This work is about time.
First, if you'd like to see, there are two gallery tabs above (the three lines on upper left, if you're on a phone). Each lets you see over 50 portraits with their stories.
I'm working at the intersection of photography and printmaking. I worked for many years in silkscreen printmaking, incorporating my photography in a complex and time- and chemical-consuming process. Ultimately, it's art, though often exhibited as photography.
Archival pigment printed portraits of women whose likenesses were immortalized in marble or bronze, plaster or clay, mostly in the 19th century. Men of the time had their stories documented, at least stories of their accomplishments. These women, forgotten, their sculpted portraits become the models I photograph and render as lifelike as best I am able to do; I also find out all I can about each. Their lives had the same concerns as ours - love, tragedy, grief, ecstasy, rage - though their times differed. In knowing how their lives differed from ours, we notice time having passed. I am driven to respond to their passing from memory.
It can be transporting, feeling time moving, time having moved.
I wish you also to remember these women.
I hope that a few of them will haunt you.
About Carson Barnes: Maker of photographs, prints, and combined techniques since the 1970s. Having grown up with an art historian in the house, many weekends were spent at the National Gallery in Washington, DC. Painting in 1965 at age 8, printmaking at 14, photographing at 17. Art history at Bryn Mawr, fine arts at Haverford 1978, MFA at CCAC in 1989. Showing work since early 1980s, won some prizes. Pieces are in museum collections, and in private collections in the US and in Europe. I found the first two marble portraits at Bonaventure cemetery in Savannah in 2014 and was struck at their immediate presence, and at the loss of their stories. I have worked on this series since, most subjects from European monumental cemeteries, but also those of the USA and South America, as well as portraits found in museums and monuments. I notice that in spring and summer I work on jolly pieces, not so much in the darker, colder part of the year.
The galleries may also be accessed by clicking on either detail image. You will find there the prints that are the sources of these details, and somewhat more than 50 in addition.
First, if you'd like to see, there are two gallery tabs above (the three lines on upper left, if you're on a phone). Each lets you see over 50 portraits with their stories.
I'm working at the intersection of photography and printmaking. I worked for many years in silkscreen printmaking, incorporating my photography in a complex and time- and chemical-consuming process. Ultimately, it's art, though often exhibited as photography.
Archival pigment printed portraits of women whose likenesses were immortalized in marble or bronze, plaster or clay, mostly in the 19th century. Men of the time had their stories documented, at least stories of their accomplishments. These women, forgotten, their sculpted portraits become the models I photograph and render as lifelike as best I am able to do; I also find out all I can about each. Their lives had the same concerns as ours - love, tragedy, grief, ecstasy, rage - though their times differed. In knowing how their lives differed from ours, we notice time having passed. I am driven to respond to their passing from memory.
It can be transporting, feeling time moving, time having moved.
I wish you also to remember these women.
I hope that a few of them will haunt you.
About Carson Barnes: Maker of photographs, prints, and combined techniques since the 1970s. Having grown up with an art historian in the house, many weekends were spent at the National Gallery in Washington, DC. Painting in 1965 at age 8, printmaking at 14, photographing at 17. Art history at Bryn Mawr, fine arts at Haverford 1978, MFA at CCAC in 1989. Showing work since early 1980s, won some prizes. Pieces are in museum collections, and in private collections in the US and in Europe. I found the first two marble portraits at Bonaventure cemetery in Savannah in 2014 and was struck at their immediate presence, and at the loss of their stories. I have worked on this series since, most subjects from European monumental cemeteries, but also those of the USA and South America, as well as portraits found in museums and monuments. I notice that in spring and summer I work on jolly pieces, not so much in the darker, colder part of the year.
The galleries may also be accessed by clicking on either detail image. You will find there the prints that are the sources of these details, and somewhat more than 50 in addition.
