Review: Vermont
Rachel Portesi: Hair Portraits
Brattleboro Museum, Brattleboro, Vermont
October 24, 2020 – February 14, 2021
On October 15, 1995 photographer Rachel Portesi looked at one of her Polaroid photographs and had a moment of recognition. The image she had made seemed significant. It transcended from being simply a photograph into the world of art. She dated that Polaroid. Although dubbed “instant” photography because the unique quality of the film produced a positive image in minutes, the element of time and patience was involved. It was a decidedly hands-on, analog experience that Portesi loved and has now transferred to another relatively obsolete medium, wet plate collodion tintypes. Both methods produce one-of-a-kind images and offer an element of surprise that appeals to Portesi.
Rachel Portesi, Flower Crown, 2017, Wet plate collodion tintype, 14 x 14 in.
Now the Brattleboro Museum has mounted Hair Portraits, a solo exhibition of the artist’s tintypes that provoke many layers of association while igniting an interest in a medium that was presumed dead. Hair, particularly women’s hair, has been charged with cross-cultural and symbolic meaning throughout human history. Both hair and photography are deeply connected to ideas of memory and loss. Initially Portesi tried using herself and her own long, dark hair as a model but the timing (tintypes require that the subject hold absolutely still for 30 seconds) as well as the finicky camera made this set-up impossible. Now her seductive silvery toned images capture intricate hair sculptures, often suspended in the air and entangled with branches, flowers and leaves, while still attached to the heads of female models like crowns, transforming them into mythic goddesses, both nurturing and powerful.
Rachel Portesi, Goddess, 2018, Wet plate collodion tintype, 14 x 14 in
Observer and observed, the voyeur, being watched, these square images while “still” seem alive. They are movement captured. They vibrate somewhere between past and present. A video of her portraits can be viewed when peering inside a large format camera in the corner of the gallery. Portesi said, “I loved watching my models move. Remaining motionless and being watched is uncomfortable. You become vulnerable. It gets to the heart of who you are.” This show was a longtime in the making for Portesi and ultimately contributed to her personal growth as a woman and an artist. Given the emotional and aesthetic impact of these images we hope the next show is already in the making.
– Cynthia Close
Exhibition events:
Wednesday, November 18, 7 p.m. – Artist Talk: Rachel Portesi
Thursday, January 14, 7 p.m. – Linking Us Fondly: Hairwork in 19th Century America
Thursday, January 21, 7 p.m. – Tintype Photography Demonstration with Rachel Portesi