October exhibition @ Rock|DeMent visual art space

Rock | DeMent has 2D and 3D exhibitions that rotate monthly, with additional experiential collaborative installations occurring on a less regular basis.

New shows open on every First Thursday of the month.
Open studio hours :: Saturdays from Noon - 5pm, or by appointment

Nichole DeMent, c-prints
Portraits with Lens Cap On: Photographic Project on Consciousness
DeMent's ongoing exploration of human nature brings a body of portraits from a broad spectrum of society: housewife, hooker, street person, celebrity, child, CEO, Latino, Caucasian, Asian, African-American, heterosexual couple, homosexual couple, politician, emerging artist, sports team, college class participants, etc. The final photographs enlarged to 16x20" are all black, since the camera's lens cap was intentionally left on for one of the five images made in each sitting. The images are indicative of the photographic process by including the filed out negative carrier and sprocket holes of the filmstrip in the final print.

With this body of work DeMent questions identity via the physiology of seeing, or not seeing in this case. An enlarged black print offers no details to be used to assimilate details of the individual photographed. Besides the enlarged black print, the only clues provided during the final exhibition are a strip of 5 frames of 35-mm film next to a title card with the sitters name(s) or group affiliation such as, The Seahawks football team. While all perceptual details and classifications are left out, other factual details included are film ASA, camera and lens settings; additional photographic equipment used and their settings; time, longitude and latitude, general information on dress and regional atmospheric conditions at the time of the sitting. That every final print is blank, yet framed using glass that reflects anything in front of it is extremely relevant to the viewer.