Black, White, and Beautiful: Silver Prints from the Museum Collection
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Visiting Professor of Studio Art May Mantell selected these prints in conjunction with her January-term course Introduction to Black and White Photography. The criteria were two: that they be exceptionally beautifully crafted silver prints and that they be meaningful works of art made by significant artists.
Once ubiquitous, silver prints are quickly becoming rarer and rarer. Made in the darkroom and processed in wet chemistry, gelatin silver prints have an exceptional presence as a consequence of the silver embedded in them.
Currently most photographic printing uses digital ink processes.
Gallery Talk: Professor Mantell will speak about the exhibit in the museum galleries at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 30.
May Mantell, who lives and works in Middlebury, holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Photography from the San Francisco Art Institute and a Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art from Stanford University. She has taught photography and studio art at Stanford, The San Francisco Art Institute, The University of Vermont and Middlebury College. In 2004 she was Christian A. Johnson Artist-in-Residence at Middlebury.
