There is a piece of white cloth that the sun turned blue in the current exhibit at Elzay Gallery of Art. Impossible?
Emily Jay (pictured) explains that a chemical used by photographers long ago to develop pictures was applied to the white cloth, except where the stars are.
She and a student carried the cloth out into the sun, which because of the chemical, turned the white cloth blue, except for the stars which were covered to keep them white.
Emily knew this would occur because she teaches photography at ONU.
How does a blue cloth with white stars fit into the theme of the show?
Emily said the cloth looks like the ceilings of the cathedrals in Italy.
The four artists in the show live both in Ohio and Italy. The exhibit shows the cultural differences in the two countries.
But all of the show is not borrowing technology from the past. On a nearby wall, Emily has a video on a computer tablet that describes the making of the cloth. The tablet runs continuously. Once the brief show is over, it repeats without hitting the button to reload. There's an app for that.
The instructional video is attached to the wall and given a frame, like a painting.
This art show, which continues through Feb. 19, melds old techniques with current technology. There are paintings, drawings, installation, and sound works.
The gallery is open daily in the afternoons.