Art in Alternative Spaces

presents

The Female Spirit

Photographs by Ted Preuss

On Exhibition at

Apollo Theater
2540 North Lincoln Ave
Chicago, Illinois 60614

September 5, 2006 - November 27, 2006

Reception:  Friday, October 20, 2006  (5:30 - 7:30 p.m.)

Refreshments provided by Bordo's Eatery & Sauce, 2476-78 N. Lincoln Ave, Chicago

Please support our sponsor!

 

AGLAIA Image 3.5"x4.5"   Framed 13"x16" Platinum/Palladium on Cotton Paper Limited Series 25 $ 450	BOW Image 3.5"x4.5"   Framed 13"x16" Platinum/Palladium on Cotton Paper Limited Series 25 $ 450	CLASSICAL Image 3.5"x4.5"   Framed 13"x16" Platinum/Palladium on Cotton Paper Limited Series 25 $ 450
DEMETER Image 3.5"x4.5"   Framed 13"x16" Platinum/Palladium on Cotton Paper Limited Series 25 $ 450	DRAPE Image 3.5"x4.5"   Framed 13"x16" Platinum/Palladium on Cotton Paper Limited Series 25 $ 450	DIVINE Image 3.5"x4.5"   Framed 13"x16" Platinum/Palladium on Cotton Paper Limited Series 25 $ 450
WILLOW Image 3.5"x4.5"   Framed 13"x16" Platinum/Palladium on Cotton Paper Limited Series 25 $ 450	INTERTWINE Image 3.5"x4.5"   Framed 13"x16" Platinum/Palladium on Cotton Paper Limited Series 25 $ 450	EMERGE Image 3.5"x4.5"   Framed 13"x16" Platinum/Palladium on Cotton Paper Limited Series 25 $ 450
PRECIOUS Image 3.5"x4.5"   Framed 13"x16" Platinum/Palladium on Cotton Paper Limited Series 25 $ 450	TRANQUIL Image 3.5"x4.5"   Framed 13"x16" Platinum/Palladium on Cotton Paper Limited Series 25 $ 450	SILENCE Image 3.5"x4.5"   Framed 13"x16" Platinum/Palladium on Cotton Paper Limited Series 25 $ 450
TRANQUILITY Image 19"x 22.5"    Framed 25"x 28.5" Silver Gelatin Print Limited Series 10 $ 750	ILLUMINATE Image 10.5" x 12"  Framed 16.25 X 18" Silver Gelatin Print Limited Series 10 $ 375	RECLINE Image 17"x 22" Framed 15"x 17" Silver Gelatin Print Limited Series 10 $ 750
TRANQUILITY Image 16"x 22"    Framed 22"x 28" Silver Gelatin Print Limited Series 10 $ 750	KATE Image 10.5 x 13"    Framed 14.25" x 19" Silver Gelatin Print Limited Series 10 $ 375	SWEET CLOVES Image 8.75" x 11"    Framed 15"x 17" Silver Gelatin Print Limited Series 10 $ 375

Artist Statement

Art and photography have always played a large part in my life.   With this series, I aimed to capture the elegance and grace of the female spirit.   To share in their natural beauty and mystery of being, yet, secretly wishing to leave traces of their identity forever. I chose platinum as a medium for its distinct vintage quality and archival properties for this vision.

I use traditional techniques, including a large format view camera with black and white sheet film.  After I develop the film, I print the images onto hand-coated platinum/palladium paper. With their wide range of tones, platinum images are exceptionally beautiful. Platinum images reveal shadows and dark values beautifully; the blacks become a force of nature.

Photography is my love and inspiration. This is not just photography, but my vision and passion.

Platinum/Palladium Process

Platinum images are among the most permanent graphic images, in any medium. This process involves mixing small amounts of platinum/ palladium with a light sensitive solution containing ferric oxalate. This mixture can then be spread onto the surface and is left to dry. After the emulsion is dried, the paper placed in contact with a negative the same size as the final print and exposed to ultra-violet light. Finally, the exposed print is processed, and then cleared by washing out the ferric oxalate with several successive baths of hydrochloric acid. Finished by washing in water and dried.

BIO

A long time architectural photographer, Preuss was looking for an outlet for his creativity.   In the past he had done everything from stock photography to furniture design.   However, it was only recently that he was able to achieve a long-time goal to pursue fine art photography.   Preuss is self-taught, but has refined his art with a few courses on the technical aspects of photography.   Preuss also draws inspiration from vintage and classical art and artists.   Consequently the images he captures have a distinct vintage feel about them, dreamlike and mysterious.   Despite his vintage influence, there is also a quality of timelessness in Preuss’s photographs.

His work has been exhibited at Anatomically Correct Gallery in Highland Park, IL and also at Flatfile Galleries, Gallery 350, Inspire Fine Art Gallery, Corosh, Daily Planet in NBC Tower,  Fine Spirits, Chicago, IL, and Oval Fine Art Gallery in Little Rock, AR, Studio B in Three Oaks, MI, and the International Photographic Art Show, SF, CA.   His photos have been published in The Large Format Journal, The New Nude Magazine, Focus Magazine, Inked Magazine, Chicago West Loop Art Market Paper.   He won Best of Show – "The Human Form" Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago and 2nd Place of Show – Highland Park Art Walk, Highland Park, IL.  

He also has experience in public speaking through FineArtChicago.com Seminar Series, and as a Guest Artist Speaker at Flatfile Galleries, Chicago, IL.

 

 

TED PREUSS, photography.A devotee of feminine beauty, Ted Preuss approaches the photographic study of the female body by emphasizing relaxed and self-possessed expression over abstract form or blatant sensuality. More than anything else, Preuss' subjects are like dancers caught in a moment lifted out of a fluid process that has absorbed all their energy in a quest for grace. A careful and accomplished printer, Preuss enhances the sense of admiration that he has for his subjects by presenting them in subtle amber-toned platinum-palladium images that augment complexity and individuality. Divided among miniatures that accentuate line and light, and larger impressions that bring out personality, the most successful of Preuss' studies maximize self-involvement, as when we see a model, shot from behind, leaning against the back of a draped chair with her hand resting on the back of her head. (Michael Weinstein)