Exhibit Details
Date: January 7 – March 6, 2025
Location: The Arts Center Lobby
Description: Photography featuring the gamut of Kitchens’ portfolio: historic, sacred, architecture, and landscapes, great and small.
Joel Kitchens
Joel Kitchens was born in Birmingham, Alabama, and as the son of a United Methodist minister, grew up in several small towns in the northern part of that state. At a young age he became fascinated by cameras and their ability to preserve history with an image of the present for the future. A basic art photography class during his senior year at college taught him the fundamentals of working with black-and-white film and printing in a traditional wet darkroom (no digital in those days). His fascination with the past led him to pursue multiple degrees in History as well as a graduate degree in Library Studies. In 1997 he relocated to Texas, where he joined the faculty at Texas A&M University and spent nearly twenty-five years in the university libraries.
Joel’s artistic interests in the aesthetics of historic sacred architecture directly influenced his academic interests in the Spanish missions of San Antonio, Texas. This confluence of interests resulted in his 2016 doctoral dissertation, multiple presentations, and a forthcoming book from Texas A&M University Press, as well as an ongoing portfolio of mission-related images. While engaging in photography as an avocation for many years, it was not until he retired from higher education that he has been able to explore more varied types of photography on a much deeper, and more personal level. His artistic career has greatly accelerated through working with Alan Ross, a former assistant to renowned artist, Ansel Adams. Joel has long been captivated by 20th- century masters such as Adams, Ross, Edward and Brett Weston, among others. The power and timeless beauty of their black-and-white images inspired Joel’s choice in artistic medium and techniques.
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Artist Statement
The images exhibited here reflect my wide-ranging interests and the desire to find and capture visually compelling subjects. These images represent scenes from the American Southwest, the southern Appalachian Mountains, and Texas state parks and natural areas. With my photographs I try to capture the sense of history and the “spirit of place.” My goal is to reveal beauty and foster serenity that are so vital to our mental and spiritual well-being, but which we so often miss in our hurried and distracted lives. In doing so, my method is to highlight overlooked details, pique viewers’ curiosity, and encourage them to see and experience places anew.
My photographic technique is purposely and intentionally retro. My chosen artistic medium is the black and white silver gelatin print, for its power and nuance. I personally hand-process each print in a traditional wet darkroom from 4×5 inch, 6x6cm, and 35mm film negatives. My favorite films are Kodak’s T-max, although I have recently been experimenting with films by Ilford and Rollei that have an expanded sensitivity into the infrared spectrum. I develop the film in Kodak Xtol. Prints from the negatives are made on either an Omega enlarger with a Chromega head, or a Beseler MCRX enlarger using a Heiland LED head. I use Ilford’s Multigrade Fiber Based enlarging paper developed in Kodak Dektol. Before mounting on acid-free mat boards, the prints are toned in selenium for archival protection and visual effect. Using this labor-intensive, but time- honored method gives me a more tangible connection with my materials, and gives each print a look not easily duplicated by computers.
Black and white photographs have a unique power all their own. The name, “black and white,” is actually a misnomer; there are few pure blacks or pure whites. With the color removed, everything becomes myriad shades of gray; some being lighter, and others existing as darkened shades or deep shadows. Despite the lack of color, I still have a wide range of tones and shapes and patterns with which to work. In this respect, the lack of color actually helps me concentrate on composition, and whatever the intended message or idea implicit in the photo may be.
I hope viewers will find my images approachable, and feel invited to enjoy a measure of peace and serenity with them. I also hope viewers will find their curiosity piqued, and be inspired to learn more about places or objects in the photographs. Finally, I would like to share a blessing of the Navajo people that roughly translated, bids “May you walk in beauty.”