Experimental Photographs

35mm Color Film Multi-exposure through Cycloptical Lenses

Much has been written about Lina Rae Pearson's collaborative photographic work with Francis, and you can read more about her and her working methods here. These particular photographs in the collection have been donated by Lina Rae, and showcase the rare moments when Francis spent time with the camera and lens by himself, layering shot after shot through his own eye to try to distill the essence of what he saw.

Eventually, Francis grew too frustrated with the limitations of the format, the celluloid being a two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional world interpreted through his special multi-dimensional lenses. The image went through too many diffractions, ending up a diffuse and cloudy version of what he wanted to show us. He tried everything, including making alterations to the camera to expose the film area around the perforations. He felt that to be the most interesting part of the roll of film, and wanted to blow up only those parts of the images.

This is just a small sampling of a large collection of experimental images taken by Francis and Lina Rae Pearson.