Featured Contributor: Brent Mykytyshyn
Featured this month is Canadian native and 12 year award-winning photographer, Brent Mykytyshyn.
Brent’s strong focus in advertising, still life, editorial, and interiors has granted him projects with numerous advertising agencies and magazines all across Canada. A true man of his craft, Brent enjoys image manipulation, large format photography, and turn of the century photographic techniques. He has shared with us a project that took much learning and diligence to complete, but in the end is a complete work of art.
The project is titled “The Love Stare” and it has been years in the making. It is showing in the contemporary art gallery, Paul Kuhn, in Calgary. “The Love Stare” consists of 109 wet plate collodion images, made with the intention of capturing, sharing, and spreading the feeling of love.
After being introduced to the process of wet plate collodion in 2012 while travelling through Paris, Brent pursued learning the process. As it turned out, the artist, soon after Brent had seen his work in Paris, moved to Denver- where Brent took a workshop to learn the process later that year. It took over a year to build a darkroom, gather the equipment (8x10 camera, vintage 1901 lens, darkroom accessories, etc.), convert film holders, build lighting, and make the chemistry.
While that was unfolding, the idea of “The Love Stare” unfolded as well, rather organically. Once he began creating the body of work, it took one year to complete, working rather diligently. Now, the project has been on the cover of a local magazine and written about by numerous others in the city. Brent has done radio and video interviews discussing this project, which is all very new and exciting.
The project was received with great success. The opening afternoon brought an estimated 300 people into the gallery and the buzz has not stopped since. Brent tries to be present each Friday and Saturday afternoon at the gallery to greet new guests and talk about the concept of the project. The people who come really seem to connect with that. The show is extended another month until the end of March. After that, Brent plans to travel the project to different cities around the world.
To view Brent’s project updates and personal work, visit his blog OR visit his website .