NORMAN SARACHEK
CHEMIGRAMS
NORMAN SARACHEK
CHEMIGRAMS
NORMAN SARACHEK
CHEMIGRAMS
RESUME
One Person Exhibitions:
2015 New Arts Program, After Fukushima/memories, Kutztown, PA
2011 Connexions Gallery, New Chemigrams: Gesture and Space, Easton, PA
2009 Parkland HS Art Gallery, Chemigrams, Allentown, PA
2008 Connexions Gallery, Norman Sarachek, Chemigramist, Easton, PA
2007 Martin Gallery, Muhlenberg College, Marks on Silver, Allentown, PA
2005 Connexions Gallery, Metamorphosis, Easton, PA
2003 Visual Studies Workshop, Marks on Silver, Rochester, NY
Gallery at Technicolor Grand, Celebration, Bethlehem, PA
2002 Southern Vermont Art Center, Cameraless Photographs, Manchester, VT
New England School of Photography, Cameraless Photogaphs, Boston, MA
MCS Gallery, Works on Paper, Easton, PA
2001 Northampton County Community College, Works on Paper, Bethlehem, PA
Penn State University, Rose Garden Weddings, Allentown, PA
2000 Belenky Contemporary Art, Photograms, New York, NY
Open Space Gallery, Cameraless Photographs, Allentown, PA
1999 1521 Gallery/Café, Rose Garden Weddings, Philadelphia, PA
1998 Southern Vermont Art Center, The Individual Becomes Universal, Manchester, VT
Philadelphia University Search Gallery, People/Icons/People/Icons, Philadelphia, PA
Theatre Outlet Gallery, Right in Our Own Back Yard, Allentown, PA
Curated Group Shows:
2014 LightBox Photographic Gallery, Altered Views, Astoria, OR
New Mexico Museum of Art, Cameraless, Santa Fe, NM
Art Intersection, Light Sensitive, Gilbert, AZ
2013 Serenbe Photographic Center, Antiquarian and the New Alchemy, Palmetto, GA
440 Gallery, Earth, Brooklyn, NY
2010 LGTripp Gallery, RSVP, Philadelphia, PA
List Gallery, Swarthmore College, Chemigrams, Swarthmore, PA
2009 New Arts Program, Invitational Salon Exhibition, Kutztown, PA
2007 eDavid Gallery, Invented Landscapes, Bethlehem, PA
Open Lens Gallery, Deep Process, Philadelphia, PA
Touchstone Theatre Gallery, Healing Artists, Bethlehem, PA
2005 Freedman Gallery, Déjà vu, Albright College, Reading, PA
New Arts Program, Invitational Salon Exhibition, Kutztown, PA
Wooster Arts Space, Winter Group Show, New York City, NY
Gallery 31 North, Not So Straight Photography, Glen Gardner, NJ
New Arts Program, Invitational Salon Exhibition, Kutztown, PA
New Arts Program, Invitational Salon Exhibition, Kutztown, PA
Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery, Recent Acquisitions, Haverford College, Haverford. PA
2002 231 Exhibit Gallery, PhotoReview 25, Philadelphia, PA
New Arts Program, Invitational Salon Exhibition, Kutztown, PA
2001 Lehigh University Siegel Gallery, Area Artists 2001, Bethlehem, PA
Open Space Gallery, Abstracta, Allentown, PA
New Arts Program, Invitational Salon Exhibition, Kutztown, PA
MCS Gallery, Thirteen Ways of Seeing, Easton, PA
Historic Yellow Springs, Photography, Contemporary Prospects 2001, Historic Yellow Springs, PA
2000 New Arts Program, Invitational Salon Exhibition, Kutztown, PA
List Gallery, Chemigrams Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA
1999 Arte’ de Magick Gallery, Photograms, Easton, PA
Maria Feliz Gallery, Captured Alternatives, Jim Thorpe, PA
Muhlenberg College Martin Gallery, Local Color, Allentown, PA
New Arts Program, Invitational Salon Exhibition, Kutztown, PA
Albright College Freedman Gallery, Paradise Revisited, Reading, PA
1998 New Arts Program, Invitational Salon Exhibition, Kutztown, PA
Lafayette College Williams Center, The Pleasure of Seeing, Easton, PA
1997 Open Space Gallery, Healing Spirits, Allentown, PA
Art Association of Harrisburg, Invitational Group Exhibition, Harrisburg, PA
1996 Gallery at JCC, Across the Generations, Allentown, PA
Maine Photographic Workshop, Exhibition at Union Hall, Rockport, ME
Juried Exhibitions:
2012 Perkins Center for the Arts, Photography 31, Moorestown, NJ
2006 Perkins Center for the Arts, Photography 25, Moorestown, NJ
2003 Texas Photographic Society, TPS 12, San Antonio, TX
PhotoReview, 19th Annual PhotoReview Competition, Philadelphia, PA
2000 3rd Street Gallery, Juried Multimedia Show, Philadelphia, PA
Pennsylvania State Museum, Art of the State, Harrisburg, PA
Mayfair International Arts Festival, Juried Competition, Allentown, PA
1999 Perkins Center for the Arts, Photography 18, Moorestown, NJ
Mayfair International Arts Festival, Juried Competition, Allentown, PA
1998 Gallery at the Pie, PhotoSession 98, Philadelphia, PA
3rd Street Gallery, Annual Juried Show, Philadelphia, PA
PhotoReview, Annual PhotoReview Competition, Philadelphia, PA
Pennsylvania State Museum, Art of the State, Harrisburg, PA
Mayfair International Arts Festival, Juried Competition, Allentown, PA
Perkins Center for the Arts, Photography 17, Moorestown, NJ
1997 California State University, American Visions: Best of America, Chico, CA
Pennsylvania State Museum, Art of the State, Harrisburg, PA
Open Space Gallery, Juried Photographic Exhibition, Allentown, PA
