art beat / By Katherine Almy

Two Photographers, Two Visions

(Oct. 18, 2007)  Jeanne Scranton got her first camera when she was 8 years old and she’s been taking pictures ever since. However, she did not use a camera at all for her current show. Jeanne has recently discovered a new technique that is fascinating her — scanner photography.

Jeanne fitted her flatbed scanner with a box spray painted flat black on the inside. Directly over the center of the scanner glass, she made a small hole in the box and strung 40 lb.-test monofilament fish line. This enables her to suspend any subject matter over the glass without actually touching it.

‘Queen Anne and Guest’ by Jeanne Scranton.

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The result is an image of an everyday object with an otherworldly appearance. The level of detail she is able to achieve and the brilliant color on the black background give the images their unusual appeal. She’s scanned everything from colored rubber bands to flowers and weeds from the garden.

“My small garden was decimated in the process of scanning all the roses and the astroemeria,” she says. “Eventually I ran out of decent and convenient floral material and had to resort to roadside weeds and some generous volunteer material from friends. Personally, I prefer the weeds.”

There are surprises of nature, like the image of a Queen Anne’s Lace flower that includes a little white spider that crawled out and dangled on a thread of silk. Jeanne scanned several images as fast as her machine would allow. “I wanted to get as many images of this as I could. I got lucky! The bright light passing under him and the hum of the scanner had him mesmerized — he was posing perfectly still for me every time.”

I wonder how the spider felt about it. I know it hurts my eyes when I open the scanner cover too soon. But the image is striking.

Jeanne’s work is on exhibit on one side of the Mad River Hospital’s Corridor Gallery. On the other side is the work of Don Mahler. Don is an emeritus professor from HSU who also got interested in photography at a young age. His images explore the use of a solitary figure. In his statement, Don cites polls that show that most people prefer an image with a figure in it. He challenges the viewer “to decide for yourself whether the figures add or subtract or indeed are essential to the completion of the composition.”

One reason a figure in a composition is so attractive is that it gives us something to relate to. The person in the picture may remind us of ourselves or someone we know. It might bring us pleasant memories or may get us thinking about social issues. To put it bluntly, it satisfies our narcissism.

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