Clayton Harley
| Dark Room
EXHIBITION DATES February 29- May 12, 2024
Meantime Co. has the distinct honor of mounting the first solo presentation of photographs made by Clayton Harley. For the past ten years Harley has devoted himself to honing the historical and present day techniques of analog photo printing, which he believes is uniquely capable of transmitting the feeling of a moment. This incredible science that captivated the world’s attention for 150 years is now akin to a dying language, with few native speakers remaining. Harley has sought out the mentorship of expert practitioners of the art and delved into the world of organic chemistry to achieve a mastery of analog techniques, and continues to innovate with the medium. For this exhibition Harley has created 13 lightboxes, 3 doretypes, and a light installation of hand-painted glass plates projected through a lantern slide projector from the 1910s.
To be able to manipulate the processing methods beyond the conventionally prescribed steps is to drop through a rabbit hole into a world of infinite variability. Each processing method, or combination thereof, rewards with a unique patterning of silver that defines the nature of an image’s mood and texture. Those who speak this language can conjure impossible dreamscapes through photochemistry. Harley renders images which pay homage to the architects of analog photo history: Man Ray, Peter Gowland, and Lary 7. The choices made by this artist give the images the effect of being difficult to place in time.
Harley worked for many years in the news industry, as well as with video and moving image films; because of these different lenses, the still image holds a distinct importance for this artist. While a photograph is considered by most to be a two-dimensional thing, Harley asserts that the tactile qualities of the medium more are akin to sculpture. He argues that a hand-printed photograph is comprised of a distinct constellation of silver grains suspended within a gelatin layer of emulsion. Of course, many classic photo techniques may be emulated by artificial intelligence or image filters, but the digitally generated image will always possess a sharpness that inevitably flattens the picture space. On the other hand, the analog picture maintains a “gumminess”- an optical spatial quality that only comes from the use of emulsion, light, and chemistry.
Clayton Harley (b. 1982) lives and works in New York, NY. He earned a degree from Oberlin College (2005) in Media Studies. From 2005 to 2006 Harley traveled throughout South America settling in Buenos Aires for a year and a half and working in journalism. While in Argentina he worked on his own screenplays and began writing for the Buenos Aires Herald, a 130 year old newspaper. While there he was connected with Marie-Louise Alemann, with whom he began making experimental films- and who became one of his mentors. Upon his return to North America, Harley settled in New York and continued to work in the news industry while developing a practice of moving image creation. His work has been entwined with many artists of mention, and he recently authored a music video for Bruno Coviello, aka Bliscord, of Light Asylum fame.
This exhibition comes together with much thanks to the tireless help of many including Harvey Yurow, Lary 7, Martin Reed, and Malin Fabri among others. A still is a fragment of time preserved. It has the capacity to instigate the imagination and augment the captured moment, imbuing it with the viewer's own acculturation, producing a unique meaning and experience for that person. To master analog processing, like a language, one must have speaking partners with whom to practice; the objects in this exhibition exist due to the many individuals, artists and craftsmen, who have generously shared their time and knowledge. Come and see what’s been borne from these conversations.