An Interview with Dan Schlapbach

Apparitions & Manifestations 

An Interview with Dan Schlapbach 

Dan Schlapbach is a professor of fine arts/ photography at Loyola University Maryland. He received his MFA from Indiana University. Schlapbach’s research explores the history of photography, alternative photographic processes such as stereo photography and wet-plate collodion, and digital imaging. He is a recipient of the Individual Artist Award issued by the Maryland State Arts Council in 2008 & 2011. 

In an attempt to unearth the meaning behind the solo exhibition, Apparitions & Manifestations, I sat with Dan Schlapbach to learn about his main sources of inspiration, research, and the medium of photography. 

What does the title of the show, Apparitions & Manifestations entail about the artwork? 

DS: The title goes into the notion of spirit photography, which came after completing the work. I began Reading about photography, and learning about the consciousness and the unconscious. Being department chair was difficult because it often prevented visual and artistic seeing. I began looking and seeing with my camera after a hiatus and started seeing things in the world that might not have actually been there. I saw spiritual manifestations. The manifestations of what is there and apparitions come to you visually through consciousness. We live in this in between world where what is physically there and what we believe is there intersect. Our very existence is founded between the balance of aspirations and manifestations. I lost my photographic vision, but it was regained when I read about cosmology, the universe, and how we make sense of it. It turned into a vision. My work explores the liminal space between sleeping and consciousness where dreams can become reality. 

What was the inspiration behind your work? 

DS: A few artists inspired my artwork. One of them was Minor White who took abstract photographs that challenged people's perspective which challenged what they were seeing. What happens in a viewer’s mind when they see images that are unrelated together, in contrast to when they are related to another? This allows us to ask ourselves how the pairing of images can be related. How does the context influence the content in the digital images? Joseph Cornell, an experimental avant-garde artist would create artwork in which two images would intersect, creating a dynamic space where the understanding between two images met. Another artist that inspired me was William Henry Jackson who used the ambrotype process to document westward expansion. The first images of the West were made using the ambrotype process. Capturing the photos entailed hiking up to twelve feet with lots of heavy equipment. The process of creating provides a great sense of work ethic, which is emulated in Apparitions & Manifestations.

Robert Frank was one of the first photographers whose photographs documented the underbelly side of America. The way they’re sequenced is poetic. The conversations and the images influenced each other, which would be difficult to do on their own, but when placed together, they create a poetic narrative. He often captured people being on the road. He saw a world that was rough but beautiful. Things can be aesthetically beautiful and conceptually ugly. 

Have any scholars influenced or inspired your creative process? 

DS: I read a book titled the Denial of Death, by Ernest Becker. Its main thesis explains that everything we do from practicing religion, to politics, to sex, to relationships, to money, is a distraction from thinking about death. If we let go of the fact that we’re going to die, how does that influence our everyday lives? Do we see what we believe and do we believe what we see? Does the idea of death preoccupy our minds as often as it should? “Religion plays a large role in this – through religious practices like prayer and devotional worship many people believe that they will not die and continue to live in an afterlife.” When we think about death, we should be thinking about how our lives are temporary. While it’s a scary thought, it will remind us to live our lives to the absolute fullest. 

I was also inspired by lead cosmologist, Brian Greene who wrote books about the universe. I learned that if the universe expands it will expand forever into infinity. There will come a time where the universe is so pulled apart that thoughts from our brains will cease to exist. Life and consciousness will not be able to exist. These questions surrounding life and consciousness surround my work in Apparitions & Manifestations. 

How does the medium of photography communicate your artistic vision? 

DS: I love to see, I love to work, I love to compose, and I love to think about things from a visual and artistic viewpoint. Being able to see photographically allows us to find beauty in ordinary objects and in life overall. When looking through a viewfinder, there is a moment of finding awe in the mundane which is fascinating to capture. The mechanical aspect of photography is grounded in fact and reality. When we take a photograph we are capturing something that exists before us, something we can physically grasp- or are we? The artist can take objects and images out of fact and open it to reality. We can edit the world to this digestible two-dimensional frame. When we take photographs, more often than not, we are taking apparitions and turning them into manifestations.                             

How does the interactive portion of the exhibition communicate your ideas to the audience?

DS: I brought the camera in because it looks interesting and it allows people to understand the process of photography. It allows photographers to capture auras which is something we learn in spirit photography. I couldn't have made the pieces without the camera. Viewers can get the experience of what it’s like to work and use a camera that is radically different than using an iPhone camera.  

How would you define the exhibition you have created? 

DS: It is a work in progress, I did not create words/titles for the digital images. Words can do a lot for images. It can add interpretation but could also add too much direction. I want people to explore their own ideas and interpretations about the work. I wanted to ask myself how I could make the viewer participate. I don't want to tell anyone what to think. The viewer’s ideas and interpretations are as important, if not more important than mine. I want them to be able to digest it in their own meaning.

I created the work during sabbatical- a time for rest. When my artwork had been put on hold, I began to see spirits through the lens of ​pareidolia- the idea of seeing faces or images in ordinary objects. I began seeing that and projecting the belief that these things are there. How much of what I am seeing is actually there and how much of it is me manifesting these figures into suggested human forms. I started seeing spirits in one way or another. 

The exhibition will run from January 17th- February 12th 2023. Missed the artist's talk? View it here!

To learn more about the Gallery’s programs, current and past exhibitions visit julioartgallery.com or call 410-617-2799. Follow us on social media @JulioArtGallery for updates!

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