Photo Exhibit

I had a fun time today checking out a bunch of Polaroids. 

The Albuquerque Museum is currently running an exhibit (through April 10) that features Polaroid pictures taken over about 30 years by artist H. Joe Waldrum.  Waldrum was born in Texas in 1934 and was widely known for his photographs, paintings and prints of northern New Mexico churches.

According to the information from the museum, Waldrum was in New Mexico in the early 1970's.  He wanted to paint a certain church (San Jose de Gracia?), but didn't have enough time before he needed to catch a flight back to the east coast.  So he went to a local grocery store and bought one of those Polaroid cameras where you snap a picture, it pops out the front of the camera and then develops over the course of a few minutes.  This way he could have photos as references to work from to complete the sketching/painting.  Later he realized that the photos were artistic in and of themselves. 

Over the years, he took over 8,000 Polaroids.  This collection was later donated to Palace of the Governors/New Mexico History Museum in Santa Fe.  They are collaborating with the Albuquerque Museum.

It's an interesting look at how an artist sees form and light.

I did have to laugh at myself.  Normally when you walk into an art exhibit, the art is easily visible.  When I first looked down the length of the gallery, I thought, "so where's all the art?"  Then I realized the narrow ribbon running the length of all the walls was the art.  After that I had an enjoyable time.

Papillon