PULLMAN, Wash. — An exhibit of innovative, experimental photographs by
Washington State University art student Ryan Belnap opened today at the
FotoCirclegallery in Seattle. The show, entitled “While Moving,” features
large, color photographs which Belnap took with a hand-made, pinhole camera
mounted directly on his motorcycle. He shot the photos while riding in the
rolling Palouse hills of eastern Washington.
“With the motorbike images, I attempt to put a spin on our perception of
reality,” said Belnap. ” The characteristics of pinhole photography, such as
long exposure times and near infinite depth of field, help create a unique view
of things seen while moving.
“The motorbike and rider are moving through a stationary world, but, in the
pictures, the stationary world is blurred and unstable while the foreground (the
rider and bike) appear clear and stable,” the art student said. People are always
moving through a stationary environment, walking, driving, on a bus, in an
airplane, or even just turning a head to look another direction. If the images we
constantly see as we move through our environment could be captured and
blurred over time, then the world might look like these photographs.”
In other work, Belnap has revived the concepts used in 19th century
stereoscopic card viewers, but using modern technology and color films.
Belnap is a graduate student in the WSU Department of Fine Arts and also
teaches beginning photography classes. A native of Pocatello, Idaho, he
earned a bachelor of fine arts degree at Utah State University in Logan, Utah,
in 1999. He will graduate from WSU in May 2001.
The FotoCirclegallery is located in Pioneer Square at 216 Alaskan Way South
and is open 12-5 p.m. Thursday-Saturday. The gallery is noted for mounting
exhibits by emerging artists. Belnap’s 12-piece, one-man show will hang until
Dec. 30.
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