“On the Road” features the work of four photographers who make up the Carrefour Photography Collective. Carrefour, a French word, refers to the intersection of four roads at a single point. It is an appropriate description of the group of four California artists who discovered each other through a shared love of photography. In “On the Road,” each artist expresses a personal vision in works that intertwine photography and travel. According to participating photographer Edward Beier: “Journeys are a part of the photographic experience, whether that is to take a closer look at one’s immediate community or to venture far afield and be exposed to new insights.”
Redding, California artist Edward Beier has been creating photographs for over 60 years, first developing film in his mother’s kitchen during the late 1940s. He works primarily in black and white film and has a long history of exhibiting his work in various venues in Northern California, as well as of promoting and jurying photography shows. He has been the Photography Show Chairman for North Valley Art League’s Juried Photography Show for 17 years. Beier says: “For me a photograph is not definitive, but only a segment of the world observed at the moment. But it is that moment and that image which may provoke a totally new, exciting, or different thought or idea.”
Redding, California artist Michael Eichwald has been a photographer for over forty-five years. He has won numerous awards at juried exhibitions, including First Place Still Life at the Sundial Juried Film Festival (2011) and the Award of Excellence at the Highland Juried Show (2008, 2009). He has been active in the promotion and jurying of Northern California photography exhibits. Eichwald ‘s “primary motivation is to celebrate photographically the beauty of everyday surroundings and experiences…. He is strongly influenced by the traditional Japanese appreciation of the subdued, the weathered, the essence of the thing – and by what is humbly transient on our earth.”
Cottonwood, California artist Stephanie Luke, who has practiced the art of photography for over forty years, pursues a wide range of subject matter. In 2006 she left the darkroom and took up digital photography. Luke makes use of Photoshop to create images that are notable for their surprising, often mysterious, juxtapositions. Luke has been featured in photography magazines and has exhibited her work throughout California and Oregon, including a solo show (2011) at the North Valley Art League in Redding and a two-person show (2013) at the Maude Kerns Art Center. Luke has also participated in exhibits in Chicago and New York City.
Redding, California artist Harvey Spector has worked professionally as a commercial architecture photographer, as well as with studio still life and portrait photography. He is interested in both traditional photographic processes like platinum printing and more current digital technologies. Spector’s work is in many private collections and he has exhibited in venues throughout California, including the LA Art Association and the Getty Research Institute. He says of his work: “I am moved to photograph by the joy of visual discovery, the sheer wonder of really look at things….My best photos often open an emotional portal onto a darker world, making myself and others feel what we often try to avoid.”
On Saturday, April 22, the Maude Kerns Art Center presents a Free Photography Critique Forum with the Carrefour Photography Collective, from 1:00 – 4:00 pm at the Art Center. This is an opportunity to have your photographic efforts reviewed by the current exhibitors: Ed Beier, Mike Eichwald, Stephanie Luke, and Harvey Spector. They will offer a discussion and critique of images. Audience participation and feedback is encouraged.
