Green Market Photo Opp

By Megan Eckman
Contributing Writer

Starting last week the pinhole photography of Jeffrey J. Opp, on display at the new Green Market Kitchen, gave the residents of the Fargo-Moorhead area a new look at their cities. The recent graduate of MSUM’s BFA program spent the last two years roaming around with two very unusual cameras to document the hidden spaces he discovered. From park gazebos in the winter to the view from downtown rooftops, Opp’s work allows the viewer to reevaluate the places they pass everyday as inspirational instead of ordinary.

The grainy, softly focused images present a dream-like world, a Fargo where the buildings burn bright red and the sky turns to a pale gray. Pinhole photography is perhaps the oldest form of the technology, dating back (some think) to the 1600s. The construction of the camera creates grainy and out-of-focus effects that are prominent features in the final images. The cameras don’t use glass lenses, but instead rely on a single tiny hole made by a pin (thus the name) to let light in to the camera. With such a narrow opening and no lens to focus the incoming light, the results are ghostly, vignetted photographs. Dark halos frame most of the shots and unusual color aberrations occur frequently.

While some photographers cringe at these imperfections, it was this love for unexpected results that drew Jeffrey Opp in. “I feel a sort of connection to the first photographers through it,” Opp explains. “Early photographers had to construct much of their own equipment and invent their process as they learned from their results. By constructing my own camera I have to go through much of the same trial and error process. I only know whether my camera works or not by examining the film after it has been developed. Then, I decide what part of the process needs improvement based on my results.”

The show consists of twelve photographs taken over the last two years. Opp used two very different cameras for the show. The first was a Holga camera, a poorly manufactured Chinese plastic camera, which he modified by removing the lens and attaching a cover with a pinhole. The second was a camera made entirely of paper. The plans for the paper Dirkon camera were released in the 1979 issue of An ABC of Young Technicians and Natural Scientists magazine in the former Czechoslovakia. At the time of its printing, good magazines were so scarce that sharing was common and the schematics for the cameras were copied en masse. As a result a generation of Czechs grew up experimenting with the Dirkon paper camera. Opp printed the plans on cardstock and constructed it with superglue, rubber bands, and a paper clip. A sort of MacGyver camera, if you will. The schematics for the cameras can still be found online at http://www.pinhole.cz/en/pinholecameras/dirkon_01.html.

Born in Stanley, North Dakota, Jeffrey J. Opp joined the U.S. Navy after graduating from high school. He served overseas in Sicily and on completion of his enlistment decided to return to civilian life and pursue a university education. Research always plays a major part in his work and with this project he investigated the construction of a variety of pinhole cameras before experimenting with his own. “My main motivation to create photographs is rooted in an intense desire to explore and understand the world around me. I use the camera as a tool for discovery.”

Opp’s pinhole photography show at the Green Market Kitchen is the first art show in the newly opened restaurant. The space offers an intimate setting with natural lighting and candle light and its modern decor of slate grey walls and black tables creates a perfect environment for displaying artwork. Located just one block south of the downtown Fargo Library, the space represents a wonderful new addition for local artists. “We really want to be a place for young artists to show off their work,” says co-owner Peter Kelly. “There are so many talented kids here that just can’t find a gallery to work with. This place is a great stepping stone for them.”

Jeffrey Opp’s show will run until May 15th. The Green Market Kitchen is open Tuesday through Saturday from 3-9pm. More of Opp’s work can be found online at http://www.jeffreyopp.com.

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I

f You Go

What: Jeffrey Opp: Pinhole Photography
Where: Green Market Kitchen
When: Through May 14
Info: 701.241.6000