David Prifti
Born in Worcester, MA. Received an M.F.A. from Yale University School of Art, New Haven, CT, and a B.F.A. from Massachusetts College of Art, Boston, MA . Lives and works in Concord, MA .
Recent solo exhibitions at Gallery NAGA, Boston, MA; and Brodigan Gallery, Groton, MA .
Participated in group exhibitions at Concord Art Association, Concord, MA ; Centro Cultural Costarricense-Norteamericano, San Jose , Costa Rica ; DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park , Lincoln , MA ; Photographic Resource Center , Boston , MA ; and Rice/Polak Gallery, Provincetown , MA .
David Prifti captures modern subjects in a historic medium. The wet plate collodion process was popular during the second half of the nineteenth-century when many people carried tintypes of their loved ones in lockets or small portable frames. Although Prifti’s images are much larger than the traditional tintypes, they retain the feeling of treasured objects. Other benefits of this difficult process are the smooth printing surface, which results in virtually grainless images containing a wide range of creamy silver tones. The long exposure times require great concentration from both artist and subject, producing psychologically charged images. The imperfections that often occur on the edges of the plates only add to their precious quality and mediate the intensity of the images.
Many of Prifti’s subjects are his teenage photography students. He has also photographed a community of people who alter their bodies in painful ways and gather to suspend themselves from their piercings. The portraits are difficult to look at, yet Prifti’s caring eye captures elegant compositions, and the medium with its glowing, velvety tones won’t let you turn away.
-Kate Dempsey, Koch Curatorial Fellow
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Using an 8 x 10 view camera and the nineteenth-century wet plate collodion process, I make tintype portraits of students, friends, and acquaintances.
When a photograph is successful the description of external details can begin to express the internal complexity of the subject. The fine detail and tonal beauty of the wet plate process allow me to describe my subjects in more powerful ways than I am able to achieve with contemporary materials.
What begins with an attention to the physical appearance of the subject develops into an evolving exploration of the sitter and myself. The process is slow and labor intensive. Making these portraits requires exposure times ranging from twenty seconds to two minutes. It is in that collaboration that I find the power of this medium, as if the commitment required of both me and the sitter is present in the final image.
- David Prifti
Image: David Prifti, Mike & Michelle II, 2007, tintype (unique, wet plate collodion on metal), 10’’ x 8’’, Lent by the Artist, Courtesy of Gallery NAGA, Boston, MA
Meet the Artist: David Prifti
Prifti will discuss his work in The 2008 DeCordova Annual
Museum Galleries
Saturday, May 31 at 3 pm
FREE with Campus admission
