The Project Room at Independent Project Press is pleased to present its second solo exhibition of alternative process photographic prints by Bishop photographer Joe Profita. Many locals already know Joe from his years of teaching chemistry at Bishop High School. Joe retired from teaching a few years ago, but he has definitely not retired from practicing chemistry! Joe continues to work producing enigmatic photographic images, created from the mysterious alchemy of such substances as solutions of platinum, palladium, and iron salts, sodium carbonate and tannic acid.
Joe Profita's careful hands-on processing and deliberate experimentation combine over time to yield surprising, arresting images of stunning presence, and a timeless quality of light. Images in this exhibition range from panoramic landscapes to poetic architectural studies, to an interpretive reprinting of one his grandfather's original film negatives from time served in Europe during the first World War.
In order to produce these images, Joe continues to experiment with finding and creating his own cameras, papers and chemistry. Joe has mastered a range of old school printing techniques, or as he says, "very old school." These techniques involve creating film negatives using a restored 1950's folding camera, one of his several view cameras, or hand-built pinhole or slit cameras. Though Joe does continue to produce silver prints using purchased paper and chemistry, he has become enamored with processes harking back to the early days of photography: platinum-palladium prints, cyanotypes and even the little-known method of creating very altered and distressed prints known as mordançage. As Joe puts it, these image-making processes resonate with a time when everything was “made from scratch”. For further information on Joe’s photographic work please see his website at www.joeprofita.com.
Joe Profita and The Project Room will be donating 30% of all sales of his work from this exhibition to the Eastern Sierra Land Trust (ESLT). Eastern Sierra Land Trust has been working since 2001 to permanently conserve wild and working Eastern Sierra lands for humans and wildlife alike - for today and for generations to come. Through conservation partnerships with willing landowners, ESLT has protected nearly 10,500 acres of wildlife habitat, scenic marvels, and agricultural resources found nowhere else. Through community programs and events, ESLT connects people of all ages with nature - cultivating a lasting appreciation for our region.
For more information on ESLT please see www.eslt.org.
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Joe Profita's exhibition will be on view from Saturday, October 15th, 2016 through Saturday, January 14th, 2017. All of the original photographs on view will be available for purchase. The Project Room will also be offering copies of Joe Profita's hand-made photographic accordion-fold books.
Gallery hours are from 11 AM - 3 PM on Saturdays, and by appointment during the week.
Call or email if you wish to make an appointment: 760.873.3600 or send us an email.
The Project Room at Independent Project Press is located at 186-A Willow Street, just one block east of Main Street, in downtown Bishop. Curated by Bruce & Karen Licher, The Project Room hosts periodic exhibitions of artwork, photography, and installations reflecting the diverse creative talents to be found in the Eastern Sierras.
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