Culver shoots for 'Ephemeral Targets'
Campus Times
September 12, 1997
photo by Summer Herndon
Hanging a print titled "Man w/3 Dogs, Venice," Tony Culver
prepares for his Carlson Gallery exhibit, "Ephemeral Targets."
Culver calls his style of work "unpremeditated" photography. The
artist's reception will be held Monday, Sept. 22 from 7-9 p.m. in the Irene
Carlson Gallery of Miller Hall.
The Carlson Gallery located in the basement of Miller Hall once again
hosts another collection of photographs. This show, entitled, "Ephemeral
Targets, Southern California Street Photographs," is brought to the
University of La Verne by photographer Tony Culver.
Culver, a resident of Riverside, has grown up loving the craft of photography.
His father was in the newspaper business, and practiced photography as a
hobby as well as developed prints in his own darkroom.
Culver took the knowledge he learned from his father and followed in
his footsteps. Now retired, Culver was the production manager at the Press
Enterprise in Riverside, but practiced photography as a hobby.
Once retired, Culver returned to school at the Art Center of Design
in Pasadena, and Orange Coast College, where he took all the photography
classes possible.
"They [Art Center] were more commercial oriented than I wanted
to be, so I went to Orange Coast College, which has excellent art photography
courses," said Culver.
"Ephemeral" is a collaboration of Culver's last 10 years photographing
on the streets of Southern California in areas such as downtown Los Angeles,
Venice and Huntington Beach.
"Ephemeral" was shown in the Sweeney Gallery at the University
of California at Riverside. It has also been shown at the California Museum
of Photography in Riverside, where some of Culver's photos have been put
on the Internet.
"I like to put my work on the Internet any way I can because it
is good publicity," said Culver.
The Internet, in fact, is where Gary Colby, professor of photography,
viewed one of Culver's photos, contacted the California Museum of Photography,
and they in turn contacted Culver to bring his show to ULV.
Colby is impressed with Culver's style saying, "Photography is
rare among art forms in that it is unplanned, but he does that on purpose."
Culver works with a 2 1/4 by 2 1/4 inch camera, which hangs freely.
He looks down into it without even bothering to open the lens hood. He merely
walks around with it on his hip and snaps it when he sees something interesting.
"In most cases I shoot from the hip, I'm not even looking in the
camera, I'm looking at the world as I walk around so there isn't really
enough time to look into the camera to take the picture," said Culver.
"I'm pretty focused. I wait till the activity in front of me is
pretty close to where I have the camera focused and then I shoot when things
look interesting within that realm. It is then that people are recorded
reacting naturally to the normal stimuli of life rarely knowing they are
being photographed, their lives not interrupted by the fact that the moment
has been stopped and saved by a stranger," said Culver.
Culver believes he is completely within his rights as a photographer
when taking pictures on the street.
"People are videotaped all day, everyday anyway. Why should they
worry about somebody shooting a still picture? There is no reason for them
to consider me any different than walking by an auto teller at a bank,"
said Culver of his style.
People have challenged him and have asked him not to take their picture
and he has respected their requests, but sometimes he has already taken
their picture when they object. He cooperates with them as much as possible.
"One guy even asked if he could have my film, so I ripped it out
of my camera and gave it to him. Film is cheap, I didn't want the hassle,
it's not worth it," said Culver.
Culver believes "it is quite wonderful that still photography can
allow an audience to examine an instant for however long they want, when
it is in particular used to record real events."
"Ephemeral" will be shown in the Carlson Gallery through Oct.
17. A reception for Culver and his work will be held Sept. 22 at 7 p.m.
