Brenton Hamilton – A Rarity…
Maine is one place in the world where many people are inspired to “color outside the lines” with their life’s work – it’s a place with less social tension than many other places, proven to us at a Christmas concert in Rockport’s Opera House the week we arrived here in 1989 . We saw Bean boots and jeans and elegant fur coats in the same row. We saw people wearing whatever they wanted to wear to a Christmas concert that particular evening and the clarity of that message has stuck with us.That level of acceptance of personal lifestyles just doesn’t exist anywhere else we have lived. Now we would never notice such a thing, but then…well, let’s just say the rest of New England isn’t that genuine socially. We are two people who have definitely colored outside the lines, encouraged by the generally unspoken but prevalent philosophy of life here in Maine: follow your heart, have the guts to take risks and be a pioneer if that’s what drives you.
Well, Brenton Hamilton is such a pioneer. Fearless in his commitment to making cyanotypes in a world much more geared to the digital moment, Brenton is one of fewer than a dozen artists in the world seriously pursuing this 1840′s photographic process.
In 1842, Sir John Herschel invented a photographic process using two chemicals: ammonium iron citrate and potassium ferricyanide. All early photographic techniques were spawned from decades of gentlemen scientists mixing and matching chemicals and compounds, and after much experimentation, Herschel finally figured out how these two chemicals, when dissolved in water, applied to paper and exposed to ultra-violet light (sunlight) would produce an image – although a blue one. He called these images “cyanotypes” and this process was the basis for the “blueprint” process used by engineers through much of the 20th century.
Brenton is a thoughtful man with a deep belief that nothing is an island. If you’ve ever heard him lecture on The History of Photography at Maine Media Workshops you know how deftly he pulls together a perfect stew of history, social customs, literature, politics, music and more to chart the course of photography since 1839. His cyanotypes reflect that same approach to life – Brenton’s work is often allegoric, often a fabric woven from the complementary colors of ancient history, mythology, poetry and music, and often includes deft references to himself and his personal history.
Poet of Levitation © Brenton Hamilton
Brenton is using the private Portland viewing gallery at VoxPhotographs to mount his first one-man show in Maine. As I look around me day after day and enjoy the supreme privilege of studying these works at my leisure, I picture Brenton in his studio: lost in the joy of quiet and private creation after giving out so much to his students month after month, inspired by the gorgeous colors of Maine’s coast he sees out his windows, and then connecting so unequivocally with the earth’s source of life by mounting each image in his studio window to be developed by sunlight, as only Maine sunlight can be in July and August.
Our own Renaissance man – following a dream of personal expression and craft at a level that is rare even here in Maine, in this place where creativity and individualism are so honored.
Ancient Coin Tondo © Brenton Hamilton
