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User:Balkowitsch/sandbox

< User:Balkowitsch
Shane Balkowitsch
Self Portrait, June 21, 2013
Born (1969-01-24) January 24, 1969 (age 57)
Bismarck, North Dakota, US
OccupationPhotographer
Websitesharoncol.balkowitsch.com/wetplate.htm

Shane Balkowitsch (/ˈbɔːlkəwɪtʃ/ BAWL-kə-witch;[1] born January 24, 1969) is an American wet plate photographer from Bismarck, North Dakota. The subject of his photos is the human condition, focusing on portraiture.[2]

Balkowitsch is a self-taught photographer.[2][3] Since 2012 he has produced over 5,335 plates,[4] including images of Native Americans, celebrities, and historical figures.

Career

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Nostalgic Glass Wet Plate Studio

Prior to beginning his career as a photographer, Balkowitsch trained as a nurse at Medcenter One College of Nursing.[5] He worked as an oncology nurse for Medcenter One Health Systems.[6][5] After he began helping his mother to sell collectibles online,[7] the two co-founded Balkowitsch Enterprises, Inc.,[8][9] an online retailer of housewares and health products.[6][10] Balkowitsch left his nursing career[11] as the company grew into a multimillion-dollar enterprise.[7][12] After he took up photography, he used sales from this business to fund his art, and operated a studio space in its warehouse.[6][13] He retired from sales and sold the company in June 2023.[8]

Balkowitsch began researching the process of wet plate photography after seeing a wet plate image of a motorcycle online.[14][15] He contacted the photographer, who told him that "there is no way a non-photographer could figure this out".[16] With little experience in photography,[6] Balkowitsch learned by reading the Doer's Guide on the subject by photographer John Coffer[17] and through trial and error, taking his first successful photo (of his brother Chad) less than two months later.[18][19] The following year, he was selected for a yearlong traveling art exhibition by the North Dakota Art Gallery Association.[9]

In 2018 he opened a new photography studio in Bismarck, North Dakota. The 1,800 square feet (170 m2) studio took two years to plan and eight months to construct.[20] According to Balkowitsch, the Nostalgic Glass Wet Plate Studio is the first natural light wet plate studio built in the US in over 100 years.[17]

Balkowitsch has also taught photography at Bismarck State College and hosted apprentices in his studio.[21][22]

Style and technique

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Balkowitsch specializes in wet plate (collodion) photography, a historic method that was widely used in the second half of the 19th century. [4] As of 2024 fewer than 1000 photographers worldwide use this technique.[8] He creates ambrotypes using silver on black glass.[8] The technique is "difficult, time-consuming, costly, [and] unpredictable", but produces plates that are enduring and of very high resolution.[8][16] He contrasts this with digital photography, which he sees as "devaluing the meaning of images".[19] He has also experimented with Van Dyke brown printing, cyanotype, and platinum printing.[23]

He started photography with a 5x7 wood wet plate camera.[16] He later adopted a custom Italian-made Alessandro Gibellini 8x10" folding camera in the studio, with Carl Zeiss Tessar 300mm and 360mm lenses.[16] Balkowitsch's photography studio uses exclusively natural light.[20]

Balkowitsch's works are primarily portraits, which he feels best represent the human condition.[2] His ouevre covers a variety of subjects, but fantasy and mythology are of particular interest.[19] He cites William Mortensen and Joel-Peter Witkin as influences.[23]

Projects and exhibits

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The Mask Series

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The Mask Series was started by Balkowitsch in 2012 after taking a collodion image of a vintage Czech M10 gas mask and a wilting flower. He called the plate 'The Last Flower'. The goal for this series was to raise awareness of the historic wet plate technique as an art form, highlighting collaborations with other artists. Once an artist decided to participate, a gas mask is sent to them. The artist then produced a wet plate collodion image of any size or type, which was shared in an online gallery.[24]

According to Balkowitsch, this was "the largest international wet plate collaboration since Frederick Scott Archer first invented the process.[25]

Northern Plains Native Americans: A Modern Wet Plate Perspective

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Congresswoman Debra Anne Haaland

Northern Plains Native Americans is an ongoing wet plate project that seeks to produce portraits of 1000 Native Americans.[8] It is inspired by the works of photographers Edward S. Curtis and Orlando Scott Goff. The first plate in the series is "Eternal Field," a 2014 wet plate photograph of Ernie Lapointe, the great-grandson of Sitting Bull.[26][27]

