Welcome to Monalog™
After I attended the last year’s Photo Arts Xchange organized by Steve Sherman and a number of other fine black and white photographers, I started to think about what I could do to further support a vibrant black and white analog photography community. I already had my own website that focuses on my love of black and white film photography and the darkroom, but I wanted to do more, and I sensed that there would be others that shared my passion and felt the same way.
At the Photo Arts Xchange I met a number of outstanding photographers that worked exclusively with black and white film and used only traditional wet processes to realize their exceptional vision. I decided to reach out to them and other like minded photographers I knew that I thought would be receptive to the idea of creating a photographer’s collective who’s sole mission would be to “support black and white film photography and traditional printing processes”.
The founders of this collective make silver gelatin enlargements, contact prints on Lodima and Azo paper, platimum and albumen prints and prints using carbon transfer processes. They use 35mm and medium format rangefinders, medium format SLRs, and a range of wooden view cameras that produce images using 4×5, 8×10, 11×14, 8×20 or 14×17 inch negatives. We all used different tools, films, chemistry and papers to create our art, but we share a love and unabiding commitment to black and white film and traditional printing processes.
We have chosen to call our collective Monalog™, a new word derived from “monochrome” and “analog”. We chose this because we don’t make color prints or incorporate anything digital in what we do … no scanning of negatives, no creation of “negatives” from digital files, and no digital printing of film negatives. This having been said, our objective is not to make judgments about color or digital, but support what we use and care deeply about.
Monalog™ was formed by six founding members: Mel Evans, Jim Fitzgerald, David Haas, Jim Kipfer, Michael Marks and Drew Wagner. Our goal is to grow through membership of fellow “monalog™” photographers that are dedicated to this wonderful medium and exhibit a high caliber of vision and adherence to their craft. We will also engage with others, individually and through collaborative activity, and support the industry that makes all this possible.
As best as I can tell, there is no other collective like Monalog™. I hope you will join us on this exciting journey!
Michael Marks
Doylestown, Pennsylvania
March 9, 2020
Artwrkd Presents a Solo Exhibition: Mel Evan Handmade Photographs
Monalog Member Exhibit at the SoHo Photo Gallery, New York, New York, May 29-June 23
We are very excited to announce another Monalog show, The Monalog Collective, Expression Through Tradition starting this coming week at the famous and beautiful SoHo Gallery in New York City. The show opens on May 29th with a reception from 6pm to 8pm and runs through June 23rd.
The gallery is located in Tribeca at 15 White Street and is open Wednesday through Sunday 1-6pm. For more information contact SoHo Photo Gallery at 212-226-8571.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Monalog’s Gallery 270 Show Extended Through March!
We are pleased to announce that The 21st Century Handmade Print: The Monalog Collective has been extended through March at the Gallery 270 in Westwood, New Jersey!
The gallery is located within Bergan County Camera on 270 Westwood Avenue, Westwood, NJ and is open Monday through Saturday, 10am – 5pm. For more immediate information the gallery can be reached at info@gallery270.com or by phone at (201) 358-5076.
As part of the events surrounding the show, all of Monalog’s members were interviewed by gallery Director Tom Gramegna. Check it out below, but better yet come to see the Monalog’s exciting work in person!
Monalog Collective Show at the Gallery 270, Westwood, NJ, November 2nd – January 31st, 2024
Monalog Collective’s traveling roadshow is back again at the Gallery 270 in Westwood, New Jersey for another exhibit! Our first show was a great success so here we are two years later! Just like last time, the show is called The 21st Century Handmade Print: The Monalog Collective.
The 270 is truly a unique gallery, and Director Tom Gramegna has a real passion for photography! Thanks again Tom for this wonderful opportunity!
We hope you will join us on November 2nd at 7pm for the show’s Opening. The gallery is located within Bergan County Camera on 270 Westwood Avenue, Westwood, NJ and is open Monday through Saturday, 10am – 5pm. For more immediate information the gallery can be reached at info@gallery270.com or by phone at (201) 358-5076. But here is an Eventbrite link to sign up for the opening!
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/740454077077/?aff=oddtdtcreator
Monalog Member Exhibit at the Banana Factory Arts Center, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, August 27-October 29
We are pleased to announce another Monalog show starting this week at the Banana Factory Arts Center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. But wait, there’s more! There will also be two member panel sessions on September 1st and October 6th at 7 – 8pm. See below from the Banana Factory announcement!
The Monalog Collective: Traditional Black and White Analog Photography
August 27 – October 29, 2023
The Monalog Collective is a group of like-minded photographers formed to promote traditional analog black-and-white photography and the industry that supports it. This exhibition of photographs, made by nine Monalog Collective Members, includes modern and historic applications of traditional emulsion-based processes. All images are original and hand-made by the artist. Each photographer has selected a specific process that best captures and expresses their vision of and feelings for a desired subject which is then revealed and shared via the finished print.
Artists:
Mel Evans
Jim Fitzgerald
Marty Frank
David Haas
James Kipfer
Michael Marks
Phil McAuliffe
Peter Schrager
Rob Tucher
Please join us on Friday, September 1, and Friday, October 6th for artist panel discussions as part of our First Friday events those evenings. Panels will begin at 7 PM and are free to attend.
Image credit: Michael Marks
25 W Third Street
Bethlehem, PA 18015
610-332-1300
Monalog Collective Show at the Ronald K. Delong Gallery, Penn State University, Lehigh Valley, Center Valley PA, January 30 – April 29th
Monalog is pleased and excited to announce that we will be having another show to kick off the new year! The show is called The Monalog Collective: Traditional Analog Black and White Prints. The Delong is a beautiful well-lit gallery and it’s going to be a wonderful exhibit.
This is our fourth show in the last year and a half, and we have others in the pipeline for 2023. I think it’s going to be a good and creative year for Monalog and its members!
We hope you will join us on Thursday, February 2nd at from 5:00 – 7:00pm for the show’s Opening. Also, on Monday, March 13th at 9:30am there will be an Artist Panel at the gallery, and on Thursday, April 13th at 12:15pm Monalog founder Michael Marks will give a lecture entitled "A Passion for Analog in Photography and Music". The gallery is open Monday – Thursday from 11:00am - 5:00pm and Friday from 11:00am – 3:00pm.
In the meantime take a look at the exhibit announcement above and we look forward to seeing you at the show!