BY BLAKE ANDREWS
PLAYING IN THE DARK
Eugene group seeks to resurrect a dark art
or photographers who came of age during the film era, the expe-
rience of seeing that very first image materialize in the develop-
ing tray is remembered as magical or uncanny. That the miracle
often occurred in an educational setting as a shared communal
experience deepened the impact.
Yes, community darkrooms left a fond residue in the mind as
well as on the fingertips. But alas, their influence has faded. With
photography’s transition from film to digital now mostly complete,
community darkrooms have largely disappeared from the national
landscape, Eugene included.
And with that shift, an opportunity for shared experience has
given way to privatized practice.
Enter Eugene Darkroom Group, a consortium of film shooters dedi-
cated to building a community darkroom here in town. EDG imagines
the space as a center for printing, classes, and creative collaboration
around film-based processes.
After slowly taking form over a few years, the group’s pace has ac-
celerated, and they are now applying for non-profit status.
Where will the darkroom be and who will use it? Both questions
remain unsettled.
Former darkrooms at Dot Dotson’s and Maude Kerns Art Center
have been floated as tentative sites. Group leaders have identified a
local community of 30 to 35 amateur film shooters who would serve
as the membership base.
Final decisions remain to be made. At this point EDG is focused
on raising the legal fees to incorporate as a nonprofit. Their first fun-
draiser is 7 to 10 pm Saturday, June 3, at Sam Bond’s Foundry, 540
E. Eighth Avenue, where local film photography will be exhibited and
offered for sale.
EDG can also be contacted at eugenedarkroom@gmail.com and on
Facebook at @eugdark.
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eugeneweekly.com • June 1, 2017
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