotten equipment exiled in old boxes, living their last days on dusty shelves. As I find them, I enjoy puzzling out how they operate, I think about the memories they created or even the events they captured at some point during their previous life. One thing is for certain: Although the photographs from these cameras will not last forever, the memories and the nostalgia have a much better chance at survival.

So, I started asking myself how to combine memories and cameras. How can they become static forms?

I started purchasing this equipment from garage sales and antique shops. I accumulated a large box of antique film cameras. Some date back to the 1950’s. The idea: create a personal connection out of actually collecting together these cameras I had found. What had these old things been witness to? What mysterious histories those others had recorded… certainly a myriad of different uses with the cameras. Who used them really? What was I going to do with all these cameras other than let them collect dust on another shelf or in another box? My first instinct after examining all the cameras inside and out was to cut them in half. This decision came about from the idea that most see a camera, load film into it, snap the shot and get the film developed. My fascination with the guts of the cameras started to be more prevalent when I would hold and experiment with the cameras. My curiosity turned into an aspiration to show a view of these cameras that would portray a range of developing technology overtime in an unexpected way. These cameras have been transformed into an altered artifact that will only last for a short, though indeterminate, period of time.

Wow! This semester has flown by. My Senior Thesis Exhibition opens tomorrow, I have a 5-6 minute presentation due at 4:30, and a 10 page paper due on the 23rd. Time flies. I will graduate on May 3rd, well as long as I pass all my classes! Anyway, I have spent the last two semesters working on my final project. As of 11:00 am today, the project is finished. I installed the pieces on the project table in the gallery today. The biggest weight on my shoulders has been lifted. Now all I can seem to think about is my presentation tomorrow. It is amazing what you learn from school and fellow students. I have learned how to be confident about my work, whether it is good or bad. I have taught myself how to own the things/pieces/work that I produce. My final project started as a physical history of the film camera… that proceeded to turn into cutting cameras in half as a way to show their “guts”. I toyed around with resin, which did not work the way I had intended. Now this project has five objects. Each objects has an outer side of plexi glass. The inner parts are comprised of a camera that has been cut in half and the rest of the volume is Know Gelatin. The gelatin is somewhat translucent. This way I was able to set the cameras inside of something that would keep them from moving. They will eventually mold which will make for a more interesting look. Regardless, I love the progress that I made and the experiements that I made.

Outside of school, I try to involve myself in events that happen around town. For instance, I volunteered to take pictures of an event that happened at the Hunter Museum of American Art in March. The event was Hunter Underground which was put on by the Avant Art Committee. This event was a silent auction with food provided my Events with Taste and music for the evening was provided by “Jaggered Edge”, a Rolling Stones cover band. The event seemed to be a great success. Sort of posting pictures of people that I have not asked permission from, here are some of the pictures from the event. These pictures are mostly of the setup and band.

So, back to the drawing board. I spent the last week experimenting with new mediums to use to set the cameras. The idea of leaving the cameras in something as a way of preserving lends itself to thinking of a medium that can enclose the cameras in a way that can be picked up and handled. Those ideas took me to thinking about ice blocks. The original idea was that the cameras would be able to sit somewhere forever. Yet the idea of revealing the cameras over time seemed appropriate. So, I built a box filled it with water, left it to freeze for a day and then removed the box from the frozen block and watched it melt for 3 days. As time went on, the ice started to melt and the two sides of the camera slowly started to appear through the ice. Here is an image of the block.

Over the few weeks, I have been experimenting with my handful of cameras. How to make them live. what to use to carry through the experience I would like to gain from this project. resin, ice, gelatin, which medium to use? My show opens on the 14th of April and I have hit more bumps in the road than I had anticipated. Life, right. Well for this post I have decided to show the images of the resin and the camera together. The resin turned out great in theory. The resin is clear like I wanted it to be. The problem is that the resin decided to crack in a million different places. However, these cracks are spontaneous and very interesting. The problem is that the cracks take away from the camera. So, if I wanted to focus on cracks, I would have succeeded. So, I am back to the drawing board. Here is an image of the camera set in resin, cracks and all.

