Avila Now

January 30, 2017

Thornhill Gallery Presents Through the Lens of Benjamin Pascoe: Polaroid Land Camera

Ben Pascoe taking picture with polaroid Camera
Ben Pascoe Img.

(January 30, 2017) KANSAS CITY, MO – Thornhill Art Gallery on the campus of Avila University presents Through the Lens of Benjamin Pascoe: Polaroid Land Camera. The exhibit runs through February 16.

Benjamin Pascoe is a multi-faceted artist and creator. In addition to serving as professor of communications in film and digital media at Avila University, Pascoe is also an actor, screenwriter, editor, photographer, producer and cinematographer. His visual exhibit, Through the Lens of Benjamin Pascoe: Polaroid Land Camera runs January 27 – February 16, with an opening reception on January 27 beginning at 5:00 p.m. The exhibit will feature his various images (some as large as 16 x 20) taken with the iconic land camera.

“I love to travel with my old Polaroid land camera and shoot images across the country,” Pascoe said. “If you have an interest in Kansas City wall art, you will recognize many of these pictures,” Pascoe said. “And once I discover a theme running through a series of photographs, it begins to inform me how I will go about displaying them and on what kinds of surfaces.” The presentation is as provocative as the photos themselves.

Many of the images will be superimposed on various surfaces with a process known as “Polaroid emulsion transfer” (photosensitive chemicals atop Fuji photo paper when exposed to light). “There is something very interesting about working hands-on with the film,” Pascoe said. “The fun thing about a land camera is the parallax view finder. I see the image through the viewfinder, then while using both of my index fingers to sync two blurred images, the desired image begins to line up and become focused. It’s quite fascinating.”

Pascoe once photographed a series of photographs all with a feminine theme. “So I found the top half of a female mannequin and emulsion transferred the images directly to it,” Pascoe said. The result is a female torso covered in feminine Polaroid photographs. “I can put these photos on almost any surface, a bowling pin, anything at all. My intention is to present the work in a fun and interesting way.” Pascoe plans to also present a stop-action film at the Thornhill exhibit, showing the torso project from start to finish.

The Thornhill Gallery is located on the southeast corner of the Avila University campus at 119th andWornall Road, Kansas City, MO. For more information and gallery hours, visit www.avila.edu/art/thornhill or call (816) 501-3762 

Avila University, a Catholic University sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, is a values-based community of learning providing liberal arts, professional, undergraduate and graduate education to prepare students for responsible, lifelong contributions to the global community. Our approach to education brings out the best in our students, so they can bring out the best in others.

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