Jack Spencer

Jack Spencer is a self-taught American photographer'; he was born in Kosciusko, Mississippi.He is probably best known for his series, Native Soil, that featured deep sepia tones combined with Deep-South imagery. Spencer is known for heavily manipulating his images in the darkroom.He has had numerous solo and group exhibitions all over the U.S.

"I think that a brief description of my work is appropriate here, along with the disclaimer that I consider my work neither deep, nor meaningful in this context. It just is what it is and the viewer must reach his or her own conclusion about any "meaning"" (jackspencer.com, from his artist statement).

"Spencer has described his photographs as "metaphors that represent something primal in all of us." A master story teller, Spencer tends to place dominant subjects and objects, like the main characters of a short story, near the center of the picture plane. But the power of these images lies in what is not fully revealed. Each image contains clues, but not explanations of the drama unfolding" (Liz Kay, andrewsmithgallery.com).

I was first drawn to Spencer s work  when I was looking through images on the Andrew Smith Gallery' s website. He had many images of nature, landscapes, and portraits. All of his images were so ghostly and haunting, it was hard to look away. Spencer s work is beautiful and I love the fact that he hand manipulates all of his images in the darkroom. I would be interested in trying out his method of working or even another alternative method; different from ones I have tried with my work so far this semester.

http://www.andrewsmithgallery.com/exhibitions/jackspencer/jackspencer.htm

www.andrewsmithgallery.com/jackspencer

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