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.
Camera-less image making using light and objects to create an image on an analog chemical light sensitive material. Many of the very first images made using chemical processes were photograms.
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 …
Shadow Catchers: Camera-less Photography is a fascinating and beautiful book about 5 artists who make photograms. Written by Martin Barnes the book features work by Floris Neusüss, Pierre Cordier, Susan Derges, Garry Fabian Miller, and Adam Fuss. The book is more than just beautiful reproductions of their pictures there is ample reading about each artist’s …
My tintype Buggy #29 is included in the new show at Tilt Gallery “Photography Re-Imagined” curated by Anna Strickland, Senior Critic in the Photography Department at the Rhode Island School of Design. The opening is Friday October 1st, 6-9 pm, I can’t be there, but I hope you’ll go! The show runs October 1-29, 2010. …
The Alan Klotz Gallery will be showing 5 of my Waterflowers series in the Holiday show and sale. located at 511 W 25th St 7th floor in New York’s Chelsea gallery district, the show will run from December 4th to 20th with an opening reception Friday December 4th from 6-8pm (sorry I won’t be there.) …
This may the best show of the decade…. Man Ray at the Jewish Museum With photographs, paintings, drawings, films, sculptures, books and of course Ray-o-grams it gives great insight into the man and his work. There is even a photo of Emmanuel Radnitzky at his bar-mitzvah. Run, don’t walk to the Jewish Museum 1109 5th …
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 …
BETWEEN ORDER AND DISORDER – An exhibit of Bill’s large giclee prints is scheduled for the Brassworks Gallery – 105 Grove Street, Montclair, NJ – January 22 through April 15, 2009. The two person show will also feature paintings on paper by Harriet Finck. There will be an opening the evening of Thursday January 22, …
Twenty prints from the MANUAL PROJECT will be on display at Cypress College beginning October 1. I’ll be at the opening on October 1 – Photography Department, 9200 Valley View, Cypress, CA 90630
A silver gelatin print of my dragonfly image was selected by juror Carol McCusker PhD. for the 1212 Gallery National Juried Photography Exhibition 2008 at 1212 Gallery in Richmond, VA. The show runs from October 3 to November 9th, 2008. The awards ceremony and opening reception is Sunday October 5th from 2-5pm.
Five of my MANUAL PROJECT portraits will be in the BODY PARTS exhibit at the Arts Guild of Rahway (now the Arts Guild of NJ) September 12- October 3 2008. The opening reception is Sunday September 14th from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. The Arts Guild is at 1670 Irving Street, Rahway NJ 07065.
