From April 10 to July 10, 2004, the League of Reston Artists/University of Phoenix Northern Virginia Campus will present a Contemporary Fine Arts Exhibition that will feature the “Rough Edge Photography” of experimental artist, James W. Bailey. On September 11, 2001, Bailey began experimenting with a creative photographic style he has named, “Rough Edge Photography”. He refers to it as “Rough Edge” because his photographic work, unlike traditional photographs, literally has rough edges, surface abrasions and other caustic protrusions discernable to the eye and touch.

Bailey’s experimental technique involves exploring the “death of chemically developed negatives and prints” through the use of found 35mm source cameras he purchases in thrift stores. His process incorporates the violent manipulation of unexposed film, developed negatives and prints. Undeveloped film may be subjected to intense heat or pin pricks through the film canister. Developed negatives are burned, scratched, slashed or cut, as are the prints. In some cases, the original negative is melted onto the final print. The found camera that is used to shoot a particular series of source photographs is frequently smashed upon completion of the series.

The subjection of Bailey’s film negatives and prints to his process, combined with the destruction of the source camera, results in a unique image that can not be duplicated: each “Rough Edge Photography” piece is an original work of art. The artist does not produce prints of his images.

Bailey’s small scale “Rough Edge Photography” images evoke the accidental decayed beauty of blistered film stills projected on a theatre screen when the movie reel stops and the film begins to burn. Known for his deeply personal narrative series that explore the forbidding depths of the inner city of New Orleans, many of his black and white source photographs are shot from the driver’s seat of his automobile as he drives the dangerous streets through brutally impoverished neighborhoods that most of the tourists on Bourbon Street never see. His burned, slashed and violently manipulated chemically developed negatives and prints provocatively capture the transitional movements of disposed people and mythical events through time. Reflecting a cinematic sensibility with his approach, his body of work resonates with an experimental energy and quality reminiscent of the avant-garde films of Stan Brakhage.

Born in Columbus, Mississippi, in 1959, Bailey is a self-taught artist/photographer and an experimental imagist writer. His art focus also includes Littoral Art projects that explore the fleeting moments of cross-cultural communicative intersections; film projects, including the short film, Talking Smack; “Wind Painting”, a unique naturalistic art practice inspired by the vanishing Southern African-American cultural tradition of the Bottle Tree; and street photography centered on the hidden cultural edges of inner city New Orleans life. Bailey’s experimental imagist literary works include, The Black Velvet Smash and the Missing Gospel of William S. Burroughs, Cold Dark Matters, Eastern 304, Killing Film Noir, and, two books of poetry, The Despised American Edition and Southern Standard Time, all published by Force Majeure Press. He has also written a full-length feature film screenplay, The Cold, a crime drama based on a true story set in New Orleans, which is currently in pre-production development.

WHO:
League of Reston Artists (LRA)/University of Phoenix Northern Virginia Campus Contemporary Art Exhibition.

WHAT:
The League of Reston Artists presents a contemporary art exhibition sponsored by the University of Phoenix Northern Virginia Campus. This exhibition features the “Rough Edge Photography” of experimental Mississippi artist, James W. Bailey. Bailey’s unique photographic style incorporates the violent scratching, slashing and burning of his prints and negatives. Bailey’s featured works include, “The Sphinx of New Orleans”, “Aloha Motel” and “Angel of Death”.

WHEN:
Exhibition runs from April 10 – July 10. Exhibit is free and open to the public during regular business hours Monday - Friday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm.

WHERE:
University of Phoenix, Northern Virginia Campus, 11730 Plaza America Drive, Suite 200, Reston, VA 20190. For directions, see the LRA’s web site at www.leagueofrestonartists.org

PUBLIC CONTACT FOR MORE INFORMATION:
James W. Bailey
2142 Glencourse Lane
Reston, VA 20191
Ph: 703-476-1474
Cell: 504-669-8650
Email: JamesWBailey-AT-comcast.net
Web site: www.jameswbailey.artroof.com

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Digital Photograph Attached: THE SPHINX OF NEW ORLEANS.JPG