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J. Fredric May

Member of the Month August 2018

Featured image for post J. Fredric May

Artist Statement

Apparition: Postcards From Eye See You

I am a former photojournalist and filmmaker. During open heart surgery in 2012, I suffered a major stroke leaving me legally blind and subject to vivid visual hallucinations. This life event changed my artistic vision, opening up an entirely new visual style.

With profound curiosity and a life-long habit of experimentation, I picked up my iPad and started to explore. Because I was raised by inventors and engineers, I embraced regeneration as a way of life, so I focused my limited attention on what could be invented and created.

Utilizing imaging software that corrupts visual data, I was effectively able to replicate what was happening with information within my own brain.

I scanned found portraits, maimed their component features and rebuilt them as layered composites to resemble how I now see, in fragments, somehow familiar, yet strange. I take my layered composites and print these as cyanotypes. I bleach and tone my cyanotypes with a mixture of photo chemicals and tea. Ultimately, I digitize the altered cyanotypes and create my final print. The result is my series of enigmatic portraits, Apparition: Postcards From Eye See You.


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About

A graduate of Brooks Institute, J. Fredric May received his B.S. in Commercial/Color Technology and was accepted into the prestigious Eddie Adams Workshop in 1989. He made his living as a photojournalist and commercial photographer traveling all over the world, telling visual stories with a signature style of bold color and confrontational composition.

He won numerous state and regional honors. As a filmmaker, May directed more than 50 corporate and industrial films and helped raise more than 7 million dollars for non-profit organizations. He won Telly and Cine Awards for his creative film work and national awards for his corporate and nonprofit clients.

During open heart surgery to repair an aortic aneurysm in 2012, May suffered a major stroke leaving him legally blind and subject to vivid visual hallucinations. With profound curiosity and a life-long habit of experimentation, May picked up his iPad and started to explore. Because he was raised by inventors and engineers, he embraced regeneration as a way of life, so he focused his limited attention on what could be invented and created. Utilizing imaging software that corrupts visual data, he was effectively able to replicate what was happening with information within his own brain.

He scanned found portraits, maimed their component features and rebuilt them as layered composites to resemble how he now sees, in fragments, somehow familiar, yet strange. He takes his layered composites and prints these as cyanotypes. He bleaches and tones his cyanotypes with a mixture of photo chemicals and tea. Ultimately, he digitizes the altered cyanotypes and creates his final print. The result is his series of enigmatic portraits, Apparition: Postcards From Eye See You.