OC exhibit showcases East Texas photographer

The loss of his mother spurred Texas photographer Scott Campbell on an artistic endeavor that became hislatest collection - "Evelyn's," which captures images preserving his mother's life. 

The collection opens today at Odessa College and will be on display through Oct. 24 in the library gallery on campus. There will be a gallery talk and open discussion at 7:30 tonight with the artist.

"Evelyn's" is a project of extended portraits, which means that a person is presented through objects used or owned by that person, OC photography department chair Steve Goff said.

For instance, one image captures Campbell's mother's last roll of toilet paper that still sat under her bathroom window for some time - Campbell's father kept everything as is after her death.

"It's a collection of memories that offers a portrait of a person," Goff said.

The camera in the hands of a sensitive person can capture something a snapshot doesn't, and Campbell does this with his deceased mother, Goff said.

"Many times I photographed what one might think of as trash, but it's my mother's trash - monuments to a surviving son," Campbell said in his artist's statement.

 Campbell is one of more than a dozen photographers whom Goff has brought in to stage exhibits and do workshops with OC students. Jerry Uelesmann, Judy Dater and Ann Mogel are a few of whom Goff said are "nationally known photographers" he's brought in.

These are all photographers whom Goff looked up to growing up, ever since his mother gave him a camera when he was a little boy.
He said these photographers specialize in area they can teach the students - and Goff said he learns new techniques every visit.
For Campbell, it's digital printing, which Goff said is the technique of making beautiful prints from digital photographs.

Not only will he offer workshops to the students during the weekend on the techniques, but he's programming the software so OC's equipment will be able to produce higher-quality prints from digital cameras.

"I'm excited for students to see a personal project," Goff said. "It's emotional."

And that's something Campbell's trying for - emotion. The photographer said the show in Odessa will have a slight twist on how he normally presents his photographs. He'll put them in twos and threes, side by side, trying something new.

He said that allows the viewer to meditate on space and time between the photographs.

"It shows more subtle meaning, causing the viewer to interpret the image more deeply," Campbell said.

Campbell said he'll explain things in the digital world and bring them back to traditional photography world.

"Digital is going to take over the market if it hasn't already," he said.

Campbell is a professional catalog photographer - he started cataloging his mother's house when she died.

"I couldn't put the whole house in my closet, so I started cataloging it, which turned into this exhibit," he said. "It was a project that chose me, not me it."

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
>> Through Oct. 24: Photography exhibit in OC's Learning Resource Center. The free exhibit is open the public.
>> 7 p.m. today: The gallery opens at OC's Learning Resource Center.
>> 7:30 p.m. today: Gallery talk with Scott Campbell.
>> 10 a.m. to noon Friday: Digital print discussion with examples from at Sedate Hall, Room 202.
>> 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Friday: Sheet film screening demonstration from at Sedate Hall, Room 201.
>> 9 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday: Printing session from at Sedate Hall, Room 201.

ON THE NET
>> Scott Campbell's website: http://easttexasphotographer.com/