I
just love Lee Carpenter's work. For me it's soothing and relaxing
art. Viewing Lee's artwork reminds me of my carefree childhood days,
staring out a bedroom window on a misty sunday morning just dreaming the
time away. I love the way Lee frames his subjects and then adds feeling
and texture to his images. It's almost a shame to call his work "photos",
not even calling them "Fine Art Photos" can do them justice. What
a great relief to find this artist that does more than shock the system
but rather finds beauty in the world around him and captures that moment
to share it with us.
I
make no pretentious claims about the photographs that I make, they are
the visual documentation of my experiences and emotions. They are
my moments of revelation, those brief instances when the real world merges
with the one I imagine. I have chosen the alternative processes I
work in because they allow me to take control of every aspect of the work,
infinite variables in paper texture, tone, color and contrast. The
Platinum/Palladium and Polaroid Transfers yield the most accurate representation
of my vision.
I began my career as a photographer
in naval intelligence. In the early 1980's I began working as an
architectural photographer in historic preservation , working mainly on
projects for the Historic American Building Survey and private renovations
in the Historic District of Savannah, Georgia. I began actively
showing my artwork in galleries and exhibitions 1990. I still accept
commercial commissions but my current focus is on my personal work.
My prints are the same size as the
negatives, the Platinum/Palladium materials are only sensitive to light
with high UV, the emulsions are too slow to be projection printed. Rarely
a print will be smaller than the negative unless it was necessary to remove
something unavoidable in the photograph, with the 8x10 and vintage lenses
I use, it is sometimes the only way to avoid distracting elements.
It is my belief that far too much
attention is paid to the technical aspect of art, especially where photography
is concerned. In my opinion photographic art or any art for that
matter is like a child riding a bike. Once you have learned how to
control the bike it becomes second nature, only then can you begin to explore
and imagine all the possibilities. Art should be like that!
I
believe the most important knowledge we can share with fellow artists is
not technical (that is easily attained). If from our experience we
can share something that helps another artist open themselves to the possibilities
of their own creativity, then we have given the most valuable knowledge
we could hope to share.
The technical aspects of creating
the Platinum/Palladium photographs are far too lengthy to go into in any
detail. Beyond the basics of materials and coating the emulsion, most photographers
have no genuine understanding of the process. There are so many variables
in the way different metals respond to each other, light, humidity, even
an impending cold front will change the way the materials respond to light.
Lee Carpenter
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