Barrington artist infuses color into the library
Those strolling through the Barrington Area Library’s stacks lately might have noticed something different lining the walls. The black-and-white, selective color photos, taken by local artist and photographer Kimberly Kuhlman. The photos have been on display since July 24.
Selective color, or color-infused, as Kuhlman has named them, are color photographs that have been switched into black and white, while leaving one colored object.
“I always kind of loved the look,” Kuhlman said of the exhibited photos. “It’s elegant and simple. It’s not something you can do with any photo though…the objects have to have some kind of meaning.”
When photographing a young girl with a flower, Kuhlman asked her subject what her favorite color was and the girl responded, “lellow.” The yellow flower became the colored object of the photograph, titled “Lellow.”
Lisa Swarbrick, a photography professor at Harper Community College and a curator at the Barrington Area Library’s gallery, has known as a student.
“Her work leapt off the page right away. I knew she had something really special,” Swarbrick said.
After completing a portfolio at the end of the photography class, Swarbrick asked Kuhlman if she would like to become a featured exhibitor at the library’s gallery.
“She was looking for anybody and everybody that has a cohesive body of work,” Kuhlman said. “So I thought, ‘Okay, I’ll bite.’”
The portfolio she submitted, most of which is on display now, is stuffed with photos of children—her expertise.
“They’re so real and so fun,” she said. “I get to spend time with them; they get to know me.”
Kuhlman’s background as a part-time teacher at the Barrington Middle School Station Campus is reflected in her ability to coax relaxed shots from young subjects.
“Her lens has a way of stepping into the eyes of children,” Swarbrick said. Kuhlman’s selective coloring technique, which started with the photograph of a child with a yellow flower, also reflects the child’s personality, Swarbrick said.
“When Kim pops this blast of color I think it really helps capture the child,” she said. “They’re all tied back to each specific child, because she’s engaged and passionate.”
For her artist demonstration, which takes place at 6 p.m. Aug. 26 at the Barrington Area Library, she plans on showing attendees how to use natural light. For the indoor portion, she will teach the photographers how to use photoshop to clean up images. The process of isolating a colored object can often be time-consuming and detailed and, therefore, “the object really has to pop out to do it,” Kuhlman said.
For more information on Kuhlman’s work, go to www.kimberlykuhlman.typepad.com.
—By Michelle Stoffel, Triblocal.com reporter
