Jan Kapoor Biography and Artist Statement

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Brief Biography

Jan Kapoor's "extraordinarily beautiful photographs," wrote Jerry Cullum in his review of her solo show, Ephemerata: Fragmented Images of the Natural World, are "an elegant evocation of Buddhist ideas of impermanence and of the way we never see more than a distorted part of reality . . . . The overall effect is quite wonderful."

Jan Kapoor has been involved in fine art photography for many years, her primary interests being landscape, natural abstraction and still life. She prints extensively in alternative processes including cyanotype and platinum/palladium. Computer technology is another important creative tool in her work. Kapoor uses medium and large format cameras, and has been drawn to specialize in pinhole imagery for the past several years. She finds that pinhole is most expressive of the imperceptible passage of time, making visible that which is invisible to the ordinary eye, and of the mystery of non-human life which surrounds us.

Kapoor's artistic expression has been greatly enhanced by her fine arts background, which includes studies in painting at the Museum of Fine Arts School in Boston; a two-year program in fine art photography at the Southeastern Center for Photographic Arts; and her recent completion of a BFA summa cum laude in photography at Georgia State University. In addition, she cites influences on her work such as Imogen Cunningham, Clarence John Laughlin and John McWilliams, among many others.

Kapoor's first solo show, Ephemerata: Fragmented Images of the Natural World, was on view at Moving Spirits Gallery in August/September 2002, to critical acclaim. In January 2003, she was invited to participate in an important exhibition entitled Pure Light: Southern Pinhole Photography, shown at the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem, NC. Her work is in private collections throughout the world, and is also in several corporate collections including Kaiser Permanente and Siemens.

Currently, Kapoor is working on two series of still life images: one, “Ex Libris,” is a group of autobiographical images, featuring books and other objects related to themes and ideas central to the artist’s inner life, made with a handmade 5x7 pinhole camera; the other, “Dreamtime,” is a series of still life images, made with a 3-pinhole camera, which imaginatively blend disparate and/or associated elements to suggest a dreamlike story or idea. Selections from these bodies of work were featured in a solo show, "Camera Obscura" in the Gallery of the Showcase School of Photography from October through mid-December 2007.

Vita

Solo Exhibitions

2009       Japan: Images From a Visual Journal; The Roswell Teahouse, Roswell, GA.
2007      Camera Obscura: Recent Pinhole Phtographs by Jan Kapoor; Gallery of the Showcase School of Photography, Atlanta, GA
2002     Ephemerata: Fragmented Images of the Natural World, Moving Spirits Gallery, Atlanta, GA

Selected Juried, Invitational and Group Exhibitions

2010          First Annual Georgia Photography Show; The Gallery at Paper Mill Village, Marietta, GA
                Photographer's Choice 2010; Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA
                Roswell Heritage 2010; Roswell Cultural Arts Center, Roswell, GA
                Goa International Pinhole Photography; Goa Center for Alternative Photography, Goa, India
                   Japan Pinhole Photographic Society Member Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan
                   In Your Dreams 2010; Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA; Mark Karelson, Juror

2009         Photographer's Choice 2009; Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA
                 Women In Focus Library Show; Atlanta Public Library
                 In Your Dreams 2009; Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA; Naomi Silva, Juror
                 Women In Focus XVI; Women In Focus Annual Juried Show, Kai Lin Art, Atlanta, GA
                 Japan Pinhole Photographic Society Members Annual Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan

2008        Back to Nature; Hambidge Center, Rabun Gap, GA; Marianne Lambert, Curator
                Blooming; Terminus Gallery, Atlanta, GA; Marianne Lambert, Curator
                Decade of Light; Women In Focus, Atlanta Fulton County Public Library
                In Your Dreams 2008; Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA; Naomi Silva, Juror
                Photographer’s Choice 2008; Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA

2007         Women In Focus Artist's Choice; Digital Arts Studio, Atlanta, GA
               WIF XIV; Ferst Center for the Arts, Atlanta, GA
               Sun Pictures to Mega Pixels: Archaic Process & Digital Process Photography; Williamsburg Art & Historical Center, Brooklyn, NY
               In Your Dreams 2007; Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA
               Visual Edge 3: Handcrafted; Viewpoint Photographic Art Center, Sacramento, CA

2006      The Camera Club International Alternative and Early Processes Exhibition; Gallery 1885, The Camera Club, London, U.K.
                Little Things Mean a Lot; Marianne Lambert, Curator, Swan Coach House Gallery, Atlanta, GA
                Jane Jackson Selects; Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA
                In Your Dreams; Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA
                Open Juried Exhibition; Roswell Photographic Society, Roswell, GA
                Southern Faces, Southern Places, Concord, Pike County, GA
                Toy Joy: Toy Camera Photography Exhibition; Houston, TX
                Krappy Camera 2006: Pinhole and Toy Camera Photography Exhibition, Soho Gallery, New York, NY
                Georgia to Georgia: a landmark exchange of work between women photographers of the Contemporary Art Club (CAC) in Tbilisi, Republic of
                Georgia and Women in Focus of Atlanta, Georgia; The Brezler Gallery, Roswell GA, Composition Gallery and Spruill Gallery, Atlanta, GA

