Piezographer of the Month

Photographer of the Month – Bill Davis

Bill Davis has been photographing with creative intent since the age of 14. His preference of grayscale photography is natural and intuitive. Black and white imagery combines the values Davis finds most similar to the boundaries of his own human condition. In his search to find digital solutions to traditional photographic processes, Davis started using Piezography inks in 2002. The non-toxic carbon that Davis uses with models in his own photographs connects the content of the image to the content of the process. Davis believes Piezography will be a collectible and desirable process in the future history of grayscale imagery because the image can last longer than the paper it sits on. “Technology requires people to use it responsibly and Piezography is no exception. It can render beautiful results if it is approached with the care and attention it deserves,” says Davis. He has a passionate respect for Piezography, photography, digital imagery, and their innate differences. His 20 years of darkroom and photographic experience provide the requisite background he finds so useful to the emerging array of digital imaging opportunities. Piezography leads this fascination. It is his clear choice for a digital process that seems so perfectly suited to the needs of his own work. Simply stated, Davis believes Piezography to be the strongest voice in a growing ensemble of ink-based imagery.

In 2005 he received a Technology Fellowship Grant to research and deliver the Piezography process to Western Michigan University, its students, and their supporting communities. Additionally he will present Piezography at the University’s Digital Bridges Conference this April 29th. He has most recently received funding to exhibit and lecture on a selection of Ukrainian photographic work, which includes a program of artist visits and digital workshops. The programming takes place during Davis’ presentation at the Kalamazoo Russian Festival on October 29th 2005. The exhibit may also tour to Chicago’s Ukrainian Institute of Contemporary Art.

Davis currently combines this international and professional experience to research and teach in a full time appointment as Assistant Professor of Photographic and Digital Arts at Western Michigan University's School of Art in Kalamazoo.

Both his silver and ink based prints can be found in many private collections as well as the permanent collections of the Ukrainian Museum of Photography, The University of Louisville Photographic Archives, Cone Editions Press, and The Czech Guild of Art & Ceramic Design.

Contact Info:

Bill Davis

Western Michigan University
School of Art
1903 West Michigan Avenue
Kalamazoo, MI. 49008-5213

269-387-2445

http://homepages.wmich.edu/~wdavis/

April - 2005