"Girl With Virus" During COVID-19 Pandemic Wet Plate Collodion by Shane Balkowitsch
"Girl With Virus" with my daughter Alyvia Jean Balkowitsch, captured in the historic wet plate collodion process of silver on glass, inspired by the work of Banksy. She turned 9 years old yesterday.
Carl Zeiss Tessar 300mm lens, f4.5, 10 seconds of exposure, 8x10" black glass ambrotype, natural light through Northern facing windows and skylight. The virus prop was kindly provided to us by Greg Gerla in Canada.
"Girl with Virus" with my daughter Alyvia was projected on a wall in Los Angeles late last night. This is what kindness and thoughtfulness looks like during a pandemic. My friend and fellow photographer Stephen Levey did this for my daughter's birthday after finding out she could not have a party. These are trying times for us all, but let us all be reminded of the small things we can do for each other to make a difference in each other's lives. Alyvia could not have a real birthday party because of the pandemic, but now she has this. It needs to be said that Stephen and I have never met, we just have a profound appreciation for each other's work.
What I find very poignant about this projection is that Banksy started with his graffiti on walls, this image was inspired by him and now this inspiration is back on a wall.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aepRZlMIIRE
https://www.kxnet.com/news/local-news/coronavirus-inspires-bismarck-photographer/
"Demeter Awakens" Wet Plate Collodion by Shane Balkowitsch with Carlee Gifford
"Demeter Awakens" with Carlee Gifford, a diptych in the historic wet plate collodion process of pure silver on glass. A collaboration with Rachael TreeTop from Crabapple Floral.
Carl Zeiss Tessar 300mm lens, f4.5, 11 seconds of exposure, 8x10" black glass ambrotype, natural light through Northern facing windows and skylight bolstered by one continuous fluorescent fixture, at Nostalgic Glass Wet Plate Studio, Bismarck, North Dakota.
"Columbus Landed, Columbus Fell" Wet Plate Collodion to Take Back Columbus Day
“Columbus Landed, Columbus Fell”, with Allan Demaray and Lance Loken, wet plate collodion.
“Indigenous people north and south were displaced, died of disease, and were killed by Europeans through slavery, rape, and war. In 1491, about 145 million people lived in the western hemisphere. By 1691, the population of indigenous Americans had declined by 90-95 percent, or by around 130 million people." - Wikipedia
This wet plate is my attempt to address the genocide that has occurred in North America since Christopher Columbus landed on August 3rd, 1492.
Carl Zeiss Tessar 300mm lens, f4.5, 10 seconds of exposure, 8x10" black glass ambrotype using natural light through Northern facing windows and skylights at Nostalgic Glass Wet Plate Studio, Bismarck, North Dakota.
https://msumadvocate.com/2020/03/06/i-killed-columbus/
"BALKOWITSCH" Documentary to Premiere at Fargo Film Festival March 18th, 2020
The feature length documentary “Balkowitsch” will screen at the Fargo Film Festival on March 18th, 7pm at the historic Fargo Theatre. Directors Greg DeSaye and Chelsy Ciavarella will participate in question and answer session following the screening.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11929442/
Much controversy is surrounding Shane's work coming into this festival. Recently he received personal threats, boycotting and vandalism in his home city of Bismarck for a mural "Standing For Us All" with Greta Thunberg that he tried to install in an alley. His previous mural that has been up for over a year called "Liberty Trudges Through Injustice" was egged. Over 50 local, national and international news organizations ran with the story of hate that was thrown his way. A grass roots movement in Fargo with the guidance and leadership of Michael Williams agreed to take the art installation in Fargo as a way to show that not all of North Dakota feels this way. The large installation will be installed at the Frontstreet Taproom in Fargo at 1pm on the day of the opening of the film. The city of Poughkeepsie in New York has also decided to install the piece for their residents to enjoy. Shane also has plans himself to install the mural at Standing Rock near Sitting Bull College. The film has since been awarded the "Prairie Spirit Award" and has received Honorable Mention by the film festival.
Everyone has a purpose, but most spend their lives searching. For one man, his purpose came late in life and has been fueled with passion, spreading like wildfire across the prairies and now spanning the world.
Shane Balkowitsch has found his voice through the lost art of wet plate photography. He is archiving history, preserving bloodlines and capturing his visions in silver on glass for future generations.
"Art can be a weapon for change and we artists have the ability to wield it at will." - Shane Balkowitsch
"Alice in Wonderland" in Wet Plate Collodion by Shane Balkowitsch
Alice in Wonderland" a wet plate collaboration, captured in the historic wet plate collodion process of silver on glass.
Thank you Dan Miller for bringing us all together. The fabulous Amber Sams, Caylin Cathey, Tessa Marie and Caitlin Dooley we stupendous in their roles.
Not many people know that Lewis Carroll was an accomplished wet plate collodion photographer as well as an author.
Carl Zeiss Tessar 300mm lens, 8x10" black glass ambrotypes, f4.5, 10 seconds of exposure using Northern light through windows and skylight bolstered by continuous lights.
