Portraits of artists at work or in their studios, photographed by Jim McHugh, hung alongside original works of art by many of them; Experience 19: TOUCH is not to be missed.
Living and working in Los Angeles over the past forty years, Jim has documented the city of angels and formed lasting friendships with many artists, following them throughout their careers. Those friendships are captured in this show; portraits of the artists, photographed by Jim using big view film cameras, hang next to original pieces from the artists’ studios. Telling a story of these artistic relationships as well as capturing the magic of the art scene in LA over the last four decades.
The work of Jim McHugh represents a true expression of digital innovation meeting traditional film photography. The appeal of using film in the 21st century means that Jim McHugh gets to spend a lot of time with his subjects, capturing the experience in his own individual style. A long-time fan of Innova digital media, many of Jim’s original film transparencies and Polaroid shots have been transformed into large format digital prints and are displayed in the show on a selection of our archival papers and canvas.
Large format portraits, including a 5×7 foot image of German artist Thomas Demand printed on Innova matte archival canvas, chosen by Jim as it ‘gives a visual feel more like paper.’ This media has been used as the base for a selection of images in the Experience 19: TOUCH exhibition, alongside prints on Innova FibaPrint® papers – the digital equivalent to traditional darkroom papers.
One challenge faced by Jim during the production of the exhibition was how to present a series of recent photos of street artists, who Jim met recently. A large 17 foot print featuring these artists, printed on Innova FibaPrint® Ultra Smooth Gloss 285gsm, was released at the LA art show earlier this year. Jim’s challenge was how to present individual portraits of the artists for Experience 19: TOUCH using a contemporary presentation technique, in keeping with the cutting edge style of the subjects featured in the portrait series. The answer came in the JetMaster® Photo Wrap, a convenient alternative to canvas wraps. Presented on 16×20” frames the series of nine images were mounted by Jim, his first time using the JetMaster® image display system; ‘it takes a moment to get proficient A commentary is formed on Los Angeles as a city and the diversity of artists working there, this is a unique insight into what is created when two artists get together to capture a moment of history, juxtaposed with original artist works. It is also a chance to meet Jim McHugh, who will be at the exhibition most Saturdays until the end of January, discussing his work, signing posters, and sharing Polaroid’s and other materials from his archive. Curator Edward Goldman, given the task of creating an exhibition reflecting the spirit of adventure and diversity prevalent in artistic LA, has brought the rarely seen images from the McHugh archives to the public eye. The KCRW art critic was inspired to create the show by a visit to the home of Jim McHugh. He had the opportunity to view his archive of artists’ studio portraits alongside original artworks by the subjects of the photographs, collected by Jim McHugh over the years. Together they are celebrating the artistic spirit of the city and the artists who transformed it into an artistic capital of the world. Experience 19:TOUCH, featuring portraits by Jim McHugh and works by artists such as Ed Ruscha, Bruce Nauman, John Baldessari and David Hockney, is on show at El Segundo Museum of Art (ESMoA), El Segundo, California until January 31st 2016, entry is free. Artisit Allison Saar, Photographed in her LA studio, 8×10 Impossible Project instant film, unique 58×43″ print on Innova archival Matte Canvas The street artist Phantom at SCRATCH, Impossible Project 8×10 instant film, unique 7×5′ print on Innova Archival Matte Canvas Selection of street artisits portraits, photographed by Jim McHugh and mounted on JetMaster Photo Wrap Artist Ed Ruscha, photographed in his Venice Beach Studio, 4×5 Tri-x, 58×43″ print on Innova Archival Matte Canvas David Hockney painting in his studio, 20×24″ print edition on Innova FibaPrint paper Graffit artisit Prime, photographed in his studio, 8×10 color Polaroid, 57×42″ print on Innova Archival Matte Canvas
