Program – (Zoom) Diptychs and Triptychs with Kai McBride

Description:

There is something deceptively simple about the creation of a diptych: just put any two photographs next to each other. Add a third photograph and you can call it a triptych. But is that all there is? If you take one photograph and cut it into three parts and present it together, is that a triptych? What’s happening for the viewer when they are presented with multiple photographs that they are asked to digest all at once?

In this presentation Kai picks apart the photo-to-photo dynamics that can be used in making compelling multiples. He shows how you can explore themes, tell stories, and present a visually cohesive narrative in a diptych or triptych. Grounded in the visual language of historical religious art, the contemporary photographer can express symbolic relationships in their work that are not possible in a single photograph.

Following this talk you will want to explore your own archive to create new sophisticated pairings–even from different bodies of work. In addition to helping you think in multiples, these techniques are useful when editing and sequencing photographs for an exhibition or book.

Bio:

Kai McBride is a photographer, teacher, musician, and maker based in Santa Fe, NM. After receiving his MFA in Visual Arts in 2008 he has been teaching photography courses at the College and University level, including ten years at Columbia University in New York. Since relocating to Santa Fe, Kai splits his time between teaching online photography courses for StrudelMediaLive and building and expanding his off-grid cabin on the Glorieta Mesa. His full bio and examples of his work can be seen on his website: https://kaimcbride.com

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