Mayfair International Arts Festival, Juried Competition, Allentown, PA
Three Rivers Arts Festival, Juried Competition, Pittsburgh, PA
Silver Eye Center for Photography, Juried Competition, Pittsburgh, PA
1996 Abington Art Center, Juried Photography Competition, Abington, PA
Artzon Gallery, Pulp Friction, Poetry or Prose, Orefield, PA
Celebration of the Arts, Juried Competition, Delaware Water Gap, PA
Sketch Club of Philadelphia, Juried Photographic Competition, Philadelphia, PA
Pennsylvania State Museum, Art of the State, Harrisburg, PA
Phillips Mill, Juried Photography Competition, New Hope, PA
Mayfair Arts Festival, Juried Photography Competition, Allentown, PA
Art Association of Harrisburg, Juried Exhibition, Harrisburg, PA
Watershed Media Arts Centre, Familiar Relations, Bristol, England
Center for Photography, Woodstock, Juried Competition, Woodstock, NY
Silver Eye Center for Photography, Juried Competition, Pittsburgh, PA
1995 Everhart Museum, Juried Multi-media Art Show, Scranton, PA
South Cobb Arts Alliance, National Juried Exhibition, Mableton, GA
James Madison University, New Images Exhibition, Harrisonburg, VA
Celebration of the Arts, Juried Competition, Delaware Water Gap, PA
Art Association of Harrisburg, Juried Exhibition, Harrisburg, PA
1994 Everhart Museum, Juried Multi-media Art Show, Scranton, PA
Phillips Mill, Juried Photography Competition, New Hope, PA
Monroe County Arts Council, Juried Photography Show, Stroudsburg, PA
Allied Artists of Schuylkill County, Juried Arts Competition, Pottsville, PA
1993 Perkiomen Valley Arts Center, Multi-media Art Competition, Pottstown, PA
Open Space Gallery, Open Space Benefit Exhibition, Allentown, PA
Three Rivers Arts Festival, Juried Competition, Pittsburgh, PA
Monroe County Arts Council, Juried Photography Show, Stroudsburg, PA
Allied Artists of Schuylkill County, Juried Arts Competition, Pottsville, PA
Teaching and Presentations:
2012 Guest Speaker, Twenty First Century Photography Symposium sponsored by Group f295, Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA
“Light and the Chemigram”
2011 Visiting Guest and Guest Lecture, Use of Golden Paint Media as Resist in Making Chemigrams, Golden Paint Co. New Berlin, NY
2010 Guest Speaker, "The Chemigram Process," Presented at Twenty-First Century Photography Symposium, NYC
2002 Guest Lecture, Control and Risk-taking in Making Art, New England School of Photography, Boston, MA
1998 Lecture and Student Critique, Philadelphia University, Philadelphia, PA
Awards:
2012 Honorable Mention, Photography 31, Perkins Center for the Arts, Moorsetown, NJ
Curator’s Award, Photography 31, Perkins Center for the Arts, Moorestown, NJ
2006 Juror Award, Photography 25, Perkins Center for the Arts, Moorestown, NJ
1997 Honorable Mention, American Vision: Best of America, California State University, Chico, CA
Honorable Mention, Juried Photography Competition, Mayfair International Festival of the Arts, Allentown, PA
1994 Patron Award, Photography Competition, Phillips Mill, New Hope, PA
1994 First Prize, Photography, Juried Arts Competition, Allied Artists of Schuylkill County, Pottsville, PA
Education:
Swarthmore College, Swarthmore Pennsylvania, BA Philosophy with Distinction
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Fellowship in Cardiology
Photographic Studies with:
Larry Fink, Workshop, Abington Art Center, Abington, PA
Sharon Fox, Learning to See, Rockport, ME
Larry Fink, Discovering the Intuitive, Rockport, ME
Bernard Suess, Advanced Development and Printing, Easton, PA
Larry Fink, Workshop, Tuscany, Italy
Constantine Manos, The Magic Moment, Rockport, ME
Robert Sacha, The Extended Portrait, Rockport, ME
Bill Hayward, The Non-Traditional Photograph, Rockport, ME
Collections:
Center for Photography at Woodstock Permanent Print Collection, SamuelDorsky Museum of Art, SUNY, New Paltz, NY
Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery, Haverford College, Haverford, PA
Museum of Anthropology, California State University, Chico, CA
Art in the Embassies Program, United States Department of State, Washington, DC
Mr. and Mrs. Les Margulis, Sydney, Australia and Moscow, Russia
Mr. and Mrs. Murray Hamilton, Alburtis, PA
Mr. and Mrs. James F. L. Carroll, Kutztown, PA
Dr. and Mrs. Paul Gross, Allentown, PA
Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Gregory, Brooklyn, NY
Patricia Anastasi, Tiburon, CA
Mrs. Hope and Dr. Michael Proper, Moorsetown, NJ
Publications and Citations:
“Marks on Silver: Chemigrams by Norman Sarachek” Martin Art Gallery, Muhlenberg College Allentown, PA 2007
“Photographic Possibilities: The Expressive Use of Equipment, Ideas, Materials and Processes” Third Edition, Focal Press/ Elsevier by Robert Hirsch, 2009 – inclusion of images and descriptions of work by Norman Sarachek and by Pierre Cordier represent the first appearance of the chemigram process in Mr. Hirsch’s very respected textbook.
