postcards. Any photograph of you by you
or having nothing whatever to do with you
could make a perfect postcard If you decide
to use these as your Christmas or holiday
cards or even year-round stationery throw
caution to the winds Make a Personal
Statement If, however, you decide to use ,
postcards as gifts for friends and relatives
(perhaps transforming your parents vaca
tion pictures into a multi pic remembrance
for them), be discreet and tasteful Almost
any photo developer can make a picture
into a picture postcard call around for the
best prices Or make your own (see Mount
ing. below)
photo collage. This is the easiest photo
gift of all since it requires very little equip
ment and almost no additional cash Aou II
need plain cardboard tor mounting scis
sors. and glue lust cut out several photo
graphs that Mean Something to the recipi
ent. and paste them down in a bizarre or
conventional way These can be extremely
simple and effective (your face suspended
in a blue sky) or crammed to the edge with
everything you can make tit Be sure to cut
the pieces on an angle so they II he flat
without curling and without sharp delinea
tions Arrange them all exactly as you want,
and then remove every piece down to the
bottom and build it back up. gluing (spray
mounting glue is best here - it doesn't ad
here immediately, in case you change your
mind) as you go
hand-tinting. This process, usually done
on old photographs in muted pastels, gives
a lovely effect, and it is not difficult It s
more or less like a coloring book follow
the directions In the package of oils or pen
cils (obtainable at most photo supply
stores), and practice first on a substitute
photo (preferably a copy of the one you re
giving) Flesh tones are tricky but not im
possible
rmtufiffritj. Mounting a photograph re
quires special equipment - a mounting
press mounting board, and heat-activated
adhesive tissue all available in photo sup
ply houses and most campus photo labs It
you are unfamiliar with the process, hire
someone to help or complete the job. be
cause a mistake could be costly The extra
expense is justifiable here, because you re
lett with a hefty, solidly backed photograph
(particularly nice for an 8 x 10 or larger
picture) suitable for framing The backing
may be flush with the photograph, or a
halt-inch or so may be left around all sides,
making its own frame An even more dra
matic effect is achieved by mounting a rela
tively small picture off-center on a larger
; board
It is also possible to mount pictures
I using an iron, be sure to memorize the in
.auctions (which should have come with
he mounting tissue) before you start, and
ae careful
To hang these mounted beauties, you
don't really need a frame or wire If the pic
tures are small, use double-faced tape
Larger pictures can be suspended with
mounting putty, available at art supply
houses. Since both the tape and putty can
damage walls, proceed with caution
ah,
the holidays.
There may not
seem to be much
cause for rejoicing
in these troubled
times, but we'd like
to offer a tiny silver
lining: suggestions for
nifty and inexpensive
gifts for your friends and
family, personally crafted
with your own nimble fin
gers _ so easy you can finish
most of them before mid-terms.
Give a photograph Give several
photographs. But make each one
special create a postcard, hand-tint an ________
S i sb°re
a
a p
h o t o g r
ESSj4
A Loyola Marymount Univer
sity student In Los Angeles
creates an unusually sensitive
photo essay. We Have repro
duced only a segment of it
here; it originally covered an
entire wall and had neighbor
hood graffiti painted across the
photos, adding the final touch
of reality.
It has always been easy for me to
express myself on paper, or with
a combination of photographs
and supportive texts With this prot
ect. however, i wanted to create a
set of photographs that would be
able to work by themselves <?r as the
primary source of an artistic state
ment in concert with other forms of
media.
Working under the tutelage of
mentor/instructor Patrick Nagafanl,
assistant professor of studio arts
at Loyola Marymount and a well
regarded contemporary artist in Los
Angeles, 1 explored the Hispanic
cultural segment of the town of
Fillmore. California, located in one
of the largest citrus-producing areas
in the world.
My aim with these prints was to
create an atmosphere that made a
statement of these people's concern
for Stability, the family and religious
ties, and to emphasize that theirs is
a culture different from that of the
| people of the barrios of East Los
Angeles, less than 50 miles away.
The selected pictures here are
from a group of ninety prints re
cently exhibited at Loyola Mary
mount During the exhibition other
forms of media were added to the
prints, including sound video and
graffiti, to create a multimedia event
while retaining the basic core of the
photographs.
The equipment used included
Pentax ME super and MX 15 mm
cameras, 24 mm, 50 mm and 85 mm
lenses and black-fr-white Tri-X pan
film
Peter Meyers
'za
break into Kodak's
m
Good news: we need student
photographic essays for future
issues of Break.
Better news: we’ll pay 100
actual U.S. dollars for each
photo essay we print.
A photo essay is a series of photo
graphs unified by a central theme or
subject. with a personal point of view.
Each essay submitted must he accom
panied bp a prose essay tone or two
double-spaced pages) explaining
the reasons for choosing the subject,
the impact the essay had or subject,
viewers and photographer, and special
techniques (if any) that were used.
Be sure to Include name, address
and your aye, plus the name of your
college on the essay. Print your name
on every photograph. We will return
all photographs . eventually.
the $100 covers first time North
American rights; you still own the
pictures. Da net dawdle; we need
to choose a winner fry the first of
lanuary 1983. Send to: Break
essay. 1680 Nartfr Vine, Suite 900.
Hollywood, CA 90028.