In 2019 Balkowitsch published the first volume of an anticipated four-volume set that includes photographs from this series, with each volume to include 50 photos from every 250 taken.[26] Sales of the books were dedicated to the American Indian College Fund.[28] On June 23, 2019, U.S. Rep. Debra Haaland, one of the first Native American women elected to the U.S. Congress, was a guest speaker at the photographer's book signing event at the North Dakota Heritage Center and State Museum.[29][30] In 2021 Balkowitsch's plates of Haaland appeared in the Fall 2021 issue of Sierra Magazine, including the cover image.[31]

The Real Deal

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In February 2015, Balkowitsch photographed Evander Holyfield, four-time world heavyweight boxing champion.[32] Balkowitsch titled the portrait The Real Deal.[33]

In 2016 the Smithsonian Institution acquired Balkowitsch's wet plate portrait photograph of Holyfield in 2016.[32][34] The portrait was added to the National Portrait Gallery.[33]

Murderer's Gulch

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In 2016 Balkowitsch set out to create an homage to the famous 1887 New York photo by Jacob Riis called the "Bandit's Roost."[35] The recreation project took place in East Alley near 423 E Broadway Ave in Bismarck, North Dakota, on June 11. About 100 individuals assisted in the project volunteering hay, wood, props, costumes, and as actors for the image.[36] The final image was titled Murderer's Gulch, a historic nickname for Bismarck's nearby Fourth Street.[37][35]

A plate from this project was donated to the North Dakota Heritage Center "as a visual aid for those learning about the history of North Dakota".[38] Prints were also sold to benefit the family of a local child diagnosed with advanced cancer.[39]

Dakota Access Pipeline dispute by Standing Rock Native community

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No Spiritual Surrender (Floris White Bull)

On August 15, 2016, Balkowitsch travelled to Cannon Ball, North Dakota, to capture images of the Dakota Access Pipeline protests against a planned pipeline to run less than one mile from the Standing Rock Indian Reservation of North Dakota and South Dakota.[40] One of only a few photographers allowed at the scene of the protest, Balkowitsch captured images of the protesting encampment.[19] The protest included many people Balkowitsch met during work on a photography project for the Historical Society of North Dakota, Northern Plains Native Americans: A Modern Wet Plate Perspective.[40][7]

The 2017 documentary film Awake: A Dream from Standing Rock by director Josh Fox features a wet plate by Balkowitsch of Floris White Bull who also appears in the film.[41][42] In 2019 No Spiritual Surrender was awarded Best Photograph by the North Dakota Human Rights Art Festival.[43]

The Persecution of Complete Strangers

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A performance art event on August 27, 2016, The Persecution of Complete Strangers was created, directed, and photographed by Balkowitsch and dedicated to the memory of Hande Kader,[7] a Turkish transgender woman whose body was found raped, mutilated, and burned by the roadside on August 12, 2016.[44]

Death by Oil

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Balkowitsch's 2016 work Death by Oil features Ojibwe writer and musician Darren Thompson with a noose around his neck and oil dripping down his body.[13] The piece references both the Standing Rock protests and the historical Dakota 38, a mass execution of Native American prisoners following the Dakota War of 1862.[13][45]

Death by Oil was acquired by the Heard Museum in Arizona for its permanent collection.[46]

The Capsizing of Humanity

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In 2017, Balkowitsch staged The Capsizing of Humanity, based on the 1819 oil painting The Raft of the Medusa by Théodore Géricault.[12] The work involved 40 volunteers, including Balkowitsch's brother and two of his children.[12]

Liberty Trudges Through Injustice

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Liberty Trudges Through Injustice[47]

Liberty Trudges Through Injustice is a wet plate image created by Balkowitsch resulting from a collaboration event in Bismarck on July 21, 2018. The collaboration, inspired by the painting Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix, featured actors carrying period weaponry lent by the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center.[28]

A 7-foot (2.1 m) mural version of Liberty Trudges Through Injustice was put up in Bismarck in early 2019,[48] but was vandalized in 2020.[49]

The Throne of Gods

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On July 20, 2019, Balkowitsch led a large-scale collaboration to recreate the 18th-century painting The Olympians by artist Nicolas-Andre Monsiau.[50][51][28] The work involved over 45 North Dakota artists portraying Mount Olympus of Greek mythology.[50]

Standing For Us All

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Greta Thunberg, Standing For Us All