For those interested, a mostly complete list of exhibitions follows, group except as noted:
Aug 1982 Focus Photographic Exhibition, SF CA
Jul 1984 New College of CA Gallery, SF CA
Jan 1985 L.A. Printmaking Society LA CA
Oct 1985 Point Gallery, SF CA (one man)
Nov 1985 New College of CA Gallery, SF CA (one man)
Dec 1985 Comfort Gallery, Haverford PA
Feb 1986 Footworks Studio, SF CA
Mar 1986 Light Sensitive 7, University of Florida @ Gainesville May 1986 Lillian Paley Ctr for Visual Arts, Oakland, CA
Jun 1986 Triton Museum, Santa Clara CA Jul 1986 Pacific Art League, Palo Alto CA
Aug 1986 Pacific States Printmaking Exhibition, Hilo HI
Oct 1986 NEXT corporate gallery, Sunnyvale CA
Jun 1987 Crocker Museum, Sacramento CA
Jun 1987 Marin Arts Guild, Larkspur CA
Aug 1987 E.G. Gallery, SF CA
Sep 1987 Pacific Grove Art Center, Pacific Grove CA
Sep 1987 September Exhibition, Alexandria Museum of Art, Alexandria, LA
Feb 1988 The New Art Place, SF CA
May1989 Old Oakland Gallery, Oakland CA
Oct 1989 Gallery 601, SF CA
Jan 1990 Ambiance, Eureka CA
May 1990 Pacific Art League, Palo Alto CA
Jun 1990 Ambiance, Eureka CA (one man)
Sep 1990 Warner Roberts Gallery, Palo Alto CA (one man)
Apr 1991 Eureka Photo Annual Exhibition
May 1994 Comfort Gallery, Haverford PA
Nov 1995 Pro Arts, Oakland CA
May 1996 Pacific Printmaking Exhibition, University of Hawaii @ Hilo
Mar 1998 The Photography Gallery, Indianapolis IN (one man)
Apr 2016 Ellington-White Contemporary Gallery, Fayetteville NC
Jul 2016 Site: Brooklyn, Brooklyn NY
Sep 2016 Hapeville Museum, Hapeville GA
Oct 2016 Williamsburg Historical Center, Brooklyn NY
Apr 2017 Arts Clayton, Jonesboro GA (Juror’s award)
Sep 2017 Hapeville Museum, Hapeville GA
Sep 2017 SE Photography Center, Greenville SC
Sep 2017 Atlanta Photographer’s’ Group, APG Buckhead, Atlanta GA
Oct 2017 The Photo Show, Arts Clayton, Jonesboro GA (awarded curator’s First Prize)
Oct 2017 Providence Ctr for Photographic Arts, Providence RI (Julie Grahame, curator)
Nov2017 SE Photography Center, Greenville SC
Dec 2017 Atlanta Photographer’s’ Group, Atlanta GA Jun 2018 BG Project Space Gallery, Santa Monica CA
Jul/Aug 2018 TAG Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Jun/Aug 2018 Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art, Marietta GA Nov 2018 Novel Experience, Zebulon GA (one man)
Nov 2018 SXSE Photo Gallery, Molena GA (Julie Grahame, curator)
Nov 2018 Arts Clayton, Jonesboro GA
Nov 2018 Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta GA May 2019 Danville (Virginia) Museum of Fine Arts and History (one man)
Jun 2019 Soho Photo Gallery, NY NY (Julie Grahame curated)
Aug 2019 BG Project Space Gallery, Santa Monica CA
Sep 2019 Columbus State University, Columbus, GA
Oct 2019 Arts Clayton Juried Photo Show
Oct 2019 Association of Significant Cemeteries of Europe annual meeting, Ghent, Belgium
Nov 2019 SXSE Photo Gallery, Molena, GA
Feb 2020 Arts Clayton Annual Juried Fine Art Show, Jonesboro GA
Mar 2020 Griffin Museum, Boston, MA
Sep 2020 Rankin Photography Center, Columbus State U, Columbus, GA (one man, postponed due to COVID)
Sep 2020 Portfolio Silver award, San Francisco Bay Intl Photo Awards
Nov 2020 SXSE Photo Gallery, Molena, GA
Mar 2021 Atlanta Photography Group members’ show
Jun 2021 Dalton Gallery, Agnes Scott College, Decatur GA
Jun 2021 Arts Clayton, Jonesboro GA
Sep 2021 Alexandria Museum September Exhibition, Alexandria LA
Oct 2021 Arts Clayton, Jonesboro GA
Nov 2021 Southeast Center for Photography, Greenville, SC
Nov 2021 Griffin Museum, Winchester, MA
Dec 2021 Atlanta Photography Group members’ show
Feb 2022 Juror’s Choice, Atlanta Photography Group
Aug 2022 September Exhibition, Alexandria Museum of Art, Alexandria, LA
Oct 2022 Montgomery Photography Exhibition Montgomery AL
Oct 2022 SXSE Gallery Molena, GA
Nov 2022 Center for Photographic Art, Carmel, CA
Feb 2023 Atlanta Photography Group Atlanta GA
Jun 2023 Arts Clayton Jonesboro GA
Jan 2024 Griffin Museum, Winchester MA
Feb 2025 Atlanta Photography Group members’ show
Work is in permanent collection of the Danville VA Museum of Fine Art and the Griffin Museum of Photography, Boston, MA.
Works in private collections throughout the US and Sweden, Italy, Brazil, and Portugal.