2005         Circles of Confusion: A Pinhole Journey: Houston, TX
                Poetry and Photography, Lamar Arts, Barnesville, GA
                Quickening: Mason Murer Gallery, Atlanta, GA
                Photographer's Choice 2005; Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA
                Slow Exposures: The Rural South; Concord, Pike County, GA

2004    8th Annual Open Juried Exhibition; Roswell Photographic Society, Roswell, GA
            The World of Photography; South Cobb Arts Alliance, Mableton, GA
            Slow Exposures: The Rural South; Concord, Pike County, GA; Corinne Adams, Lucinda Bunnen and Susan Todd-Raque, Jurors
            XI: A Women In Focus Group Show; Mason-Murer Gallery, Atlanta, GA; Lucinda Bunnen, Juror
            A Sense of Place in the South; Temple Gallery, Decatur, GA
            Alternative Photography 2004; Donald Keyes, Juror; Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA
            Slow Vision: Pinhole Photography; Nord-Norsk Kuntsnersentrum, Svolvaer in Lofoten, Norway
            Storm in a Teacup; Women In Focus & Sistagraphy 6th annual group show, Atlanta Public Library, Atlanta, GA
            Photographer's Choice 2004; Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA
            What I Know For Sure; Nancy Marshall, Juror; The Art Gallery, Dobbs University Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
            North Fulton Regional Juried Art Exhibition; Ralph Gilbert, Juror, Abernathy Arts Center, Atlanta, GA

2003    Ten: A Retrospective Exhibition of Women In Focus; The Seen Gallery, Atlanta, GA
             Visions 2003; Moving Spirits Gallery, Atlanta, GA
             Slow Exposures: A Photography Exhibition of the Southern Landscape; Zebulon, GA
            Alternative Photography, Kevin Miles, Juror, Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA
            Essence of Nature, Marianne Lambert, Curator, Swan Coach House Gallery, Atlanta, GA
            Pure Light: Southern Pinhole Photography, Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, Winston-Salem, NC
            Photographer's Choice 2003, Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA
            Verse & Vision, Atlanta Public Library, Atlanta, GA
            Picturing Peace, The Art Gallery, Dobbs University Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA

2002     Photographer's Choice 2002, Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA
            Connected Vision, Atlanta Fulton Public Library, Buckhead Branch, Atlanta, GA
            Jerry Cullum Juries, Jerry Cullum, Juror, Moving Spirits Gallery, Atlanta, GA
            Summer, Juried by Susan Todd-Raque, Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA
            Passages, Allen Ashton Gallery, Roswell, GA
            3 Hours/24 Women, Women In Focus Studio Tour, Fulton Cotton Mill Lofts, Atlanta, GA
            Boo! Nightmare on McGruder Street, Art Spot, Atlanta, GA

2001     16 Women/2 Hours, Women in Focus Open Studio Tour, APG Gallery, Atlanta, GA
            In The Dark, Darious & Story Art Gallery, Atlanta, GA
            Inspiration, Genema Gallery, Atlanta, GA
            Women in Focus, The Vinings Club, Vinings, GA
            Emerging Visions 2001, Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA
            Ephemerata: Fragmented Images of the Natural World, BFA Senior Show, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA

1998 Under the Dark Cloth, Metro Art Galleries, Cleveland, OH
Under the Dark Cloth, Lakeland Community Center for the Fine and Performing Arts, Kirtland, OH

1990 Photographic Works by Atlanta Artists, The Arts Connection, Atlanta, GA
Through Nature's Lens, Atlanta Botanical Garden, Atlanta, GA

1989 Atlanta Photo Show, Atlanta, GA
Through Nature's Lens, Atlanta Botanical Garden, Atlanta, GA

1986 Women in Photography, University of Alabama, Huntsville, AL

1985-1987 Lightworks Gallery of Photography: Founding member/exhibitor of co-operative photography gallery

Selected Awards and Honors
        Collector's Portfolio 2003-2004, Atlanta Photography Group Gallery, Atlanta, GA
        Photographer's Forum Magazine "Best of Photography 1989"; First place
        Atlanta Photo Show, Atlanta, GA; Second place
        Women in Photography: University of Alabama, Huntsville, AL; First place

Publications

      Alternative Photography: Art & Artists, Edition 1; AlternativePhotography.com, 2006
            "Krappy Kamera 8": Camera Arts, May/June 2006 print and online
            The Intertidal World: Photographs of Coastal Georgia; 2005
            "Wet Contact Process for Paper Negatives", http://www.alternativephotography.com/articles/art040.html
          Islands Magazine; July/August 2004
            Pinhole Journal, Vol. 15, #1, April 1999
            Photographer's Forum: Best of Photography Annual, 1989

Media Coverage
"Krappy Kamera 8": Camera Arts, May/June 2006 print and online
Review of solo show Ephemerata: Fragmented Images of the Natural World by Jerry Cullum, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, September 13, 2002
Review of Essence of Nature by Catherine Fox, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, May 11, 2003.