Standing For Us All is an image showing Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, taken by Balkowitsch during Thunberg's visit to Standing Rock Indian Reservation in October 2019.[52][53] It was one of two images he took in a brief scheduled portrait session with Thunberg.[54] The image went viral after Thunberg posted it to her Twitter account,[52] receiving over 2 million likes.[54] Standing for Us All was featured in National Geographic Magazine on October 28, 2020,[55] and was covered by over 75 other media sources.[54] It was also added to the collection of the Library of Congress.[52]

In February 2020 Balkowitsch planned to install a seven-foot mural of Standing For Us All on the side of a bakery business in Bismarck, North Dakota. A Bismarck TV station reported on the planned mural and threats of vandalism and boycotts from the community followed, causing Balkowitsch to cancel the installation.[52] Communities across the globe responded by displaying and projecting the image on various structures.[56] Balkowitsch also funded an installation at Sitting Bull College in Standing Rock.[56] A former city comissioner from Fargo, North Dakota, spearheaded plans to bring the mural to that city.[57][56] The installation in Fargo was the target of vandalism, but was subsequently restored.[58]

No Vaccine for Death

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No Vaccine For Death

On July 17, 2021, Balkowitsch and more than 100 collaborators created an image based on the painting Triumph of Death by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c. 1562). Inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic, the piece "is likely the largest wet-plate photographic collaboration in history".[51] This was the fifth large-scale collaboration between Balkowitsch and Mary College professor Marek Dojs, and was staged in the Marian Grotto on the college campus.[59]

Leonard Peltier

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Native American activist Leonard Peltier, who was convicted in the 1975 murders of two FBI agents, had his sentence commuted on January 19, 2025 to indefinite house arrest by President Joe Biden shortly before Biden left office.[60] He was granted a special pass on March 26, 2025, to be photographed by Balkowitsch.[4]

A plate of Peltier, titled Clemency, was selected for the collection of the Library of Congress.[4] The Smithsonian Institute requested another plate from the same session, titled Doing Time.[61] Plates from the session were also sent to the state historical societies of North and South Dakota, the Heard Museum in Arizona, and the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford, UK.[62]

Personal life

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Balkowitsch was born on January 24, 1969,[63] in Bismarck, North Dakota,[7] to Sharon and Quentin Balkowitsch.[5] He is of German descent.[14] He married Bonnie Heidrich in 2001.[5] They have four children: Abby, Greyson, Alyvia, and Mahliya.[64] His daughter Abby has also pursued wet-plate photography.[65]

Balkowitsch was given the Hidatsa name "Maa'ishda tehxixi Agu'agshi" ("Shadow Catcher") by Calvin Grinnell of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation in October 2018.[66][14] He describes this as "the largest single honor of my life. They are no longer my friends, but they now come into my studio as my brothers and sisters. I will be damned if I will let them down".[54]

Recognition

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As of 2024 Balkowitsch's works are parts of the collections of over 100 museums,[67] including the US National Portrait Gallery, the Musee d'Archeologie Nationale in France, and the Field Museum of Natural History.[8][63] Wet plates by Balkowitsch have been permanently curated by the State Historical Society of North Dakota.[68][23] His work has been exhibited at galleries across North Dakota.[64]

In 2016 Balkowitsch received the Rising Star Award from Bismarck State College.[69][64] On June 23, 2019, Balkowitsch was honored by state officials from North and South Dakota and New Mexico for recreating and preserving Native American culture through wet plate photos.[70][71]

In November 2019, the documentary film Balkowitsch debuted at the North Dakota Human Rights Film Festival.[72] The film is directed by Greg DeSaye and Chelsy Ciavarella and examines the life and work of Shane Balkowitsch.[58]

Books

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  • Northern Plains Native Americans: A Modern Wet Plate Perspective - Vol.1, Glitterati Incorporated, 2019, ISBN 978-1943876082[73]
  • Northern Plains Native Americans: A Modern Wet Plate Perspective - Vol.2, Nostalgic Glass Wet Plate Studio, 2022, ISBN 978-1685244132
  • Northern Plains Native Americans: A Modern Wet Plate Perspective - Vol.3, Nostalgic Glass Wet Plate Studio, 2024, ISBN 978-1943876631

