Tapped In

Amped up color photography sheds new light on the art

Comments (0) By Lyssa Oberkreser Thursday, Mar 2 2006

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The neon lights will be bright tonight in the Wynwood Art District when New York artist Tapp Francke’s exhibit “Chromesthesia” opens at Dot Fiftyone. Francke takes our universal and often intense response to color and sends us on a loopy neon ride through a tube of emotional juxtaposition. Staring at the word bitch in baby pink might make us think of a sweet puppy, whereas a shocking red swallow could make us blush because we are reminded of a night when we didn’t want to spit on our own rug. If the colors had been different, our reactions would be too.

Gallery director Isaac Perelman is attracted to Francke’s photography because of its uniqueness: “Instead of using what every young photo artist is using nowadays [a digital camera] ... she uses an old film camera, a Hasselblad, to take closeups of the rays of light coming out from neon tubes.” Beyond navigating color fields, Francke ups the voltage of her photographs through an electrifying presentation. “The way she mounts her work also makes it more powerful,” explains Perelman. “For this exhibition she decided to mount the prints on aluminum and translucent Plexiglas.” Look into the light tonight at a cocktail reception from 7:00 to 11:00.
Fri., Feb. 3, 7-11 p.m.; Mondays-Saturdays. Starts: Feb. 3. Continues through March 3