Tracing Light; Cameraless Photography by Anne Arden McDonald
The UMass Dartmouth College of Visual & Performing Arts Campus Gallery is proud to present a solo exhibition, Tracing Light: Cameraless Photography by Anne Arden McDonald. A closing reception will be held on Tuesday, March 31, from 5–7 PM with the artist present in the CVPA Campus Gallery, located on the first floor of the CVPA building at 285 Old Westport Road, Dartmouth, MA 02747. Visitor parking for this day only is in Lots 5, 6, 8, and 8A. All events are free and open to the public.
Anne Arden McDonald is a New York City-based visual artist who creates images on photographic paper without the use of a camera or a negative. While still utilizing photo paper, light, and chemistry, she experiments with historic processes, like the photogram, to invent new ways of producing images. Her methods involve an unorthodox collection of materials and techniques drawn from both domestic and scientific realms.
The work in this exhibition explores circles and spheres as atoms or planets—representing the microcosm and macrocosm of the physical world—as well as symbols of growth and wholeness. Featured photographs include recent, previously unshown experiments with rust and bubbles from 2024 and 2025, alongside large-scale cameraless scrolls from 2005–2011, many of which exceed 100 inches in height. Additionally, the artist created a special video for this exhibition offering a behind-the-scenes view of her innovative processes.
“I am inspired by the dialogue painters and sculptors have with their materials, and the way that interaction informs the resulting image,” states McDonald. “Another inspiration is the scientific method: observing phenomena, formulating a hypothesis, and testing it through experiment. I use careful measurements and note variables to build an image.”
By applying glue as a resist and navigating the paper surface with alternating photographic chemicals, McDonald coaxes images to emerge in the form of "chemical paintings." Her experiments range from painting bleach onto blackened paper to building layered piles of glass and eggshells—illuminated by a handheld flashlight—and even cultivating a self-replicating garden of mold that feeds on silver gelatin paper. Whether created in total darkness or broad daylight, these additive and reductive processes result in a series of innovative photographs that challenge our definitions of photography.
Viera Levitt, UMass Dartmouth Gallery Director, is pleased to showcase how McDonald revisits historic processes such as Man Ray’s photograms, Pierre Cordier’s chemigrams, and lumen printing. “Anne is able to create magic out of ephemeral optical situations and chemical reactions,” says Levitt. “Her work underscores a relentless curiosity and patient research into what can be achieved in this medium without a negative. Her willingness to fail and try again is both inspiring and educational, offering a profound lesson to any aspiring or established artist.”
The artist adds: “When I stand in the landscape, the horizon is a circle; when nature goes through four seasons and spring comes again, that is a circle. As each day begins again, circles are a constant experience, either spatially or temporally. For many years, I made self-portraits with a camera, creating narrative images. With this abstract work, I am exploring the deeper story—the older story, the story of all of us, the story of atoms and planets, both circles. It is also an expression of my search for a sense of wholeness.”
Event Links
Exhibitor: https://go.evvnt.com/3497469-0
