Photographic Memory, Gelatin Silver Prints by Coleen Tyler will be in the main hall display case at the Highland Park Public Library from February 1 through February 28, 2019.
Gelatin silver print is the technical name for a black and white photograph made from a negative. A suspension of silver salts in gelatin is coated onto a support, commonly paper. The paper is exposed to light, traveling through the negative. It is then chemically developed in the dark room, creating the print. This process was the most common way to develop black and white photographs in the 1880’s and is still in use today.
“My experience in making photography from film is a recent one and I consider myself to be in the early learning phase of a demanding, yet rewarding, process,” Tyler said. “Light, its presence and absence, are the heart of photography. The black and white image evokes a beauty that is timeless, regardless of the subject matter.”
“I am intrigued by the transformation of subject as it appears in the clear light and deep shadows of the photograph. It is a world unto itself isolated from the emotional layering of color. I think I am searching for some type of truth about nature and humanity that seems to exist in the past, waiting for me to find and acknowledge. While not knowing what I seek, I can recognize its truth, captured in a fleeting moment on film, with just the right amount of light and dark to reveal it.”
Highland Park Artist Coleen Tyler has had many exhibits and workshops at the Highland Park Public Library. She has also exhibited extensively throughout the state and the tri-state area. Tyler is also an art teacher and ESL teacher who has taught in many New Jersey communities. Her exhibits have featured her art in many different mediums. This month she is exhibiting As I Recall: Photos and Prints in the meeting room with artist Marcia Shiffman.
Tyler has a Master of Fine Arts in Ceramics from the Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va. She has her Bachelor of Science in Art Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in Indiana, PA.
