Open Door Gallery

Liz Doles: Pinhole Photography - "Without A Lens"

January 17 - March 31, 2011

Reception: March 30, 2011 4:30 - 7:30 pm
Artist Talkback: 6 pm
ASL Interpreted, Light Refreshments

Artist's Statement:

My quest has been to apprehend the world in a single stroke of art; to reveal the numinous manifest in our quotidian reality; to make that unique, idiosyncratic mark summing up the enormity of reality; to author images equal to the intensity of being alive. When acute ophthalmic thyroid disease compromised my vision and made my studio practice problematic, I still needed to make art. I needed a solution.

A camera fashioned from a laundry detergent box, spray painted matte black, then fitted with a patch of aluminum can pricked with a pin, solved my dilemma. This now beat up box has become the vehicle of my artist's ambition and an ideal medium to record what I see that brings me to my knees.

I don't need to read little numbers in panels or on dials. I don't need to struggle looking through a viewfinder or squint at a screen. I judge exposure by time of day, longitude and season, relying on serendipity and a bit of unseen assistance. I've been taking aim at spaces both sacred and profane here in New England and wherever I travel. I shoot where I sense some unseen spiritual presence, be it an alley or a shrine. Part of my great joy in shooting this way lies in the seeming lack of control that allows me to both shrug off my failures and delight in my successes.

Thank you for sharing in the successes.

Liz Doles

The Open Door Gallery promotes the work of artists with disabilities and shifts the community's perceptions of ability while enjoying quality art.