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By this time next week, the scissors and wonder bars will come out, and all that is and was Edith Abeyta’s Salty: Three Tales of Sorrow will go away.  Well, we’ll always have the documentation.  The El Camino College Art Gallery is open Tuesday from 10-3, Wednesday & Thursday from 10-8, and Friday from 10-2.  Parking on campus is $2.

Salty Photo Shoot

One of the more exciting parts of putting together this exhibition was working with Edith and photographer Slobodan Dimitrov on the photo shoot for the title wall banner.  Edith wanted a large image of herself in exaggerated makeup, blindfolded, gagged and wearing a huge Marie Antoinette wig.  I suggested that we do a banner, like a light pole banner that you’d see advertising a major museum show, and that we have Slobodan shoot the image, since he knows what he’s doing with a camera, and I don’t have a clue.  So I got to be the documenting photographer.  One of the best things about just working around Slobodan is that he’s constantly finding little ways to make me think about the camera and how I shoot photographs.  Michele was on hand as our makeup girl, and all was set for a successful shoot.

Edith made me promise to keep the images of the banner and the photo shoot under wraps until after the show opened, and here they are.

Above - Michele applies makeup to Edith.  This stuff was basically greasepaint, and came in great big fat sticks, the diameter of one of those exaggerated rosy cheeks.

Above - Getting the huge wig on.  This was harder than it looks, or as hard as it looks, depending on how hard you think it is to get one of these on.

Above - Putting the gag and blindfold on.  I really like this photo - the composition kind of reminds me of a film still.

Above - Edith sits for the actual portrait.  I have no idea how a photographer goes from having just a camera, to having a dozen cameras, reflectors, lights, portable backdrops, etc…  Let’s just say that the amount of equipment that goes into shooting a really great portrait isn’t to be laughed at.

Above - Slobodan and Edith review two of the five shots.  When Slobodan shoots in this particular media, an instant proof is made, along with the negative, which has to be submerged in a little bucket of chemical.

Above - After approving of the final shot, Edith removes her makeup.

Above - The final shot.  We were so pleased about how readable the text was - the white on white “Salty” text on the blindfold was a bit of a wild card.  This is the low, low rez version.  The version that I scanned in high resolution for the banner was .75 Gigabytes in size, and took hours and hours of delicate Photoshop work to correct and erase microscopic dust and specks that were either on the plate, the print or the scanner bed.  This image will become part of the Angels Gate Cultural Center’s “Artist Portraits Project”, which has it’s own Flickr group.

Above - The finished banner, announcing the entrance to the show.  Hanging, just to the right of the banner, you can see the wig.  To the left of the banner is the show itself, and to the right is the multiples/merchandising/gift shop area.

Technorati Tags: Slobodan Dimitrov, Edith Abeyta, documentation, art, Salty, Salty: Three Tales of Sorrow, photo shoot, photography, artist, portrait, process