Iowa Artisans Gallery presents black and white photography by Conrad Marvin, April 22 – May 29, 2005. Marvin’s photographs explore subjects in landscape and architecture, with a special interest in the Native American Southwest and medieval British sacred architecture. “I intend for my photographs to reflect my enjoyment of long, solitary excursions to places that speak to me,” comments the artist. “When I photograph, I do not aim simply to reproduce an object or a scene, I try to capture the essence of the moment: the sights, the moods, the atmosphere.”

Marvin works primarily in large-format black and white film, using either a 4x4” or a 5x7” view camera. He prints his photographs by hand on silver bromide paper in a darkroom he designed to his own specifications.

Aside from his studio photographs, which have appeared in solo and group shows in the Northeast and Iowa, Marvin has also done a great deal of photography for musical instrument makers in the US. Among others, these include Brannen Brothers Flutemakers, Lopatin Flutes, and Verne Q. Powell Flutes. He has done documentary photography of antique musical instruments and archival musical documents, including Theobold Boehm’s first ring-keyed (1847) flute, plus archival documents at the Royal Opera House (London) and the Teatro della Scala (Milan.) His photographs are included in The Works of Giuseppe Verdi: I masnadieri (Chicago: University of Chicago Press & Milan: Casa Ricordi, 2000.)

Marvin is a newcomer to Iowa City, having lived for many years in Massachusetts.

 

 

Riveaulx Abbey Refectory
(click image for a larger version)