On the night of the (first?!) Snowpocalypse of 2014, the intimate Photo Methode Gallery hosted an artist reception with photographer Christa Blackwood. Her new series, Naked Lady: A Dot Red, runs until March 1 at the gallery, housed in the Flatbed building at 2830 East Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Conoisseurs, fans, friends and family braving black ice and bad drivers to attend the art party included Spiffy Tumbleweed, Tabitha and Liam Burgess, Elizabeth Farrell, Clare Von Montfrans, Cooper Blackwood-Cross, Andraya Smith and Dana, John and Colin Fish.
Blackwood’s evocative photogravure series challenges the idea of the figure in the landscape photography traditions: instead of the female (it’s always a female) nude accentuating the western landscape, she has added a red dot. In galleries, red dots are used to denote artwork that has been sold but will continue to be displayed until the exhibit is over. Blackwood’s statement-making work reflects her desire to highlight cultural images of women. By combining historical photographic techniques and gallery traditions, she offers classic subjects but forces a new perspective on them.
Coupled with Naked Lady: A Dot Red is The Boys Collodion. This series subverts the tradition of male photographer and female model/muse. Blackwood chose seven young men based on their physical appearances, age (18-20 years old), slenderness and symmetry of features. The portraits, for which Blackwood utilized the collodion process of printing, also feature a red dot, offering another perspective on traditional photography.
Photo Methode Gallery will feature Blackwood's work in the upcoming Flatbed Contemporary Print Fair on February 15 and16 as part of Print Austin’s monthlong celebration of original printmaking.
Christa Blackwood's prints made from tintypes.
