LINCOLN PARK — One of the world's largest cameras, made from an entire shipping container, rolled through Chicago last fall.
During its brief stop, the Liminal Camera "snapped" some breathtaking photos of Chicago, which will soon be on display at the DePaul Art Museum.
A photo of the Chicago skyline called "Jardine Water Treatment Plant," taken Oct. 24 by the Liminal Camera. [Metabolic Studio]
The mobile camera is part of an ongoing project to map the American landscape. The photos taken in Chicago will be on display at the museum beginning May 14 in collaboration with the Chicago Humanities Festival.
The camera itself is a huge dark room with a hole in the side of the container which allows light through a lens. The shutter can be manually operated by artists inside who make their way around with the help of infrared lights.
The liminal camera making its way across the country. [Metabolic Studio]
“The Liminal Camera breaks down the photographic process to its most basic and raw elements,” said Greg Harris, curator of the exhibition. “It makes people step back and think about how photographs originally came into the world, and that is really important in a time when our lives are inundated and saturated with digital images.”
The exhibit will include large-scale photos taken by the camera, some reaching eight feet wide.
The camera was completely self-sustaining as it made its way across the country: It produced its own solar power and doubled as a dark room.
The project is by artists Lauren Bon, Richard Nielsen and Tristan Duke, who will be in Chicago May 14 and will present on their journey and unveil the photographs taken around Chicago in the fall.
The event kicks off at 4:30 p.m. at the museum, 935 W. Fullerton Ave., and will be followed by a public reception at 5:30 p.m.
This photo of a stormy Chicago skyline called “Storm from Northerly Island was taken on Oct. 31. [Metobolic Studio]
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