Into the Sun presents work from across multiple series by the artist, including Sunburn, Heliograph, Poly-Optic, and Circuit Circuit. Remaining grounded in the tradition of landscape photography, McCaw uses lines burned by the sun as abstract elements to create pieces akin to line drawing. Chris McCaw builds his own large-format cameras and outfits them with powerful lenses typically used for military surveillance. Instead of film, McCaw inserts expired fiber-based gelatin silver photo paper directly into the camera. Pointing the lens at the sun, McCaw makes recordings ranging from thirty seconds to as long as 36 hours. The sun, intensified by the lens, scorches its path across the paper while creating a solarized image of the landscape or seascape below – a “direct positive” image made in-camera, without an intervening negative. These burned lines and holes are tangible traces of the act of making each photograph: marking time, recording location, mapping weather conditions and channeling light. To learn more, please visit the museum's website.
September 27, 2022
