Photographers Find Beauty in Imperfection

A discarded apple. Deer antlers. Tire treads. These were some of the “found” objects featured in a new local photography exhibit titled “Objectively Speaking.”

The exhibit, which showcases the photography of Ann Chrisman, Daniel Long and Timothy Pyle, is featured at the Bruce S. Kershner Gallery in Fairfield Public Library. The work was celebrated with an opening reception and talk by the artists on Saturday afternoon, and the photographs will be on view during library hours until April 23.

Janine Brown, who is on the library’s curatorial committee, explained how the exhibit came to fruition. “We get a constant flow of submissions for the gallery and, as we review them, we determine if they fit the aesthetic of the library. Then we sort by theme. We recognized that these particular artists all used found objects as their subject matter," she said.

But Brown said the three photographers have different styles in capturing found objects on film. "Ann’s work tends to be abstract. Tim takes his camera wherever he goes and really creates a walking diary. Daniel takes found objects and composes them into still lifes," she said.

Chrisman, a Trumbull resident, said the subjects of her photographs in the exhibit, which are black-and-white silver gelatin prints, were all inspired by a found setting - a construction site at Westport’s Staples High School when it was under renovation several years ago. “The compositions are about tension and release," she said. "I always work in found settings, and the element of chance is important in my work.”

Chrisman uses minimal equipment in her approach. “The only thing I use is a 1974 35-millimeter Nikon. I prefer it because of the richness of the negative. And I don’t use light meters as that’s part of the element of chance and underscores the relevance of my presence in the moment,” she said.

“My job is not to know what my subjects are necessarily, but to elevate the ordinary to create a dialogue.”

Long, who lives in Storrs and is a professor of photography at Manchester Community College, said most of the objects he photographs were found by accident. “In my piece ‘Antlers and Tulip’, I found the antlers in nearby woods at the end of winter," he said, adding that the background was a piece of copper wash boiler shaped like a tombstone and the tulip was grown in his garden.

"The composition symbolizes my constant battle to keep deer out of my garden. I imagine if I tacked this image up in my backyard, it would be a good warning to the deer,” he said.

Long said photographing found objects was new to him. “This is the first time I’m not doing people portraits and the first time I’m using color," he said. "It’s also the first time I’m working with a camera on a tripod versus taking spontaneous shots."

"This has been interesting for me. The work is so new, I don’t know where it is headed.”

Pyle, who's lived in Fairfield for the past six years, said he walks around a lot with his camera and photographs things that catch his eye. “Often, those are things that resonate very personally with me… things out of the ordinary, things overlooked by passersby, or considered unworthy of being a photo subject.”

As an example, Pyle pointed to his piece “Apple and Ants,” which depicted a half-eaten, discarded apple covered with ants. “It’s a less than ideal capture of an apple, which people often want to be perfect. But even when things don’t measure up to a certain standard of beauty, there’s still an inherent measure of attractiveness to it,” he said.

Candace Chase of Weston was among those admiring photographs in the exhibit.

“I’m enjoying the work of these three very different artists,” she said. “Ann’s work is very close-up and form focused. Tim’s work makes me think of moments in time and space. And Dan’s work is very composed and manipulated.”

Liz Tardif of Westport, another exhibit viewer, said, “I particularly like Daniel’s work - the juxtaposition of something soft and colorful against a harsh, dark background. Really, though, all the pieces are inspiring.”