Charles City Arts Center opens March featured exhibit

By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com

The Charles City Arts Center debuted its latest featured exhibit on Friday, March 7, with an opening reception to introduce the work of Shannon and Colleen Graham.

“It’s mixed media that brings in traditional photography,” said Colleen Graham, who spent last Wednesday transporting in a collection of 52 photographs to be on display through March. “We had a lot of fun putting the sequence together.”

Differing from traditional photography, taking the picture is just the first step the Grahams’ art. The film becomes Shannon’s canvas for experimenting with different development techniques to create abstract compositions.

“I don’t shoot my subjects,” said Shannon. “I shoot for tone and lights.”

At the reception, Shannon welcomed spectators and went into detail about his process, from mixing his own chemicals to utilizing historical photo development techniques that make each print a one-of-a-kind work.

“They’re not digital where you can make 300 of them at the same time,” said Graham. “I’ll never be able to match it,”

Also a part-time photography instructor at Hawkeye Community College, Shannon kept his speech shorter than one of his college lectures, but enjoyed mingling with the crowd for one-on-one conversations about how his photos are made.

“This is such a cool place,” said Shannon. “I really like this space in here.”