Camerart
Galerie Optica, 1974

The idea to create an exhibition of  “CAMERART” was first discussed by Bill Ewing and myself last winter. The problems of staging a representational exhibition of artists incorporating the photo image in their work were obvious from the beginning. How were we to reconcile the vast dichotomy between the conceptual or idea oriented work, where the photograph is only a vehicle for communicating an idea or perception, with the more traditional esthetic art, usually created as an object of contemplation relying heavily on technical skills.
The decision was made to attempt to show the most interesting art being done in both areas. We avoided work which we felt did not transcend decoration and insisted that it directly required some element of photographic technology to be produced. This eliminated super-realist painting and other situations where the photograph is used merely as a visual reference,
For the most part new work was created especially for this exhibition. In some cases where we felt is was significant, older pieces that have not been previously exhibited, or pieces that have been seen by few, were included.
Four people with totally different perspectives and points of view were invited to write essays for the catalogue. Because of the dire state of art criticism in Canada, they were asked to avoid the boring and sometimes nauseating platitudes which usually grace the pages of most efforts of this nature. Happily, they granted our wishes.

Robert Walker, Guest Curator

Caption: Six Suites – Sex Sweets, Robert Walker, 1974
3M color-in-color prints