November 3rd, 2017
“All Things Considered. Leica – Film”
Urbana Museum of Photography
Last month I stopped by the Cinema Gallery in Urbana, Illinois, and got into a chat with the proprieter about local art and photography.
One thing led to another and I soon learned that there was a man that I must meet – Lyosha Svinarski – who for the last 5 years been singlehandedly running the Urbana Museum of Photography.
Lyosha Svinarski
I caught him in a bit of a transitional phase – moving out of one gallery, and into the upstairs of the old Courier Building in Urbana, which just so happens to be where the darkroom of the “Urbana Courier” newspaper was – a paper which had its origins in the late 1800’s.
It’s the perfect setup – with the original darkroom from the newspaper, including sinks, wiring for lighting and enlargers, sliding light-tight doors, and most importantly, space for gallery showings and a place for people who are into film photography to meet and discuss.
For the first show in the new gallery, Lyosha has grouped 4 photographers who use Leica cameras – roughly 5 prints each, no limitations on content.
Ziang Xiao
Brian Rowe (argentography)