From the Files: Ode to the Slide Sheet

Most work that comes into Light Work these days—in applications for our Artist-in-Residence program, exhibition opportunities, or publishing projects—is in the form of digital files on a disk. The screen, of course, possesses a luminescence of its own and is undoubtedly a great way to show and look at work easily, quickly, and inexpensively.

From time to time, though, I do miss the slide sheet as a way of looking at work. A really great slide sheet is like a treasure chest stuffed with little gems. Take for example this slide sheet submitted by Angelika Rinnhofer back in 2004 in support of her application for a Light Work residency (click on the image to enlarge it).

The sheet is mostly comprised of work from her Menschenkunde series, which she describes in her application:

“With my Renaissance-style photographs I try to open the viewer’s mind to experience art as a combination of facts, beauty, and irony. The true subject of my portraits may be termed the question of representation. By capturing the lighting, composition, and mood of portraits by Old Masters, I achieve a double irony: first, my photographs portray contemporary persons; and second, they evoke familiar paintings. These images reflect on the very essence of portraiture; what is a unique person, and what a unique likeness? According to Jakob Burckhardt, a 19th-century Swiss art historian, portraits by Renaissance artists like Dürer, Rembrandt, and Vermeer linked beauty and psychological insight. I draw concepts from art history to express my intentions.”

We liked what we saw in the application, and Angelika has been a friend ever since. She completed her residency in 2005. Work from her series Menschenkunde, Felsenfest, and Seelensucht was featured in Contact Sheet 144 and a Light Work Main Gallery exhibition in 2007. Her image Felsenfest 1—Agatha, below, is in the Light Work Collection and the print Menschenkunde VII is in the Light Work Fine Print Program.

And it all started with an amazing slide sheet, well edited and jumping off the light table.

—Mary Goodwin, Associate Director