Stacey Cramp has a secret…
If you stopped in to Domaine Gallery on Commercial St. in Portland any time during the three years before it closed in December/08, you will remember Stacey Cramp’s square format color Maine landscapes.
Blueberry Field, Winter © Stacey Cramp
Although I saw them every time I went in the gallery, every time they took me a bit by surprise. I’m definitely partial to square format framing, but I really liked the way Cramp continued to divide up many of the images into three or four distinct horizontal sections. I found I saw more in the images each time I studied them.
Seawall Beach Sand © Stacey Cramp
I also found that many of the images crossed over from satisfying Maine landscapes, easily read and appreciated, to something much more abstract. Step back, or stick your nose right up to the prints – there was always a freshness about them.
If you go on to Stacey’s website you’ll see she’s been busy. Most recently she did the cover shot for Jan/Feb PortCityLife magazine.
I also got an e-mail notice recently that she has moved into a shared studio space at 82 Gilman St. and that there is an Open House coming up soon – Feb. 19, 6-8. It’s under the auspices of AIGA.
Stacey published a popular calendar for 2009 and it continues to prove the breadth of her work and interests.
Okay, it all makes sense so far, right?
But Stacey Cramp has a secret. And it’s a monochromatic one.
She has a portfolio of about a dozen heartstopping black and white square format landscapes taken with her Hasselblad, many of which she took using a pinhole lens cover.They are traditional dark room prints, many selenium toned, giving off a soft violet hue. When she asked me to look at the images at the end of a photo review session at the gallery recently, I was happy to comply.
I had no idea I would be stepping through the Wardrobe.
When I opened the portfolio, my immediate world changed. These were gorgeous images that gave me that rare experience of losing myself in them and tuning out everything else. They filled my senses entirely, leaving no room for any other stimulus.
Special Road © Stacey Cramp
The best photographs speak for themselves and these don’t need any words from me to enhance their value to the viewer, that’s for sure.
Morse Mountain Tree © Stacey Cramp
Fisherman’s Point, Dawn © Stacey Cramp
No, this secret can shout all on its own just fine.
