In 1858, French portraitist Nadar hatched a plan to give new credibility to the fledgling medium of photography as a fine art. Taking to the sky in a tethered hot air balloon, he shot the first aerial photograph of Paris's cityscape. For his efforts, Nadar was caricatured by artist Honore Daumier; few were ready for the idea of the photographic document as art, though the French military saw plenty of applications for Nadar's "invention."
A century and a half later, the idea of aerial photography is old hat, but the number of true artists who practice it remains small. Surely Californian Robert Hartman can be counted among them. His photographs — on view through Wednesday at the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts (FMoPA) — reveal aerial photography at its zenith. Seen from above through Hartman's lens, our familiar world becomes a wondrously strange place, full of mysterious geometry and surreal color.
These days, Hartman, 81, depends on Cesna pilots to facilitate his art, but his passion for aerial photography began with a dual interest in flying and picture-making. A former art professor at the University of California, Berkeley, Hartman grew up flying small planes under the guidance of his father and elder brother in Arizona. By 1970, he'd saved up enough cash to buy a plane of his own, a 1949 Piper Clipper with stick controls and pilot-side windows that slid open — perfect for shooting and flying (using his knees and feet) at the same time.
At first glance, the aerial nature of his photographs is far from obvious; in many, the landscape — shot at a 90-degree angle — reads simply as a flat plane of different color and textural fragments. In some images, the sight of a miniature vehicle or cauliflower trees betrays the photograph's roots in reality. And a few look like abstract expressionist paintings, an effect Hartman relishes but doesn't strive for; when he finds a field full of tire tracks reminiscent of brushstrokes, or a cluster of ponds that suggests several of Edvard Munch's iconic screaming figures in a row, he calls it a happy accident.
Though the landscapes are diverse — some loose and impressionistic, others rigid and gridded — all were captured within a 100-mile radius of San Francisco. Their peculiar coloring stems from Hartman's use of infrared film, which turns green foliage to electric pink and bright red fields. Bodies of water are a wild card, yielding a variety of hues, from aqua to pitch black, in prints. With traditional film stocks endangered by the rise of digital photography, Hartman might not be able to continue his computer-free process for long. (When his three-year supply of discontinued infrared film is spent, he'll reevaluate his practice, he says.)
While the current exhibit illustrates the museum's ongoing commitment to showcasing fine art photography in many diverse iterations, FMoPA's next show is truly a coup. The Magic Box of Abelardo Morell (Jan. 17-Mar. 15) brings a selection of the Cuba-born artist's celebrated photographs of rooms transformed into camera obscuras. Through a tiny pinhole, exterior landscapes (the Empire State Building, baroque architecture) are pro-jected onto domestic spaces (an empty hotel room, a child's bedroom) with truly fantastical results.
Sketchbook
Something fanciful is afoot at the Studio@620. If I Were Going: Apparatus for a Border Crossing brings together the imaginative constructions and paintings of the Oiseaux Sisters (Susan Andrews and Carolyn Fellman) and their collaborators, Robert King, Laura Green and the Shadow Pixies. The resulting installation explores themes of voyage and migration both pertinent to the current moment and intertwined with the timeless lan-guage of myth. On view through Jan. 12; for more information, go to thestudioat620.org.
While this first week of January offers comparatively little in the way of arts happenings, the year's exhibits and events really kick into high gear starting next week. There's almost too much to see and do, so clear your calendar now for the following notables:
If you aren't yet familiar with the work of internationally known St. Peters-burg artist Robert Stackhouse, you will soon be. With a trio of exhibits devoted to his prints, paintings, and sculptural installations slated for the Bay area this season, art lovers will be treated to a Stackhouse primer. At Lakeland's Polk Museum of Art, Swimmers and Floaters, a 30-year retro-spective, is already on view (through Mar. 2). USF's Contemporary Art Museum showcases the artist's editioned works, for which the CAM is the official archive (Jan. 11-Feb. 23). And St. Pete's Arts Center opens Waves of Meaning (Jan. 18-Feb. 24), featuring installations by Stackhouse and his wife and collaborative partner, Dr. Carol Mickett.
Gulfport steps it up with an ambitious new festival of contemporary art dubbed 49/1. The 49-day (and night) extravaganza promises free art exhibits and events along 49th Street throughout the city from Jan. 12-Feb. 29. The festival's organizers aim to focus on "the art of our time" with innovative and risk-taking artwork, all designed to promote the city as a creative industries hub. For more information, go to 49daysofart.com.
The Dunedin Fine Arts Center pulls the wraps off a much-anticipated exhibit of work by Michigan photographer Les Slesnick (Jan. 11-Feb. 17; dfac.org). Last year, DFAC invited Slesnick to Dunedin to complete one of his signature series of colorful domestic interiors. Stop by to see what the artist discovered during his tour of some of the city's most visually remark-able homes.
A final Art After Dark heralds the last days of the Tampa Museum of Art in its old building, which is slated to meet with the wrecking ball in February. Because the museum will be vacant in time for Retro\Perspectives (Fri., Jan. 18; retroperspectives.com), the organizers of the massive art party are planning extensive site-specific installations by BASK and Tes One, Lynda Bostrom, Anthony Zollo, Theo Wujcik, Joe Griffith, Jay Giroux and Josh Stewart, and others. Keep an eye peeled for work by Brandon Dunlap, Edgar Sanchez-Cumbas, Tracy Midulla Reller, Chad Mize and more.
Florida Craftsmen Gallery starts the season with a salute to fresh blood, mounting Highly Recommended (Jan. 18-Feb. 24; floridacraftsmen.net), a show devoted to emerging Florida artists who stretch traditional craft media to new limits. Only artists who've never had a solo exhibition are eligible, so there's plenty of new talent to be discovered here.
Finally, a correction from last week: Due to an editorial error, the photo of Donna Sweigart's necklace, "Sphere," was mistitled. And the image from Patty Chang's "Shangri-La" should have been credited to USF-CAM.
This article appears in Jan 2-8, 2008.
