On view: September 3 - October 20, 2019 - Bethel University Johnson Gallery, CC Building, 2nd Level
Artist Performance: Friday, September 27th at 7PM in The Underground, Brushaber Commons, 2nd level. Reception with the artist in the Johnson Gallery following the performance.
For the past five years, Carroll has traveled to underground laboratories and astronomical observatories in order to find out exactly what we don’t know. In “A Light Year of Lead”, Carroll presents his findings through large scale color photographs, video, and installation. Pivoting away from scientific facts and clarity, Carroll focuses his lens on mystery, magic, and absurdity while simultaneously working as a documentary photographer. The resulting work oscillates between scientific objectivity and human subjectivity, the massive and the massless, extraordinarily sophisticated experiments and dumb luck, leaving the viewer in a state of wonder, confusion, and curiosity.
The Psychokinesis Test in Seeing Science
I’m thrilled to be included in the new Aperture publication Seeing Science: How Photography Reveals the Universe, edited by the wonderful Marvin Heiferman. Work from my project The Psychokinesis Test is included alongside landmark scientific photography by the likes of Eadweard Muybridge, Anna Atkins, and many others. Pick up your copy today—it’s a gorgeous & well-researched book.
The Icicle Times (Human Error #5) now available
Head on over to my “store” to pick up the latest in the Human Error series of artists books: The Icicle Times! Lovingly produced in small batches of 20, this latest book chronicles the giant icicles that formed on the homes around the Twin Cities during our record setting snowy month of February 2019. Contains 48 diazotype prints in a loosely-bound chipboard book.
Blue Line of Woods at New York Public Library
As part of the exhibition, “Anna Atkins Refracted: Contemporary Works”, the New York Public Library has a copy of the limited-edition artist’s book “Blue Line of Woods” on display. Situated with 18 other contemporary artists responding to the legacy of Anna Atkins, I’m thrilled to be sharing the space with artists and friends like Letha Wilson, Meghann Riepenhoff, Liz Deschenes, Penelope Umbrico, and others.
The exhibition is free, open to the public, and runs through January 6, 2019. Anna Atkins Refracted is co-curated by Joshua Chuang and Elizabeth Cronin.
Standard Stars Photogravure Portfolio
Standard Stars is the culmination of several years of photographing and working with materials from the Astronomical Photographic Data Archive housed at PARI, a former NASA base located in the Pisgah National Forest in Rosman, North Carolina. This limited-edition portfolio contains twelve photogravure prints selected from the thousands of images I've made for this project.
The Astronomical Photographic Data Archive is attempting to collect all the glass plate astronomical photographs in one central repository, and currently maintains a collection consisting of hundreds of thousands unique photographs. My interest in the collection is focused on the objects that have deteriorated due to time, human error, or a combination of the two.
Over several trips I've immersed myself in the archive and found the images where the plates were dropped, improperly stored, or have succumbed to the ravages of time. Broken glass, peeling emulsion, and the human attempts to stop or correct these errors interact with the stars and galaxies they seek to preserve. Visually and metaphorically, the Astronomical Photographic Data Archive represents the human attempt to study, organize, and represent the Universe. In my archive, the organization and representation devolves into chaos and abstraction.
I'm thrilled to put this portfolio out into the world this summer. You can watch a flip-through video of the maquette I made here, or see more work from Standard Stars here. Contact me if you or your institution is interested in adding Standard Stars to your collection.
"Empty Space" at Illuminate South Loop
My largest & coldest public installation was a big success thanks to the huge number of football fans that were in town for the Super Bowl. For those of you who weren't able to experience "Empty Space" for the three days it was installed, stay tuned--another chance might be possible. But not until it's at least 70 degrees.
NA6816, from the series "Standard Stars"
Standard Stars at the Ballarat International Foto Biennial
Images from "Standard Stars" will be exhibited at the Ballarat International Foto Biennial as part of the exhibition "A Field Guide to the Stars" curated by the artist Rebecca Nadjowski. It runs through August 19th - September 17th. I'll be in Australia this coming week giving talks on the exhibit and my projects about photography and science in detail. Those of you in the Melbourne area should definitely check it out.
Standard Stars on view in "Totality" at OSU's Fairbanks Gallery
Images from Standard Stars is on view in the exhibition "Totality", curated by Julia Bradshaw at Oregon State University's Fairbanks Gallery in Corvallis, OR. The exhibition runs through September 21st and includes a number of great artists such as Vija Celmins and Penelope Umbrico. This is a special curation of Standard Stars specifically for the total eclipse, so you won't see it in this form again--don't miss it!
The Psychokinesis Test featured on "Seeing Science"
My series "The Psychokinesis Test" was featured on the fantastic website Seeing Science earlier this month. For those unfamiliar with the website, it was created as an initiative from the University of Maryland to explore how photography shapes science and how scientific images circulate within the general public. Go check it out--there's a lot of great material on there.
Featured on MN Original
Last summer the kind folks at Twin Cities Public Television (TPT) asked if I would be interested in being on MN Original. It's one of the best shows that highlights artists from the state of Minnesota--I couldn't say no. The episode finally premiered this winter and I'm happy to share my clip below:
Fascinated by science, Eric William Carroll tests the limits and boundaries of photography, creating work without the use of a camera. Carroll focuses his work on subjects such as nature, astronomy and scientific theories.