Andrew Kline has had a life long interest in photography since he developed his first roll of film behind the furnace in his parents' house at the age of 12. He worked as a photographer for a local newspaper in both high school and college. At the University of Miami he switched his major from Marine Biology to photography and never looked back.
"Since its invention in the early 1800s, photography has progressed through many technological changes," explains Andrew. "Beginning as camera obscura (a film-less process), to daguerreotype, gum bichromate, wet plate, safety film and finally to digital photography, it has been a constantly evolving medium. Until the digital revolution, photography had a hands-on craftsmanship that helped define it as an art. This is being lost to us now. We run the risk of being left a bland body of work where it is impossible to distinguish one artist’s image from another’s. Anyone with a computer, Adobe Photoshop and a good quality printer can be considered a 'photo-artist.' Photography has undoubtedly gotten easier, but the question remains: has it gotten better?" concluded Andrew.
"Central Vermont Medical Center's lobby gallery opened in April 2010. We have hosted a variety of artists since then, but this is the first time we have hung photographs," said Judy Tartaglia, CVMC president and CEO. "I am impressed by the artistry of these black and white images and the darkroom expertise behind them."
The work exhibited at CVMC is from that pre-digital, film-based time of photography. This work is quickly becoming out of sync with today’s prevailing photographic conventions. "I hope my work reflects the craftsmanship often absent from the instant imagery of today," said Andrew.
Whether portraits or landscapes, the photographs exhibited at CVMC contain an unspoken truth about their subject. As the photographer Andrew tries to find – to wait for – the essential moment to release the shutter of the camera and allow the subject to reveal its true nature and place in the world. "The images I produce are all 'self portraits' in the sense that they reveal much about me and how I look at the world,' he explained.
A personal project that Andrew has worked on for many years is a series of portraits of friends and residents of Montpelier called: Classes, Types and Professions. This is an ongoing endeavor that Andrew will continue at CVMC by photographing doctors, nurses and staff. These portraits will be exhibited in June at CVMC.
Andrew's photography is on exhibit in CVMC's lobby gallery through July 6, 2012.