An Article by Brenda Germany
Photos by Stephen Anderson
If you’ve ever gazed into an old black and white photo and marveled at the grainy detail, chances are you were looking at a Kodak Tri-x print. First released in 1954, Kodak Tri-x film, like Kodachrome, helped define photojournalism in the latter half of the 20th Century and was expressly suited to the hard stage lighting and unsophisticated backstage setups of music photography.
Music photographer, Stephen Anderson, of the Southland Music Line, recently attended “Tri-x Noise”, a pop-up photo show by renowned filmmaker/phototramp, Bill Daniel at Mobile’s Alabama Contemporary Art Center.
Born in Dallas, TX, Daniel began documenting the Texas skate /punk band scene in the early 1980s using Kodak Tri-x film. The show is comprised of all your favorite old school punk bands documented with the same camera, lens, flash and Kodak Tri-x film for over 30 years. This exhibit, of all black and white, non-digital, darkroom prints, charts a path starting with punk band shows in Texas and crawls through various subcultures from the 90’s graffiti scene in San Francisco, freight hopping scenarios, art openings in Los Angeles, house shows in Louisiana, generator shows on the Monongahela River and more, as seen through Daniel’s unique, flash-lit vision. Although the subculture Daniel depicts with such care and admiration is almost extinct it is impossible to take in the exhibit and not feel the freedom and wanderlust displayed in his photos and that it is still alive.
Daniel, a recipient of a 2008 Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts, US & Canada award, configures the shows as one night pop-up specific site events using a “Gallery” – a free-standing wall in the middle of the space, with photos on both sides. The event also features a book release of two new titles: “Tri-X Noise” by Bill Daniel and “The Mainland” by, tour-mate and photographer, Lila Lee.
Each of Bill Daniel’s shows also features related musical entertainment. For this show Daniel chose punk band The Fuxless and D J Hot Lobster to complement the “gritty authority” of his Tri-x historical photo collection.
Currently based on the Texas Gulf Coast, Daniel divides his time between Texas and touring.
Click Here: To learn more about Bill Daniel and upcoming Tri-x Noise show dates.
Click Here: To learn more about Kodak Tri-x film.
CLICK HERE for photos by Stephen Anderson of this event.
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