The Griffin Museum at Digital Silver Imaging

This was taken directly from here: http://www.wickedlocal.com/belmont/fun/entertainment/arts/x124596320/New-gallery-finds-worth-in-marriage-of-technologies

The gallery is open to the public Mondays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., or by appointment by calling 781-729-1158. All artwork is available for sale. For more information about Digital Silver Imaging, visit their Web site at www.digitalsilverimaging.com. For more information about the Griffin Museum, visit their Web site at www.griffinmuseum.org

"New gallery finds worth in marriage of technologies"

Belmont, Mass. - In the midst of the digital age, photography is changing. More people have access to cameras and the means to take thousands of photographs at one time. Stored on computers, those photos can be shared online with family and friends around the world.
But there are still artists who use film, and those who choose to display their artwork the old-fashioned way. Into that breech steps the Griffin Museum with a collaborative approach to sharing art with the public.

Based in Winchester, the museum was founded in 1992 to provide a forum for the exhibition of both historic and contemporary photography. Director Paula Tognarelli recently announced the creation of a satellite gallery in Belmont, at Digital Silver Imaging. Dubbed “the Griffin Museum at Digital Silver Imaging,” the gallery is a collaboration that “helps make all the parties involved stronger,” Tognarelli said.

“I’d love to expand our brick and mortar building here,” she said, “but in the trying economic times, I don’t want to put that burden on the public through a capital campaign. Through this collaboration, they have their walls that we can put to good use. It helps the artists, the hosting organizations and the Griffin.”

Digital Silver Imaging is a newcomer to Belmont, and is “a marvelous resource for the photographic community,” according to Tognarelli. Located on Brighton Street, adjacent to Zeff Photo Supply, the company opened in September 2008 and specializes in making “true” black-and-white prints from digital images. “We are the only lab in New England that is doing true black-and-white printing from digital files,” owner Eric Luden said. “We skip the film altogether.”

A laser exposes the image onto photographic paper, which is automatically cut to size and sent directly into the photographic developing chemicals. The result is a professional print that is a “blend of the best of both worlds,” he said. Digital images can be sent to the company via its Web site, printed, and shipped anywhere in the world. Luden, who has an extensive background in the photo industry, said a partnership with the Griffin was a natural step for both entities.
“I always intended to have a gallery,” he said, “and when I set up [the shop], I wanted to have display space. It was a natural [partnership]. I like the quality of work at the Griffin Museum, and I like what they’re doing.”

The gallery begins. The gallery officially opened Wednesday with an exhibit by Somerville-based photographer Meg Birnbaum, “Corn Dogs and Blue Ribbons.” For two summers, Birnbaum visited 14 regional fairs in New England, ranging from small 4H events to huge expositions, and “was smitten.” “I was surprised at how vividly I remembered the fairs of my youth,” she said. “I found that then and now, fairs are a complicated balance of startling innocence and huckster sleaze.” Birnbaum photographed the fairs using basic, plastic cameras and black and white film.
“I purposely wanted to lose sharp detail and instead capture a fleeting moment, a broad stroke, the distillation of the experience in the hope of capturing iconic imagery,” she said.
Tognarelli said Birnbaum was chosen as the inaugural artist because her images are so accessible. “They remind me of my childhood, and probably that of many others, when I enjoyed carnival rides,” she said.

The gallery is open to the public Mondays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., or by appointment by calling 781-729-1158. All artwork is available for sale.

For more information about Digital Silver Imaging, visit their Web site at www.digitalsilverimaging.com.

For more information about the Griffin Museum, visit their Web site at www.griffinmuseum.org