David Prifti
David Prifti once wrote that is was his desire to explore his life through the things that shaped his life. These formative elements were his relationships, his memories, his sense of family, rites of passage, aging and death. The creative process that led to all of his photographs was indirectly a very personal journey for him.
In 2011, David Prifti died at age fifty of pancreatic cancer. This marked the end of a renowned photographic career and 25 years of teaching at Concord-Carlisle Regional High School. Of his photographic assemblages Prifti said, “Through the juxtaposition of images, found objects and ephemera, I create autobiographical associations that become symbolic, conveying a sense of personal history and the passage of time. The reusing of old materials allows me to resurrect them into a new form.” In 2005 he developed a new process, albeit one popular in the 19th century. Shooting with large-format wet-plate collodion emulsions on glass, Prifti made tintype portraits of students, friends, and acquaintances. Long exposure times required great concentration from both artist and subject, producing psychologically charged images. The imperfections that often occur on the edges of the plates only add to their precious quality and mediate the intensity of the images. “What begins with an attention to the physical appearance of the subject develops into an evolving exploration of the sitter and myself”.
David Prifti’s photographs have been exhibited at such venues as the Museum of Modern Art, NYC and deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum. His work is represented in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, NY, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX, the Boston Public Library, Danforth Art, and the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum.
Isshoni, 2011, tintype, unique wet plate collodion on metal, 8x10"> Inquire Letice, 2010, tintype, unique wet plate collodion on metal, 10x8"> Inquire Diane, 2009, tintype, unique wet plate collodion on metal, 10x8"> Inquire Ryan, c. 2008, tintype, unique wet plate collodion on metal, 10x8"> Inquire Asheville Portraits: Bangs, 2008, tintype, unique wet plate collodion on metal, 10x8"> Inquire Monty, 2008, tintype, unique wet plate collodion on metal, 10x8"> Inquire Shaneika, 2008, tintype, unique wet plate collodion on metal, 8x10" Sold> Inquire Acanthus #2, c. 2008, tintype, unique wet plate collodion on metal, 10x8"> Inquire Eastern Kingbird (Death), c. 2008, tintype, unique wet plate collodion on metal, 8x10"> Inquire Hydrangea, c. 2008, tintype, unique wet plate collodion on metal, 8.75x6.5"> Inquire Birds, c. 2008, tintype, unique wet plate collodion on metal, 10x8"> Inquire Apple II, c. 2008, tintype, unique wet plate collodion on metal, 8.75x6.5" Sold> Inquire Charred Corn, c. 2008, tintype, unique wet plate collodion on metal, 8x10"> Inquire Oak Leaves, c. 2008, tintype, unique wet plate collodion on metal, 8x10" Sold> Inquire Lily, c. 2008, tintype, unique wet plate collodion on metal, 8x10" Sold> Inquire Fungi (Chicken of the Woods), c. 2008, tintype, unique wet plate collodion on metal, 8x10" Sold> Inquire Elliot and Heather III, 2008, tintype, unique wet plate collodion on metal, 10x8"> Inquire Il Morte III, c. 2008, tintype, unique wet plate collodion on metal, 10x8"> Inquire Bolted Tree, c. 2008, tintype, unique wet plate collodion on metal, 8x10"> Inquire Hollyhock, c. 2008, tintype, unique wet plate collodion on metal, 8.75x6.5" Sold> Inquire Apple, c. 2008, tintype, unique wet plate collodion on metal, 8.75x6.5" Sold> Inquire Heather, 2007, tintype, unique wet plate collodion on metal, 10x8" Sold> Inquire Hannah (Repose), 2007, tintype, unique wet plate collodion on metal, 8x10" Sold> Inquire Alter #3, 2007, tintype, unique wet plate collodion on metal, 10x8" Sold> Inquire Polyphemus, 2006, tintype, unique wet plate collodion on metal, 8x10" Sold> Inquire Dominique, undated, tintype, unique wet plate collodion on metal, 10x8" Sold> Inquire Echo, 2004, photo emulsion on steel, 14x13x1"> Inquire Wary, 2004, photo emulsion on steel, 8x7"> Inquire Patriarch, 2003, photo emulsion on steel, 13x7"> Inquire
David Prifti
David Prifti once wrote that is was his desire to explore his life through the things that shaped his life. These formative elements were his relationships, his memories, his sense of family, rites of passage, aging and death. The creative process that led to all of his photographs was indirectly a very personal journey for him.
In 2011, David Prifti died at age fifty of pancreatic cancer. This marked the end of a renowned photographic career and 25 years of teaching at Concord-Carlisle Regional High School. Of his photographic assemblages Prifti said, “Through the juxtaposition of images, found objects and ephemera, I create autobiographical associations that become symbolic, conveying a sense of personal history and the passage of time. The reusing of old materials allows me to resurrect them into a new form.” In 2005 he developed a new process, albeit one popular in the 19th century. Shooting with large-format wet-plate collodion emulsions on glass, Prifti made tintype portraits of students, friends, and acquaintances. Long exposure times required great concentration from both artist and subject, producing psychologically charged images. The imperfections that often occur on the edges of the plates only add to their precious quality and mediate the intensity of the images. “What begins with an attention to the physical appearance of the subject develops into an evolving exploration of the sitter and myself”.
David Prifti’s photographs have been exhibited at such venues as the Museum of Modern Art, NYC and deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum. His work is represented in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, NY, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX, the Boston Public Library, Danforth Art, and the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum.