Arts, Etc.Fine Art

Paths that Enlighten, Places to Dream…

Janet Schipper’s exhibit, “Paths and Places” is on display in the Irene Carlson Galley, through Oct. 20. Schipper said, “Each picture is a slice of space and time that holds a story and each viewer sees the photo in his or her own way.” / photo by Starr Carroll
Janet Schipper’s exhibit, “Paths and Places” is on display in the Irene Carlson Galley, through Oct. 20. Schipper said, “Each picture is a slice of space and time that holds a story and each viewer sees the photo in his or her own way.” / photo by Starr Carroll

by Andrea Gardner
Arts & Entertainment Editor

Urban landscape photographer Janet Schipper has a simple message: “Look!”

“I believe awareness is powerful. It can lead to action—building, planting, cleaning up, taking care,” she said.

Her exhibit, “Paths and Places,” is currently on display in the Carlson Gallery located in Miller Hall.

The display features two projects she has recently undertaken, along with some past photography projects, including a showcase called “The Holga Project,” also known as “Dream Seens” and an extensive palm tree project.

New photographic work includes collections called “Double Doubles” and “Four Quartets x 3” which were completed in the summer of 1996.

Said Schipper, “The palm tree project grew out of the desire to photograph a subject that is close to home and very familiar; In Los Angeles we live among these beautifully ugly and alien creatures—the palms.”

“The Holga Project” includes work from 1994, and includes landscape photos resembling places Schipper says one could find in their dreams, thus creating the surname “Dream Seens.” Also included in the project is a collection called “SaltGrass Board­Walk,” which is arranged in a handmade picture book housed in a case in the gallery.

“Four Quartets x 3” includes photos divided into four segments, resembling windowlike images, while “Double Doubles” includes photographs with a mirror effect producing a magnified picture.

Having opened Sept. 3, this is the first photography exhibit for the Carlson Gallery this school year. “Paths and Places” will be on exhibit until Oct. 20 and will include a reception and artist’s lecture on Sept. 26.

Gary Colby, associate professor of photography, discovered Schipper’s work through another photographer, but decided that exhibiting any photography work in the Carlson Gallery was dangerous due to frequent department thefts last year. This year, however, with the installation of security cameras, he took the first opportunity he had to display her work.

“Her craftsmanship is extraordinary. Her attention to detail is great for students,” said Colby.

Schipper also uses basic photography technology. Colby feels that in the world of modern computer technology, it is important to look back to the origins of photography using silver and light to render the image.

Schipper was also excited to have her work displayed at the University.

“Any opportunity to show work, you jump at; I felt like there was an openness. It gave me the opportunity to do whatever I wanted to do, and produce new work,” she said.

Schipper graduated from the California Institute of the Arts with her bachelor’s degree and the Otis School of Art and Design with her master’s, both in photography.

The 25-year veteran of photography has exhibited work in such locations as the Los Angeles Photography Center and the Irvine Fine Arts Center. One photo currently in “Paths and Places,” entitled “Two Trunks and a Car” was published in Los Angeles Times Magazine in 1993.

Schipper said, “It is a lot to expect enlightenment from a photograph—but then, the most important ingredient of photography is light.”

Andrea Gardner, Managing Editor
Andrea Gardner
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Starr Carroll, Photography Editor
Starr Carroll
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