Contributed
Photo courtesy Vicki DaSilva
Vicki DaSilva set out last Tuesday afternoon intent on painting the grass blanketing the Court of North Carolina red.
And, with the aid of an eight-foot compact fluorescent light bulb, she did.
DaSilva, a photographer from Allentown, Pa. who spent some of the past week doing a “visiting artist gig” at the College of Design, specializes in long-exposure photography, which she considers a fusion of painting, sculpture and photography.
“From the first photography class I had, and it was the most basic information — history of photography, I became interested in exposures,” DaSilva said. “I was not interested in commercial photography.”
So she began her uncommercial career, delving first into black-and-white photography and then into “graffiti” — a technique in which she used colorful, incandescent bulbs to create fleeting art in the air — in New York City during the 1980s.
“When the graffiti explosion was happening in early 80s, I thought, ‘That’s my ticket,'” she said.
That ticket has taken her through more than 20 years, during which time she met and married her husband, Antonio, who has collaborated with Vicki since they first met.
“I had always wanted to use bigger bulbs [for the photographs],” she said. “I didn’t know how to make it portable.”
And Antonio, who is now Vicki’s technical director, helped her make that happen. Starting in 1987, a year after she met her husband, Vicki began using incandescent bulbs — first moved by hand, by wire pulleys in 1987, and then on a 100-foot metal track system in 2004.
Now, she uses eight-foot compact fluorescent bulbs on a metal track.
Although her equipment has evolved since Vicki first graduated from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania in 1983, she said any alteration to her work remains mainly in her move to installation-specific photography.
“I still do some graffiti,” she said. “My work really hasn’t changed that much at all, except we use more elaborate sites.”
Enter the Court of North Carolina, directly in front of the 1911 Building.
“We wanted [to shoot] something recognizable to N.C. State,” Vicki said.
But to get the final product, Vicki had to start early.
“Because of the nature of the process, it’s never guaranteed until I get my film,” she said. “It’s usually a working process of many nights on a site to get what I want.”
The first night on the Court of North Carolina, she said, was a test night. Vicki and her husband arrived Monday afternoon, about two hours before sunset, to set up equipment in preparation for the shot.
“The most interesting part is working in a three-dimensional space to get a two-dimensional end product. You have to think of everything on a very flat plane,” she said. “[With film], you’re also having to remember what we’re doing as we go along. You can’t 100 percent visualize everything when you’re shooting.”
Once all equipment — including the metal track system, eight-foot fluorescent bulbs coated with color gel, a portable generator and many cords — had been arranged properly, Vicki exposed the single frame she allows for each photograph for 20 seconds, to capture the sky, and then replaced the lens.
When the sky turned a deep blue, Antonio began the hand-drawn pulley system, moving the bulb from the middle of the Court of North Carolina to the top, 100 feet away.
When the bulb reached the top, Vicki replaced the lens. They relocated the track and began the process again — seven more times. Vicki didn’t stop the film’s exposure until about two hours after sunset.
And then she and Antonio came back the next day to do it all over again.
In a smaller, “alcovey” area of the Court of North Carolina, Vicki took a series of photographs that she will dedicate to the College of Design.
Here, following the same process, she created four different photographs: one using three separate bulbs colored red, blue or yellow; one with all three primary colors on the same bulb; another using green and blue; the final with green and pink.
Although her film wasn’t ready to be picked up until Monday, she insists that “film is the way to go.”
“It’s a very rudimentary process — very basic in terms of the technology because it is still old-fashioned film photography. There’s not a lot of bells and whistles,” she said. “The element of chance is still very much alive in what I do.”
Long exposure, in short
The tools
Camera — Mamiya 645 ETripodMedium-format and slide filmEight-foot color fluorescent bulbs, with color gel100-foot metal tracks, with legsPulley systemPortable generatorCords
Locations
Court of North Carolina 1) In front of the 1911 Building (using Wolfpack red bulb) 2) Beneath a grove of trees (using red, yellow and blue for one; green, pink and blue for another)
The ideal spot
The location’s foreground should be completely dark in order to provide the richest color saturation.DaSilva looks for a location that will give her a sky and architecture, which will instantly provide the viewer with knowledge of scaleHowever, if the area’s lights can’t be turned off, even the slowest film at the smallest aperture setting can prove problematic
Procedure
It takes an hour to set up equipment; the process begins about two hours before sunsetHalf an hour after sunset, DaSilva sets the aperture at the lowest possible setting — 22, and exposes the lens for 20 seconds in order to capture a light skyDaSilva replaces the lens cap When it is completely dark, DaSilva’s husband runs the lamp up the track via a pulley systemAfter the lamp has reached the top of the first track, DaSilva replaces the lens cap and the team moves the tracks to another locationDaSilva removes the cap and repeats the process six to 10 times
Time
Total procedure lasts until two hours after darkTwo hours total — lens cap both on and off Five minutes exposed
Look for Vicki’s new collection at the Flanders Main Gallery on Seaboard Street in late 2008 or early 2009. Catch her online gallery at www.vickidasilva.com, and Flanders’ at www.flandersartgallery.com