Thank you to Pierre Cordier who first described the chemigram process in 1956 who cited “Norman Sarachek, a well known American practitioner [of chemigrams],” in a recent interview in “Photo Technique.”
“The Experimental Photography Workbook” by Christina Z. Anderson, published by Christina Z. Anderson, wwww.christinazanderson.com - Excellent information presented in a practical and clear fashion to guide your foray into experimental processes.
Once and always a deep humanist with a profound capacity for healing, Norman Sarachek has been laboring deeply towards sensual avidity. His work has an insatiable appetite for the pleasure of creation. The results are often sensation mixed with moral surprise. Hope mixed with inventive ecstasy. The metaphors are sometimes profound and sublime. He is an art worker of deep worth.
Larry Fink
Martins Creek, 2004
Norman’s work is very meditative, very powerful. It has the space of early Mark Rothko paintings. …. There’s this Chinese landscape quality too. Norman achieves amazing depth, considering his materials. He’s very warm and very knowledgeable.
Karen Jansons, Director
Wooster Arts Space, NYC, 2005
For a decade Sarachek has been taking photography into the outer limits.
Geoff Gehman, The Morning Call,
Allentown, PA, January 6, 2005
Let me note the two pieces by Norman Sarachek which projected wonderful celestial bodies and were created by an artist who seems to always be into growth and evolution in his work and in these instances used chemicals and cameraless photography.
Keneth Endrick, The Express-Times.
Easton, PA, 2003
His series “New American Landscapes” gives a winkful nod to the aspirations of the Abstract Expressionists, whose grand canvasses matched the vast American vista and pioneer ethic in scale and temperament. Somehow Sarachek’s black and white photograms are convincing whirlwinds of microcosms and infinity. Evoking galaxies, shifting sands, rushing water, crystal and rock formations, the photographic medium bestows upon the images a sacred reality – surely a conceptual illusion, a trick of our own mind and eye – but still one that colored paint cannot completely exact.
Tony Sienzant, The Express-Times
Easton, PA, 2000
I found the Windows series most fascinating….They look like imaginary landscapes, very delicate and wonderful to look at…..After 'Santa Fe Nights' and the 'Rose Garden Weddings,' very people oriented work, 'New Photograms' marks a turn toward abstract, spiritual imagery.
Helene Ryesky, Art Matters,
November, 1999
Stimulating – exotic!
R.J., “Marks on Silver,”
Visual Studies Workshop
Rochester, NY, 2003
Pollock meets Fuss?
P.R., “Marks on Silver,”
Visual Studies Workshop
Rochester, NY, 2003
Beautiful Haunting image.
L.N., “Marks on Silver,”
Visual Studies Workshop
Rochester, NY, 2003
There are two ways to create a Chemigram, one is to combine paper, resist and chemicals and let forms appear themselves, the other, as Norman Sarachek does brilliantly, is to choose parameters and draw like a painter with hand and arm, showing his own personality.
Pierre Cordier
Belgium, 2012
(Pierre Cordier is considered the father of the Chemigram and first described the process in 1956.)
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS AND COLLECTIONS
Norman has had solo shows at the Belenky Gallery, NY; New England School of Photography, Boston, MA; Southern Vermont Art Center, Manchester, VT; The Visual Studies Workshop, Rochester, NY; Martin Gallery, Muhlenberg College, Allentown, PA and numerous other galleries in the United States and in England.
His work is in the Permanent Print Collection of the Center for Photography at Woodstock at the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, SUNY, New Paltz, NY; Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery, Haverford College, Haverford, PA; The Museum of Anthropology, California State University, Chico, CA; and private collections throughout the United States and in Australia. It has been accepted into the Art in the Embassies Program of the United States Department of State, Washington, DC for exhibition in United States Embassies throughout the world.