WCC students showcase photography in Kerrytown

By SOFIA LYNCH
Features Editor

The bridge between the Crane Liberal Arts and Science Building and Gunder Myran Building is adorned with the photographic work of the college’s Alternative Processes class.

The class is not a typical photography class, explained the current instructor, Timothy Householder.

“Most of the processes we do in this class are things that have been around since the mid-1800s forward,” Householder explained. “But by modernizing, we’re using both film and digital negatives. So we go in with a color image, go into Photoshop, do some manipulations to it and turn it into a black and white negative.”

Barbara Tozier, one of the students in the class, said that the course is particularly interesting because everyone has their own perspective and can do their own thing.

“We’ve worked through a lot of issues, like with some chemistry and how to do things, how to make things work better,” Tozier said. “Everybody has a thing they’re interested in that is slightly different from everybody else, but we’re all learning together.”

“It’s a fantastic class. I know it hasn’t run a lot the last few years, but take advantage of it when you see it,” said Brandon Howell, a 29-year-old photography student from Ypsilanti.

The work of the class recently caught the eye of Washtenaw Community College drawing instructor and art director for the Kerrytown Concert house, Nancy Wolfe.

“When I saw that work, I just loved the idea of having them here in Kerrytown,” Wolfe said.

Wolfe contacted Jennifer Baker, a full time photography instructor, to see if the work from the LA-GM bridge could be shown at the Kerrytown Concert House. Baker relayed the message to Householder, who had already been exploring ways to show the students work, he said.

“But at that point in time, we had only been in class for three weeks, and we only had three weeks until then to get all new work up and ready for the show,” Householder said.

When Kim Hurns, dean of business and computer technologies, heard about the possibility of the show, she got behind it immediately and funded the whole event.

“When the faculty said it was something for students and it kind of got their work out there, I thought it was a great idea,” Hurns said.

Of the 16 students in the class, 14 were able to produce two pieces each for the show called, “Modernizing Archaic Processes.”

The students were able to bask in the excitement of the show during the artist reception on April 8 at the Kerrytown Concert House. That evening, the house was packed with community members and WCC faculty and student artists.

The students’ art, featuring 10 different types of processes, adorned the walls, framed with price tags.

Making this show come to life was a group effort on the part of the entire photography department, Householder said.

“I keep telling the students they were pampered because when you do a normal show on your own, you’re doing the matting, the framing, the advertising, the promotion,” he said. “They just got to hang out and do work.”

But the experience has allowed the students to see first-hand all that goes into putting on a show.

The exhibit is open for viewing Monday–Friday 9:30 a.m.–5 p.m., during public concerts and by appointment until April 28.

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