Arts Blog

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.