24 Works on Paper Artists: Don Emrick

To give insight into the works included in the 24 Works on Paper exhibition, Ryan Pack has interviewed some of the participating artists about their work in the show. The exhibition continues through August 8 at IAO Gallery, 811 N Broadway in downtown OKC. It will then travel the state for a full year.

Don Emrick
If you could write an artist's statement for you piece, what would it be?
The work I'm currently doing with pinhole cameras is really nothing more than a continuation of what I've been doing with my fine art photography for twenty some odd years. To put the ‘why’ into words, or to even attempt that when dealing with a visual medium, would probably kill the creative aspect. When I photograph well there are no words going through my mind, just the images. Analysis comes after the fact, after the compulsion to photograph fades, as dreams do after waking.

Would you care to tell us about the technique you used for your piece? And why the technique appeals to you?
The photograph "Mannequin" is part of my exploration with pinhole cameras. This is the most basic of photographic techniques -- using nothing more than a wooden box with a very small hole for a "lens". The images have the qualities of photographs pre-1900: slightly soft, grainy, darkened edges.
And, very often, an eerie feeling.
There is something distinctly postmodern in using a pinhole camera and film. With digital images inundating everyday life, many photographers have been returning to older methods to reinterpret a world where new technologies are obsolete in a matter of months.