Pete Christman Photograph

Christman Combines Classic Vision With New Technology

Pete Christman, the longest-serving professor at the Savannah College of Art and Design, said three things are essential to his artistic process: painting, photography and computers.

It's easy to see that his work, on display in "Modern Pictorialism" at the Jack Leigh Gallery, 132 E. Oglethorpe Ave., through March 16, utilizes photographic materials. His landscapes do not have the effervescence of en plein air but a curious, observed quality. Rough brushstrokes define shapes and light billowing through canopies of trees; off-perspective skies draw attention away from the foreground rather than playing the part of ambient backdrop.

Pete Christman Red Woods
Pete Christman incorporates photography, painting with peanut butter and computer technology into his work.
Christman's methods are unconventional; he proudly lists among his media paint, photography, digital prints and peanut butter.

Last summer, Christman, a photography professor, traveled to California and South Carolina and throughout Savannah, taking photographs of landscapes and nature that reflected visions from master painters such as Monet, Caravaggio and Rembrandt. But Christman, existing in another time than these artists, said he felt that emulating centuries-old work would be problematic and knew he had to give his impression of the world he lives in to his audience.

"I feel that my work has little to do with the second half of the 20th century," he said. "However, this is the time I live in. My work is a product of today, and I wouldn’t be able to do any of this if it wasn’t for computers — or photography. They allow me to put my images together."

Inspired by light and atmosphere, Christman’s work harkens to Monet, but he admitted that these images are strictly postmodern because they are equally about media. He cited famed photographer Alrfred Stieglitz's modern-day vision as an additional influence.

Christman's process — which combines his two preferred media (photography and painting) — entails plating the digital image with a sheet of glass, and then "painting" on the glass with a readily available material — peanut butter — to create an impasto surface. He then transfers another digital image of the peanut butter painting to his computer, where he combines the two digital images in a process called displacement mapping. A layer of encaustic wax assists in creating the desired depth on the surface of the image.

The result is an odd blend of abstraction and impressionism in which Christman achieves his goal — to focus attention on the illumination of the painting.

"Language is the DNA of civilization. It can be words, but it can also be music or something visual," Christman said.

Article by Ally Hughes



There are three categories of artistic content. The landscape studying space, perspective and atmosphere. The still life concentrating on formal design, color and symbolism. And the portrait focusing on documentation, fiction and the human condition. I have worked in all three of these genres over the years, testing them out in both the mediums of painting and photography, and always keeping them separate from each other for purpose of simplification and clarity. But now, I examine the three together, a natural progression like the linear development of an idea in literature, journalism, theater, film or music. This installation merges ideas and experiences and gives an opportunity to see all of these three categories in a new way. My goal is for the viewer to put the pieces together, ask their own questions and find their own answers - inside each diorama.