Sunburn GSP#008
© Chris McCaw 2006
Shown June 2007 at Moab Art
Works
"This new project
[Sunburn] initially began completely by accident. In
2003 an all night exposure of the stars made during a camping trip was
lost due to the effects of whiskey. Unable to wake up to close the
shutter before sunrise, all the information of the night’s
exposure was
destroyed. The intense light of the rising sun was so focused and
intense that it physically changed the film, creating a new way for me
to think about photography.
" Chris McCaw
- San Francisco, CA Sunburn
& Platinum Prints
by Chris McCaw
& Platinum Prints
by Chris McCaw
Latest shows and articles in the LA Times on Chris McCaw
Detail #6, grandpa's shop
Manteca, CA
© Chris McCaw 2000
Chris Makes a Photograph
at the Eureka Dunes
© Brian Parkin
After experimenting with burning film, McCaw wanted to see what could be achieved with different media. By putting black & white photographic paper in the film holder in place of film he creates one of a kind paper negatives. Each image is scorched by the sun to a different degree, sometimes burning completely through the paper base, making every work a unique and often fragile item. "Not only is the resulting image a representation of the subject photographed, but part of the subject (the sun) is an active participant in the printmaking." explains Chris.
Read more on Sunburns from the July/August 2007 issue of View Camera magazine
McCaw's platinum prints are made on 100% rag paper with a hand-applied light-sensitive platinum/palladium coating. During the print exposure, the brushed areas outside of the edges of the negative turn black. Because of the manual application of this coating, each print has its own unique brush marks (see image left). Chris often works with a 7"x17" view camera he constructed himself.
Chris McCaw was born in Daly City, California, in 1971, and has lived and worked in San Francisco since 1994. He received his BFA from the San Francisco Academy of Art in 1995.
Chris McCaw Photography
Personal and group shows:
2007 Houston Center for Photography "Sunburn" September 13 - October 21, 2007
2007 Lucky Day at San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery "The magnified sun solarizes the image and eventually burns a hole through the paper, making a unique artifact of place and time." reviewed by Scott Oliver
2006 Sunburned and Waterlogged New work by Edward P. Foley and Chris McCaw, Gallery of Urban Art, Oakland, CA
2006 The Family Farm at San Francisco International Airport. Read transcript of the July/August 2002 article in View Camera magazine
2005 Travelogue; Photographs by Chris McCaw Fusion Artspace, San Francisco
Articles:
lens culture: Chris McCaw "What’s especially interesting about his work is the range of subject matter that he chooses to explore"
Photos to Inspire: Chris McCaw by Lynne Eodice in DoubleExposure