Northern Plains Native Americans: A Modern Wet Plate Perspective Exhibition Nov. 3rd, 2017
I have spent the last two years of my life capturing my friends in the historic wet plate collodion process of silver on glass. The original plates are archived and curated by the Historical Society of North Dakota at the Heritage Center. This will be the first time all 120 of the plates will be on display. This is only the beginning, my longterm goal is to capture 1000 Native Americans in my beloved process, a 20 year commitment I will cherish.
http://sharoncol.balkowitsch.com/northernplains.htm
Please join us to celebrate a night of heritage and culture. Darren Thompson will be playing live flute music for the visitors.
Everyone is welcomed to join us. I want everyone to know that regalias and traditional dress is very much welcomed and appreciated the night of the opening. Friday November 3rd, 2017 from 5-7pm.
Thank you Gilbert Kills Plenty Enemy III and Rusty Gillette for making the official posters.
Nokota Wild Horses on The Dakota Plains Captured in Wet Plate Collodion
I am so proud to share the entire series of plates from my "Wild Horses of the Dakota Plains", captured in the historic wet plate collodion process of silver on black glass. These horses descend from the Theodore Roosevelt National Park with lineage back to the Native Americans from the Northern Plains.
I was accompanied by my friends Josh Withers, Victory Tischler-Blue, Mike LaLonde, John LaLonde, Tom Wirtz and of course my son Greyson. The time we shared on Saturday on the open prairie with the horses among us is something I will never forget. We started slow from afar but by the end of the day, my camera was in the herd and that transition can be seen in the work we did together. This was a team effort and I could never of achieved this by myself, so I am indebted to everyone involved. Josh Withers and Victory Tischler-Blue were instrumental in helping me make this possible. These beautiful animals are guarded and cared for by Frank and Leo Kuntz at their horse conservancy in Linton, North Dakota.
https://statemuseum.nd.gov/exhibits/horse/extend/nakota-horses
Victory Tischler-Blue created this black and white silent video of the horses:
Carl Zeiss Tessar 300mm and 360mm lens, f11, 2 seconds of exposure, 8x10" black glass ambrotypes using my Alessandro Gibellini folding camera, behind the scene images courtesy of Tom Wirtz from Bismarck, North Dakota.
Myron Dewey from Digital Smoke Signals Captured in Wet Plate Collodion
Myron Dewey, "Strong Thinker", Paiute Shoshone, for the series "Northern Plains Native Americans: A Modern Wet Plate Perspective". 8x10" black glass ambrotype in the historic wet plate collodion process.
I had the distinct honor of capturing in wet plate Myron Dewey, the filmmaker of "Awake: A Dream from Standing Rock", he is also the founder of Digital Smoke Signals.
Carl Zeiss Tessar 300mm lens, f4.5, 10 seconds of exposure, continuous florescent lighting.
The Capsizing of Humanity - The Raft of the Medusa - A Wet Plate Collodion Collaboration
"The Capsizing of Humanity", June 17th, 2017, a wet plate collaboration eight months in the making. I based this work on the historic painting "The Raft of the Medusa" at the Louvre, one of the most horrific maritime events in history.
The Raft of the Medusa is an oil painting of 1818–1819 by the French Romantic painter and lithographer Théodore Géricault. Completed when the artist was 27, the work has become an icon of French Romanticism.
8x10" black glass ambrotype in the historic wet plate collodion process of pure silver on glass. The original plate will be curated by the Historical Society of North Dakota at the Heritage Center in Bismarck, North Dakota.
Carl Zeiss Tessar 300mm lens, f8, 2 seconds of exposure.
Digital behind the scene images by Chad Nodland.
OFFICIAL LIST OF COLLABORATORS:
CASTAWAYS:
Lou Hafermehl
Noah Miller
Chad Balkowitsch
Richard Loewen
Tony Fladeland
Adam Steen
Kevin Tengesdal
Ben Pace
Adam Michal
Greyson Balkowitsch
Phillip Schultz
Brandon Wetch
John LaLonde
Morgan Drake
Abby Balkowitsch
(As Charlotte Picard)
SUPPORT STAFF:
Marek Dojs, Director
Mike LaLonde, Photography
Corey Carson, Photography
Moira McNichols, Make-up
Jason Lueder, Set Carpenter
James Lueder, Raft Carpenter
Melanie Kuntz Malsam, Make-up
Nolan Johnson, Videographer
John Sullivan IV, Wood Supply
Nika Ostby, Wet Plate Assist
Chad Nodland, Photography
Kim Olson, Set Assistant
Paul Noot, Artist of Water
Sabrina Hornung, Cyanotype Artist
Michele Oster Renner, Head of Sail
Linae Bieber, Head Costume
Nolan Johnson, Video
Andrea Heidrich, Hair
Angie Pember Brockey, Distress
Flag Designer
Dustin White, Writer & Poet
Chad Balkowitsch, Carpenter
Emily Brandt, Costume Assistant
Tom Wirtz. Assistant with Camera
Dan Miller, Fasting Collaborator
Nancy Willis, Water Assistant
Jeff Phillips, Set Assistant
We Dance for Those Who Cannot, Isabella Dawn Lebeau in Wet Plate
"We Dance for Those Who Cannot" the prayer of little Isabella Dawn Lebeau, Standing Rock Hunkpapa, her Native American name is "Sacred Meddlowlark Woman" and she is 10 years old.
Her Mother Dawn Wasin'Zi kept seeing Bella look at her shoes before dancing in her medicine or jingle dress. She asked her "What is the reason for the pause and looking down before dancing?" Bella said that she stares at her feet and says a prayer for her friend who is paralyzed and cannot dance himself. Dawn gave me permission to share this story and we used it for inspiration for this wet plate.
8x10" black glass ambrotype in the historic wet plate collodion process of pure silver on glass. Carl Zeiss Tessar 300mm lens, f4.5, 10 seconds of exposure. Title courtesy of Margaret Landin.
