OPENING RECEPTION WITH THE ARTISTS:
Sunday, January 16, 2005 (2-5 PM)

Shown concurrently with Stories: Real, Dreamed and Imagined - photography exhibition

Free and open to the public.

Featuring a Jazz concert by CIRCO at 2 PM

The Bath House Cultural Center will present “Restricted Language: Mixed media artwork by Eric McGehearty and gelatin silver photograms by Shawn Saumell,” January 6-29, 2005.

The current research of Eric McGehearty, a sculptor living in Corinth, Texas, deals with issues of text, and access to text. In many cases, it also deals with the restriction from reading or writing. About his work in this exhibition, Mr. McGehearty explains:

“These issues of text are inspired by my personal struggle with dyslexia, a learning disability that limits my ability to read. Through sculpture and digital media, I can communicate my unique perspective of text and books. However, the work is not intended to be limited to this particular perspective. This is only the vantage point from which I begin to think about creating work.

The written word has been the backbone of civilization for centuries. Imagine a world in which you lack the means to access written information. This is the situation that affects millions everywhere. The reasons vary, but the effect is the same. Without the ability to access the written word, one’s ability to succeed in the modern world is severely hampered. One’s limited access to reading or writing materials will make it more difficult to succeed in today’s competitive marketplace. As an artist, one of my main goals is to elicit an empathetic response from the viewer to communicate the idea of inaccessible text and all of its implications.

My new work is created in part with the intention of raising awareness for learning disabilities. I work in a variety of media, such as found objects, concrete, steel, copper, plastic, bronze and digital media.”

ERIC McGEHEARTY'S WEBSITE

For Shawn Saumell, a photographer living in Frisco, Texas, art is his expression and reaction to society, psychology, experiences, religion and politics. To him, art is a guide through life.
About his unique artistic process, Mr. Saumell says:

“There are many things in my mind – many of which I do not understand. This is a healing method in which I am able to exercise thoughts, feelings and memories through this gift of cleansing. The body of work included in the Restricted Language exhibition is a series of double exposure photographs and photograms. I have developed a unique meticulous method with an original vision. I have never seen any other work like this, which is a partial reason why I create it. I typically aim to develop new techniques and processes as a new medium for my visions and then introduce the work to the world. I usually reinvent myself with each project, while continuing practices of previous projects. Each one of my pieces is one-of-a-kind, and has no duplications. My work utilizes authentic professional photographic materials and is exposed, processed and archived on large format gelatin silver black and white photographic paper.

The mural 2D pieces in this show are gelatin silver photograms/photographs. This is a delicate experimental process in which large format photographic (light-sensitive) enlarging paper is exposed with a negative in a darkroom. Before processing, the paper is then re-exposed with carefully arranged chosen objects. Finally the fiber-based paper undergoes a self-administered developing and chemical archival process. The result, as you see before you, are double-exposed photograph/photograms, or “Photohybrids.”

To the best of my knowledge this experimental process was not conceived before initial testing by Janet Yoshii-Buenger and myself in 2001. All negatives and concepts are original recent fine art by me and were produced from 2002 to 2004.”

SHAWN SAUMELL'S WEBSITE