THE JANUS EFFECT: New Photographs from Old Techniques                                                exhibited 3/15/2013 - 4/27/2013

GREG MARTIN 

Artist Statement

I am constantly drawn to the forgotten, the discarded, the decaying, the overlooked and the ignored.  I seek to find beauty in the effects of time and hope to make relevant what has been deemed irrelevant in the name of “progress.”  I am fascinated with technologies, equipment, structures, and objects that once were loved, yet have lost their meaning and relevance…that are no longer understood.   Along with this, I seek to reveal in my subjects (whether person, place, or object) something that is hidden. In one way or another all of my images are “portraits.” My goal is to reveal to the viewer something that is not revealed using any other method.

Describing the wet plate collodion process, and its inherent challenges most often elicits curious and confused looks, and quite often a puzzled “why would you want to do this?” and “what’s wrong with a digital photo?”

My answer is simple:
Within this archaic, long-ignored, frustrating process I have found a method of creation that is continuously challenging, constantly inspiring, and profoundly rewarding.

The processes involved in creating a wet plate collodion image involve art, science, and a little “magic”.  I use cameras, lenses, chemistry and methods considered “state of the art” over 150 years ago.  Yet the images created with these methods cannot be replicated using today’s “state of the art” equipment. Each plate is truly one-of-a-kind.  Each image is a unique object.  There are no multiples or print editions. The resulting pieces function as much sculpture as they do as photographs. This is really the manifestation of “making” an image, with all that the term implies, not just “taking” a picture.


Greg Martin

Biography

Greg Martin is an artist and designer living on the east side of Cleveland.

He is a 1989 graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Art with a BFA in Industrial Design.

His work has been shown in a variety of group shows and juried exhibitions where he has received significant awards and recognition.

Currently his work can also be seen in two additional shows :
“Homegrown” at the Cleveland Print Room in the ArtCraft Building
The Six-State Photography Show at the FAVA Gallery in Oberlin, Ohio