Analogous
Old Cameras. New Work.
An Experiment in Analog Photography by Key West Artists Michael Marrero and Mark Hedden
The title of the show, and therefore its concept, is something of a play on words. Michael Marrero and Mark Hedden are two Key West photographers with similar interests but different approaches. Their work is comparable in many aspects and intentions, but distinct in approach and execution, a.k.a. analogous. But within that word there is another word – analog – a term that is used to describe pre-digital photographic techniques, ones that rely on chemicals reacting to light. The show was partly inspired by the work of A.V. Rabenau, an itinerant photographer who worked in the Keys 1910 shooting on glass plate negatives. The images, which contained a deeply impressive sense of depth and clarity, were first exhibited at the Key West Art & Historical Society’s Key West Museum of Art & History more than a century later.
Analagous is also a response to digital imagery that can be created using software like Photoshop and the still nascent array of AI applications. With the (relatively) easily attained perfection of digital imagery, the unique and unpredictable artifacts and imperfections, such as scratches, grain, and uncontrolled lighting are not flaws but assets, reminding us that beauty can be found in the unexpected.