So, after the cameras were cut and cleaned up- the multi step project begins. Each camera has been sized according to the position that it will live in each “mold” or “relic”. These sizes are tight fitting to the cameras. The idea is that there will not be too much free space around the cameras for the resin to live. They will live tight in the resin. I was trying for the resin to not overcome the idea of the cameras as relics, moments in time, and or a memory. These molds are made out of white board or mess-amine. These boards have a smooth surface that will allow for the resin to not take shape or texture of the mold. Each camera has been broken into three size categories. These categories seem to be the best fit for each camera. Once each mold is made, I will have to seal the edges, just to make sure that there will be no resin that leaks outside of the molds. The resin that is being used has a tendency to melt other products once the catalyst is adding as the heating agent which allows the resin to dry.
Each of these molds are finished. I have left a picture of one mold which will be used for the Golden Eye camera. The next post I have should be a a final product. Camera as object and camera as relic.

Now, for the messy part. When cutting the cameras in half, pieces tend to fly off, fall off and completely disappear. So, I now have nine cameras cut in half, and 18 objects to fit back together, clean up around the edges and clean up. The plastic that is used in the cameras has a tendency to fray in all different directions. The plastic has also melted in a few places where the blade took longer to fully cut through the camera. As part of the tools I would need to complete this project, I decided that a Dremel tool would be a great investment. The first camera that I cut in half a few months ago was made mostly of plastic. The newer the camera, the more metal used. So the more recent cameras, like this pictured here took longer to cut, leaving all shorts of frayed and melted plastic. Since cutting the final cameras, I have been spending time sanding the edges of the cameras, finding missing pieces and cleaning the cameras. All of these steps are preparing me for the final stage of the project; the resin. Once I finish cleaning all the cameras, I will then decide how many final shapes that cameras will be molded into. These shapes will all be generally the same, the only thing that will change is the size. I have decided to go with two to three different sizes. I feel that this way, I will be able to add some depth to the project table that these objects will live on in the exhibition. So for now, I hope you enjoy the mess I am making. Hopefully next time you will see the beginning stages of the mold and the resin.

Today was a great day. I went to school and got back mid-term grades. When I got out of school today, it was time to get down to business. I started cutting cameras today. The first camera that I cut was the Golden Eye. It was an easy cut because most of the material is thin plastic with a minimal amount of metal. The next camera was Brownie Hawkeye. Out of all the cameras, these were the two that were the least complicated regarding their insides and the material that the cameras were made out of. After cutting these two, the next few cameras that were cut were the Minolta, the Canon, the Polaroid Land Camera and the Argus Instant Load. These last four cameras were a little more complicated because of the pieces that they are comprised of. The Minolta and the Canon cameras are comprised of an equal ratio of plastic and metal. So the after effects need a little cleaning up around the edges. With a trusty Dremel tool this should not be a problem. Now, the struggle is size. I have to decide what arrangement each camera will take after it is set in the resin. All of the cameras except for the two Polaroid Land cameras are around the same size. So, the size of the final mold will be spilt in two sizes, which will be determined this weekend. So, for now here are a few images of the cameras during the sawing process and after.

So, this week is midterm week at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. As it has approached, I decided to take one week off my timeline to study and prepare for midterms. Next week I plan on hitting the Senior Thesis project strong. So far this week, I have worked on a video for my digital video class, (see category “Digital Video” on my Word Press Blog to check out other videos I have worked on in class so far this semester.) I have written a five page paper comparing and contrasting John Singleton Copley’s Watson and the Shark (1778 and 1782), studied slides for an Art History midterm, taken photographs for an individual study and have been working on my artist statement and bio. Needless to say, I needed one week away from the actual work with cameras and resin. Once the weekend rolls around and midterms are over, I can get my schedule back to normal and get back to work on the task that are closely at hand and due dates that are creeping up extremely fast.

Cameras, cameras and more cameras. Over the past few weeks, I encountered a bump in the road regarding completion of my senior thesis presentation. When I first started gathering information and equipment for the items I needed, I developed a preliminary list of questions. I kept fighting myself on the idea of bringing digital cameras into the project or solely staying with film cameras. Once I started trying to find cameras that were digital I encountered an even larger problem with cost. I could not justify spending hundreds of dollars on a camera that I would saw in half I also fought with myself over the whole idea of film meets digital and the exploration within. There are definitely a lot more film cameras that are easy to access (older in age and newer in age) then there are when you step into the realm of digital. So, when all was said and done, I decided that it would be more appropriate to stay with all film cameras for this project. The decision is made.

Here is a list of the cameras that will be used; Brownie Hawkeye Flash Model (May 1949 to July 1961), Golden Shield (1958 to1966), Argus Instant Load 270 (1966 to 1967), Polaroid Land Camera 340 (1969 to1971), Polaroid Super Colorpack (1971 to 1972), Nikon F2 (1959 to 1974), Minolta Maxxum 5000 (1986 to 2004), Canon Rebel 2000 EOS (1999 to present).