Aug 1982 Focus Photographic Exhibition, SF CA
Jul 1984 New College of CA Gallery, SF CA
Jan 1985 L.A. Printmaking Society LA CA
Oct 1985 Point Gallery, SF CA (one man)
Nov 1985 New College of CA Gallery, SF CA (one man)
Dec 1985 Comfort Gallery, Haverford PA
Feb 1986 Footworks Studio, SF CA
Mar 1986 Light Sensitive 7, University of Florida @ Gainesville May 1986 Lillian Paley Ctr for Visual Arts, Oakland, CA
Jun 1986 Triton Museum, Santa Clara CA Jul 1986 Pacific Art League, Palo Alto CA
Aug 1986 Pacific States Printmaking Exhibition, Hilo HI
Oct 1986 NEXT corporate gallery, Sunnyvale CA
Jun 1987 Crocker Museum, Sacramento CA
Jun 1987 Marin Arts Guild, Larkspur CA
Aug 1987 E.G. Gallery, SF CA
Sep 1987 Pacific Grove Art Center, Pacific Grove CA
Sep 1987 September Exhibition, Alexandria Museum of Art, Alexandria, LA
Feb 1988 The New Art Place, SF CA
May1989 Old Oakland Gallery, Oakland CA
Oct 1989 Gallery 601, SF CA
Jan 1990 Ambiance, Eureka CA
May 1990 Pacific Art League, Palo Alto CA
Jun 1990 Ambiance, Eureka CA (one man)
Sep 1990 Warner Roberts Gallery, Palo Alto CA (one man)
Apr 1991 Eureka Photo Annual Exhibition
May 1994 Comfort Gallery, Haverford PA
Nov 1995 Pro Arts, Oakland CA
May 1996 Pacific Printmaking Exhibition, University of Hawaii @ Hilo
Mar 1998 The Photography Gallery, Indianapolis IN (one man)
Apr 2016 Ellington-White Contemporary Gallery, Fayetteville NC
Jul 2016 Site: Brooklyn, Brooklyn NY
Sep 2016 Hapeville Museum, Hapeville GA
Oct 2016 Williamsburg Historical Center, Brooklyn NY
Apr 2017 Arts Clayton, Jonesboro GA (Juror’s award)
Sep 2017 Hapeville Museum, Hapeville GA
Sep 2017 SE Photography Center, Greenville SC
Sep 2017 Atlanta Photographer’s’ Group, APG Buckhead, Atlanta GA
Oct 2017 The Photo Show, Arts Clayton, Jonesboro GA (awarded curator’s First Prize)
Oct 2017 Providence Ctr for Photographic Arts, Providence RI (Julie Grahame, curator)
Nov2017 SE Photography Center, Greenville SC
Dec 2017 Atlanta Photographer’s’ Group, Atlanta GA Jun 2018 BG Project Space Gallery, Santa Monica CA
Jul/Aug 2018 TAG Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Jun/Aug 2018 Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art, Marietta GA Nov 2018 Novel Experience, Zebulon GA (one man)
Nov 2018 SXSE Photo Gallery, Molena GA (Julie Grahame, curator)
Nov 2018 Arts Clayton, Jonesboro GA
Nov 2018 Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta GA May 2019 Danville (Virginia) Museum of Fine Arts and History (one man)
Jun 2019 Soho Photo Gallery, NY NY (Julie Grahame curated)
Aug 2019 BG Project Space Gallery, Santa Monica CA
Sep 2019 Columbus State University, Columbus, GA
Oct 2019 Arts Clayton Juried Photo Show
Oct 2019 Association of Significant Cemeteries of Europe annual meeting, Ghent, Belgium
Nov 2019 SXSE Photo Gallery, Molena, GA
Feb 2020 Arts Clayton Annual Juried Fine Art Show, Jonesboro GA
Mar 2020 Griffin Museum, Boston, MA
Sep 2020 Rankin Photography Center, Columbus State U, Columbus, GA (one man, postponed due to COVID)
Sep 2020 Portfolio Silver award, San Francisco Bay Intl Photo Awards
Nov 2020 SXSE Photo Gallery, Molena, GA
Mar 2021 Atlanta Photography Group members’ show
Jun 2021 Dalton Gallery, Agnes Scott College, Decatur GA
Jun 2021 Arts Clayton, Jonesboro GA
Sep 2021 Alexandria Museum September Exhibition, Alexandria LA
Oct 2021 Arts Clayton, Jonesboro GA
Nov 2021 Southeast Center for Photography, Greenville, SC
Nov 2021 Griffin Museum, Winchester, MA
Dec 2021 Atlanta Photography Group members’ show
Feb 2022 Juror’s Choice, Atlanta Photography Group
Aug 2022 September Exhibition, Alexandria Museum of Art, Alexandria, LA
Oct 2022 Montgomery Photography Exhibition Montgomery AL
Oct 2022 SXSE Gallery Molena, GA
Nov 2022 Center for Photographic Art, Carmel, CA
Feb 2023 Atlanta Photography Group Atlanta GA
Jun 2023 Arts Clayton Jonesboro GA
Jan 2024 Griffin Museum, Winchester MA
Feb 2025 Atlanta Photography Group members’ show
Work is in permanent collection of the Danville VA Museum of Fine Art and the Griffin Museum of Photography, Boston, MA.
Works in private collections throughout the US and Sweden, Italy, Brazil, and Portugal.