Workshops, Lectures and Presentations

2008:     Pinhole Photography Workshop, in conjunction with Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day; Spruill Center for the Arts, Atlanta, GA
2004:    Beginning Pinhole Workshop; Roswell Photographic Society, at the Roswell Visual Arts Center, Roswell, GA
2002:    Demonstration of pinhole photography equipment and techniques; presentation of pinhole images, Women In Focus at Atlanta Photography Group Gallery,             Atlanta, GA

Affiliations
2001 to present:    Women In Focus, Atlanta, GA
                              Atlanta Photography Group, Atlanta, GA
2006 to present:     Roswell Photographic Society, Roswell, GA

Work Appearing in Collections
    Pinhole Resource Archives
    Lucinda Bunnen Collection
    Kaiser Permanente
    Northside Hospital
    Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc.

Education
2001     Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography, summa cum laude, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA
1986     Diploma of Excellence, Southeastern Center for the Photographic Arts, Atlanta, GA
1962     School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Major: Painting

Participation in Workshops

Pinhole workshop, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; 2003; Eric Renner and Nancy Spencer

Photographic Arts Workshops
South Georgia Coast and Islands, 1996; Bruce Barnbaum
Arizona/Utah View Camera, 1992; Bruce Barnbaum, Jay Dusard, Huntington Witherill, Don Kirby
The Complete Photographic Process: Landscape and Darkroom, 1991; Bruce Barnbaum, Don Kirby

Owens Valley Photography Workshops, 1987 - 1990
Bishop; Bruce Barnbaum, John Sexton, Ray McSavaney
Canadian Rockies; Bruce Barnbaum, Craig Richards
Cascade Mountains; Bruce Barnbaum
Sapelo Island; Bruce Barnbaum

Appalachian Photographic Workshops
John Sexton; 1986
Cole Weston; 1986

Artist Statement

When I look at a photograph, I see a confluence of time. The image, held in the hand, exists in the present, goes forward into the future, yet flows inexorably back into the past. Silent memories fade, time flees, and yet the instant of time seen by the camera'seye is frozen forever in a photograph. My "Fantasy Still Life" series is an exploration of this multi-dimensionality of time, using pinhole cameras, alternative printing processes and multiple exposures in-camera.

Another important aspect of my photography, expressed in series such as Circles of Return and the Coastal Georgia images, is the exploration of the southern landscape, which is far from being pristine virginal wilderness. Hunting ground and home to generations of Native Americans, Africans and Europeans, it is a palimpsest containing many layers of meaning, of time and traditions. Trails developed along animal tracks. Roads evolved from old trails. In the woods, crumbling walls merge with the earth, hidden in lush vegetation. The land has been surveyed, mapped, parceled out and named, over and over again. Much has been forgotten, much is fading from view and from memory, much has been transformed; yet to the sensitive observer, the southern land is a speaking presence and living witness of the past.

The Ex Libris series is a group of autobiographical images, featuring books and other objects related to themes and ideas central to the artist’s inner life, made with a handmade 5x7 pinhole camera. The images are made utilizing platinum, palladium, cyanotype and Van Dyke Brown printing processes, alone and in combination, and are superimposed on scanned prints from old book covers and pages relevant to the individual image.

Dreamtime is a series of still life images, made with a 3-pinhole camera, which imaginatively blend disparate and/or associated elements to suggest a dreamlike story or idea. The exhibition prints are warmtone archival inkjet, mounted on stretched canvas.

The Ritual series was inspired by the haunting beauty and spirituality of the poetry of Jelaluddin Rumi, who was a scholar, teacher and mystical poet of 13th century Turkey. Upon reading some of his poems which express the mystery of this form of meditation, it occurred to me to do a series of self-portraits inspired by my response to Rumi's extraordinary verbal images. The photographs were made with a 4x5 pinhole camera; lighting was one photoflood; exposures were upwards of 2 to 3 minutes. The prints are VanDyke Brown on Cranes Platinotype paper. For the handmade artist book, the texts were printed on acetate and superimposed on brushed flame-shaped areas of cyanotype. I assembled the images and text into an accordion-fold book with hard cloth-wrapped covers. The exhibition images are warmtone archival inkjet prints.

I make extensive use of alternative printing processes such as platinum, palladium, vandyke brown and cyanotype; in addition, computer technology has become another, and very expressive, creative tool in my work. Pinhole cameras enhance the timeless, dreamlike quality of many of my images, and multiple exposures in-camera express my sense of the complexity of what I photograph, my sense of the mystical in the ordinary, the silent mystery which permeates the visible world.