RADFORD – North Carolina artist Colby Caldwell recently returned to Radford to open “Selu Songs,” a new exhibit at Radford University’s Art Museum in the Covington Center for the Arts.
Caldwell, a photographer, spent the Fall 2021 semester as an artist-in-residence. During that time, he utilized a unique technique to explore Radford’s Selu Conservancy by using a flatbed scanner as a camera.
Cameras receive light to function, but scanners emit light to record information. They also have a very shallow depth of field, so the scanner must directly contact the subject to create images.
The result is that background images distort in terms of shape and color while the foreground images appear with remarkable detail. A sudden gust of wind can change the image dramatically.
Caldwell notes that the scanner works slowly and can take 10 minutes to process. During that time, he would sometimes move the scanner creating strange lines and twists in the images.
The exhibit is open to the public through April 30 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m. The Covington Center for the Arts is located on East Main street on the Radford University campus.