By Alison Martin
Foley Gallery on the Lower East Side of New York City just wrapped up a show Analog vs. Digital featuring 50 artists who presented several unique photographs. For this exhibition, the word “Analog” was defined as the photographer using light sensitive paper or film in the process. The word “Digital” was defined as the photographer using hardware requiring a digital component (point and shoot, cell phone or DSLR cameras) regardless of how it was printed. In the show, some artists presented analog photographs while others presented digital photographs.
One intriguing analog work featured was No Photos by Jamie Martinez which is a photograph of three middle-aged women sitting next to each other on a bench dressed in stylish, short dresses with one of them wearing a fur coat. Pieces of thread are embedded in the photo conforming to the contours of the women’s bodies. The one with the fur coat wears a crown (made from thread) resembling that of the iconic Statue of Liberty. The thread is also used to depict animal horns on the heads of the other two women. One of the women is holding a smart phone in front of her eyes while the other woman holds up her hand and looks annoyed as though she wants the photographer to stop taking pictures.
Similarly, a digital image by Benjamin Bobkoff entitled Fashionista features a young man as the main subject sporting a navy-blue sweater, long socks, and unusually high white shorts. He stands in the middle of a city street and bright pink swirly design spreads across the image wrapping around his body.
Other notable digital works include The Incredible Disappearing Woman by Rocio De Alba, Devotion by Gonzalo Pardo, and two untitled images by Calli McCaw and Leslie Jean Bart. Highlights of other analog images include Fusion the Veins by Jean Baptiste Morand, Wine on Film by Anna Kalapanza, Reclining Figure by David Arky, and Blue Moon (From Small and Large Thoughts) by Joan Fitzsimmons. The exhibition was on view from Aug. 16-Aug. 26 at the Foley Gallery. The gallery is located in New York City’s Lower East Side neighborhood at 59 Orchard Street, New York, NY.
Photographs provided by the gallery and Dwight Bonair
