How to make Crickets Making Salted Paper Prints for Crickets
Behind the scenes of the Manual Project. During a week’s artist residency at the Hospitalfield Arts Center in Arbroath Scotland I photographed about 25 people from all walks of life and many countries including Scotland, New Zealand, England, and Pakistan
MANUAL: The Personalities of Hands is a book of portraits with a twist: personal stories and private secrets told through images of hands. Readers witness the diverse range of humanity through photographs and photograms of hands rather than traditional pictures of faces. The photographs also make up a fine art exhibition. Bill Westheimer has captured …
2019 - Ongoing
Collodion Wet-plate collodion photogram on stone, stand made of welded steel and rock - 3.5"x5" up to 8"x8" not including stand
The “Anthropocene” fossils are imaginary records of flora and fauna that might be found in a future geologic era. They are evidence of what was and hints of how it might have been extinguished. Just as the real fossils found by humans fill in the story of what lived and how it died in earlier geologic era, these created fossils are evidence what what might be becoming extinct as a result of human activity.
2016
Wet-Plate Collodion on Laser etched Trophy Aluminum (Tintype) 6"x8" or 6"x6" or 4.25"x5.5"
After 35 years of making photograms I felt challenged to make something new, but it seemed I had photogrammed every kind of object. I decided to create my own objects to make photograms with - and the best place to start is with simple geometric shapes. I 3D printed geometric shapes which were placed on the wet tintype and exposed to light. Before making the photogram I laser-etched photographs of the geometric objects onto the aluminum to achieve a layered effect. I was able to produce new imagery of timeless shapes using 19th century analog process combined with 21st century laser etching and 3D printing.
photographic laboratory for creating analog imagery
Five of my Anthropocene sculptures will be in the show “Vanishing Worlds” at the Gallery at 14 Maple in Morristown NJ from March 12 to August 19, 2020. Because of the COVID-19 virus the opening has been postponed – date to be determined. Curated by Yvette Lucas the show also features Susan Ahlstrom, Janet Boltax, …
When I was little we used to “play war” which meant the neighborhood kids would roam the neighborhood with fake guns and hide behind bushes and sheds to surprise ambush their friends shouting “Bombs away!” or “Bang!” or “Boom: you’re dead!” That was the 1950’s and 60’s when the true war fears had caused the …
Assignment: get a bunch of drugs and make a picture. Well, not exactly like you are thinking. One of my favorite clients, Nancy Etheredge at E.P. Dutton Publishing hired me to do a cover photogram for a hard bound book “Intoxication – Life in Pursuit of Artificial Paradise” by Ronald K. Siegel, Ph D. Sounded …
Artist Eric William Carroll’s eulogy for the darkroom of our memories is a wonderful installation of photograms made of the tools from that mostly bygone era. Looking at the installation you can almost smell the stop bath. On display at SF Camerawork May 4 until June 30, 2012 with an opening reception May 11th, 5-8 …
Artist, Photographer, Activist, and Educator Jerry Burchfield died on September 11, 2009 from Colon Cancer. We’ll remember Jerry as an incredibly imaginative and creative artist, a generous and insightful mentor and educator, and a dedicated activist who took action to make his Southern California community a better place. The LA Times obituary provides a good …
18 of Bill’s “Assemblages” from 1985 will be in the PATTERNS exhibit at the Arts Guild of Rahway September 16th – October 12th 2007. The opening reception is Sunday September 16th from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. The Arts Guild is at 1670 Irving Street, Rahway NJ 07065. Gallery hours are Wednesday, Friday, Saturday: 1- 4 …
