2008 Woodie Awards
Strangers from Brewski's
Anna Nguyen
Issue date: 8/25/08 Section: Life & Style
The inspiration for Craig Nelson's portraiture exhibit began during an evening on Dickson Street last spring. Nelson was sitting at the foyer of Brewski's, enjoying a few pints of beer. Although he did not have a project in mind, he had his favorite camera, a Mamiya RB67 Pro-S, with him. ??
Nelson began to intuitively take photographs of subjects who struck his fancy, using only the light available from the pub. Some of the models were "acquaintances, some were people I've never met," said Nelson, a native a Florida who has been residing in Fayetteville for about a decade. "A majority of them were people I knew from simple passing." Thus came the title of his portraiture collection, "Strangers & Not So Strange," which contains a collection of people Nelson photographed exclusively at Brewski's.
Nelson's method?? in selecting his subjects was simple. He'd ask his subjects to sit for a photo for a few minutes, he said. ??
"I'd photograph people who, in my opinion, had a lot of character or if their faces were striking," Nelson said. ??
Nelson remembers seeing a man with a long beard and chased him down, asking him to take five minutes of his time for a photograph. Nelson took his photograph and didn't see the man again, he said.??
"It's the instinct [of photographing a stranger]," Nelson said. "I want to photograph the unorthodox. It's not a conscious thought."
Nelson began his project in March and stopped last June, collecting about 150 images. Nelson describes his photographs as "straightforward portraitures," he said. "I'm not trying to reinvent the person.
"??However, "what results is a glimpse beneath the skin, a peek at the animal under the surface," said Nelson, according to a press release. "In essence, I am working to remove the masks that we often feel compelled to wear."
Molly Boyd, public relations coordinator at the UA libraries, is one of the subjects Nelson photographed for the exhibit.??
"I contacted him about a potential exhibit," said Boyd, who also knows Nelson personally because he is former student. The Mullins Library's arts advisory committee reviewed his works and invited him to show in the library, she said.??
"The committee seeks artists whose works are technically challenging or which engage the students in viewing the subject or medium from an unusual perspective," Boyd said.??
Thirty images of Nelson's "Strangers & Not So Strange" collection will be on display in the lobby level in Mullins Library through the end of August.
Nelson began to intuitively take photographs of subjects who struck his fancy, using only the light available from the pub. Some of the models were "acquaintances, some were people I've never met," said Nelson, a native a Florida who has been residing in Fayetteville for about a decade. "A majority of them were people I knew from simple passing." Thus came the title of his portraiture collection, "Strangers & Not So Strange," which contains a collection of people Nelson photographed exclusively at Brewski's.
Nelson's method?? in selecting his subjects was simple. He'd ask his subjects to sit for a photo for a few minutes, he said. ??
"I'd photograph people who, in my opinion, had a lot of character or if their faces were striking," Nelson said. ??
Nelson remembers seeing a man with a long beard and chased him down, asking him to take five minutes of his time for a photograph. Nelson took his photograph and didn't see the man again, he said.??
"It's the instinct [of photographing a stranger]," Nelson said. "I want to photograph the unorthodox. It's not a conscious thought."
Nelson began his project in March and stopped last June, collecting about 150 images. Nelson describes his photographs as "straightforward portraitures," he said. "I'm not trying to reinvent the person.
"??However, "what results is a glimpse beneath the skin, a peek at the animal under the surface," said Nelson, according to a press release. "In essence, I am working to remove the masks that we often feel compelled to wear."
Molly Boyd, public relations coordinator at the UA libraries, is one of the subjects Nelson photographed for the exhibit.??
"I contacted him about a potential exhibit," said Boyd, who also knows Nelson personally because he is former student. The Mullins Library's arts advisory committee reviewed his works and invited him to show in the library, she said.??
"The committee seeks artists whose works are technically challenging or which engage the students in viewing the subject or medium from an unusual perspective," Boyd said.??
Thirty images of Nelson's "Strangers & Not So Strange" collection will be on display in the lobby level in Mullins Library through the end of August.
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