Enthusiasts of historic photographic methods
will especially by interested in seeing “Portraits,” an exhibition of wet-plate collodion tintypes and ambrotypes
by Jenn Libby that opened over the weekend in the Little Theatre Café (240 East
Avenue). A reception for the show will be held tonight, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Invented in 1851, ambrotypes and
tintypes were a popular format for portraiture even though they were not
reproducible. Victorian in origin, these one-of-a-kind portraits on glass and metal
feature modern subjects, and were created locally by Jenn Libby at her Genesee
Libby Studio in the Hungerford Building.
A fascinating, time-traveling juxtaposition is found in each
image: a kohl-eyed, blonde chick in a fur hat and black leather jacket, a young
woman in a Catwoman mask, and a young man in a Bruce
Lee t-shirt are all captured in the watery, sepia tones of another era.
“Portraits” continues through June 19. Admission is free, and
the café is open Sunday, 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.; Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 5 p.m.
to 10 p.m.; Tuesday from 5 to 8 p.m.; Friday from 5 to 11 p.m.; and Saturday,
from 12 p.m. to 11 p.m. For more information, call visit geneseelibby.com.
Another installment of the 2015 VSW Spring Film Series will
be held Friday, May 29, at Visual Studies Workshop (31 Prince Street). At 7
p.m., VSW will show a program of 16mm films
by French experimental filmmaker Rose Lowder, exploring
the beauty of the botanical world, scenes of daily life in various towns and villages,
and extraordinary moments of ordinary existence.
“Lowder’s films are methodically composed
entirely in camera, using a precise, frame-by-frame technique which, when projected,
culminates in an astonishing perceptual experience of light, color, form, and motion,”
per the press release. The 70-minute program will feature a selection of work from
1978-2009, representing Lowder’s ongoing career as an
artist working in 16mm film. Admission is a suggested donation of $5. For more
information, call 442-8676 or visit vsw.org.
For more events, check out our calendar.
This article appears in May 20-26, 2015.
