Nancy Spencer & Eric Renner
Flying Monkey Press. The many pinhole images and assemblages in “on deaf ears” are a collaboration between Eric Renner and Nancy Spencer. Twenty years ago, they began constructing assemblages, many of which dealt with social issues of human rights, religion, sexuality, and stereotypes. On a lighter note, they also made assemblages dealing with Mickey Mouse, Elvis, Marilyn, and their own relationship. Their assemblages have been greatly influenced by passages in “The Women’s Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets” by Barbara G. Walker. In the summer of 2001, they began photographing segments of the assemblages with a pinhole camera, thus creating a second body of work separate from the assemblages. They did not originally construct the assemblages with the intent of photographing them. In making the photographs and concentrating on small details, they realized there was the possibility of an altered context in making two dimensional images of their three dimensional assemblages. The pinhole images make use of color shifts due to long exposures (6-8 minutes), vignetting, and altered perspectives enhanced by their choice of placement of the wide-angle pinhole camera. A rare book! Available in 2 sizes.
