What an honor to be the invited guest exhibitor for the 20th annual, world-famous international “Krappy Kamera” Show at the Soho Photo Gallery! This solo exhibition features 22 photographs (all shot with a krappy $21 lens!)
See the entire exhibition here.
Jean Miele’s “Listening for the Light” runs from March 7, 2018 – March 31, 2018
Opening Reception: Tuesday, March 6th, 6-8pm
Jean Miele artist’s talk: March 14th at 6:30pm
Everyone is welcome at both events. (Address and directions below.)
After judging the 2014 annual “Krappy Kamera” Show, it’s exciting to have my work on the walls alongside the 2018 international competition winners, a group show by past Krappy Kamera winners (several of whom I’m proud to call my students), and a special exhibit by Soho Photo Gallery artists.
What’s this whole “Krappy Kamera” thing all about?
It’s about serendipity and surrender. It’s about making room for surprises and imperfections in a genre known for precision and control.
Decades ago, way back in the time of film cameras, serious photographers all over the world fell in love with toy cameras made for kids. These cameras used to cost next to nothing. (Check eBay and you’ll see that’s changed.) They had plastic lenses with all kinds of optical aberrations and heavy vignetting (darkening) at the edges of the picture. They usually had only one shutter speed, one fixed f-stop, and focus was determined by guesstimation. They often needed to be taped at the seams to prevent light leaks that could ruin the film by inadvertently exposing it to light.
Why did this become a cult? Because the limitations were awesome. You never knew what you’d get. Light leaks would streak the film in magically serendipitous ways. The lenses would bend and flare light in surprising ways. These “toy” cameras allowed photographer to invite fate to collaborate.
My friend Sandra Carrion, one of those people who fell hard and early for shooting with toy cameras, curated an exhibition in 1993 and, tongue-in-cheek, dubbed it the “Krappy Kamera” show. Not only did the name stick, but what started as a local event quickly became a national competition, then a worldwide phenomenon. This year, in a 20th anniversary reprise of her former role as judge and curator of the competition, Sandra selected 45 exceptionally krappy winners from 1000 entries submitted from all over the globe for exhibition at the Soho Photo Gallery in Tribeca, in New York City, the long-time home of the Krappy Kamera Show.
When Myra Hafetz (the current co-chair of KK, with Silvia Marinari) called me in November 2017 and asked if I wanted to be this year’s guest exhibitor – to hang a solo show alongside this year’s (and past) winners – I didn’t hesitate. “Absolutely!” What an honor. Just one problem, though. I wasn’t already a member of the cult. I had never shot with a Holga or a Diana or a pinhole camera. Ever… Honestly, I’d always admired this kind of work, but thought these people were a little crazy. I like sharp lenses. I wondered if I could just simulate the krappy feeling in Photoshop, or whether I’d need to start from scratch and shoot a whole body of work just for this show. So I called Sandra and asked her what the parameters were. She was unequivocal: “The lens is the determining factor. You need to shoot with a plastic lens.” Not a cheap lens or an old lens. Plastic. No iPhone pics. No Photoshop simulations. (Although fakes have been know to be submitted from time-to-time.) She also pointed out that it’s the Krappy Kamera Show, not the krappy picture show or the krappy print show. “Good luck! Have fun!”
Plastic lens, good pictures – beautifully printed and presented: that’s what we’re shooting for. So I went out, got myself a $21 lens, and followed what theater director Peter Brooke calls a “formless hunch.” I listened for the light, followed my intuition, engaged in my process (which involves shooting digitally, and some appreciable post-production), and watched eagerly as a body of work emerged. You can check it out on the walls of Soho Photo from March 7, 2018 – March 31, 2018.
Soho Photo Gallery: 15 White St., New York, NY 10013
Gallery hours are Wednesday thru Sunday 1:00 – 6:00pm
#1 train to Franklin St., or A/C/E train to Canal St.
Here’s a link to a complete online gallery of “Listening for the Light.”
For more information about the Krappy Kamera Show, and this year’s winners: sohophoto.com