References

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  1. ↑ "Unedited Interview of Shane Balkowitsch by Phillip Litton at Nostalgic Glass Wet Plate Studio". July 25, 2019 – via YouTube.
  2. 1 2 3 "Immortalizing Evander 'The Real Deal' Holyfield with a Wet Plate Portrait". Petapixel. March 5, 2015.
  3. ↑ Dobbins, Bill (August 24, 2018). "Closeup: Shane Balkowitsch Continues the Wet Plate Tradition". ai-ap.com.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Rickert, Levi (March 30, 2025). "Native American Icon Leonard Peltier Captured in Wet Plate Photography Technique". Native News Online.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Heidrich-Balkowitsch". Bismarck Tribune. March 11, 2001. p. 32.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Huebner, Robin (August 16, 2016). "Documenting ND pipeline protests with 'time-machine' tech". InForum.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 White, Dustin (August 31, 2016). "Giving a voice to the voiceless: The work of Shane Balkowitsch". Midwestern Scout.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Meet Shane Balkowitsch". Canvas Rebel. January 22, 2024.
  9. 1 2 Johnson, Hannah (November 25, 2013). "Bismarck man to recreate historic Custer photograph". Bismarck Tribune.
  10. ↑ Hanson, Mark (December 14, 2003). "Big pay from eBay". Bismarck Tribune. p. 15.
  11. ↑ "Entrepreneur spotlight: Shane Balkowitsch". Bis-Man Inc. July 20, 2022.
  12. 1 2 3 "Shane Balkowitsch: sizing up humanity through antiquated craft". HPR. July 19, 2017.
  13. 1 2 3 Keeler, Jacqueline (June 14, 2017). "How photography shapes our view of Native Americans". Yes! Magazine.
  14. 1 2 3 Hagen, CS (March 6, 2019). "To Be a Shadow Catcher". HPR.
  15. ↑ Olson, Chris (January 15, 2015). "Souls of Silver exhibit on at the Arts Center". Jamestown Sun. Archived from the original on June 28, 2015.
  16. 1 2 3 4 "Balkowitsch's 'Immortal Impressions' in Glass and Silver". HPR. November 18, 2015.
  17. 1 2 "Meet Shane Balkowitsch of Nostalgic Glass Wet Plate Studio". Canvas Rebel. October 3, 2024.
  18. ↑ White, Dustin (July 24, 2014). "Recreating a little piece of history". Mandan News. Archived from the original on January 5, 2016.
  19. 1 2 3 4 Pangburn, DJ (March 6, 2017). "Photographer Uses 166-Year-Old Process to Capture the Spirit of North Dakota". Vice. Retrieved 8 March 2017.
  20. 1 2 Kiernan, Kat (March 25, 2019). "Some assembly required: Shane Balkowitsch's natural light collodion studio". Don't Take Pictures.
  21. ↑ Feddeler, Olivia (February 3, 2026). "The rare art of Shane Balkowitsch". Dickinson Press.
  22. ↑ White, Dustin (October 23, 2014). "Sitting Bull and his photo part III". Lakota Times.
  23. 1 2 3 Comeau, Michael. "Meet Wet Plate Photographer Shane Balkowitsch". On Portraits. Archived from the original on January 18, 2018. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  24. ↑ Zhang, Michael (April 5, 2013). "Collaborative Project Using Gas Masks to Draw Attention to Wet Plate Photography". Petapixel.
  25. ↑ "Wet Plate Collodion International Collaborative Collection 'The Mask Series'". Alternativephotography.com. December 4, 2013.
  26. 1 2 Stewart, Jessica (July 4, 2019). "Wet Plate Photographer Captures Powerful Portraits of Native Americans". My Modern Met.
  27. ↑ "Eternal Field". digitalhorizonsonline.org. State Historical Society of North Dakota. Retrieved March 8, 2017.
  28. 1 2 3 Hornung, Sabrina (August 15, 2018). "A trick of the light". HPR.
  29. ↑ Dura, Jack (June 19, 2019). "One of first Native American congresswomen to speak at photographer's book signing". Bismarck Tribune.
  30. ↑ Ogden, Eloise (June 16, 2019). "'Image maker' event set". Minot Daily News.
  31. ↑ Monet, Jenni. "Deb Haaland, A Living Testament: The path to becoming the nation's first Native interior secretary". Sierra Magazine.
  32. 1 2 Evans, Bo (October 21, 2016). "Bismarck wet plate photographer's portrait of boxing legend headed to Smithsonian". KFYR.
  33. 1 2 "Evander Holyfield, "The Real Deal"". National Portrait Gallery. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  34. ↑ Harris, Bob (October 20, 2016). "Smithsonian to get portrait of Evander Holyfield from Bismarck Photographer". KFGO. Archived from the original on October 22, 2016.
  35. 1 2 White, Dustin (July 19, 2016). "Murderer's Gulch; a historic photo shoot". Midwestern Scout. Archived from the original on July 27, 2016.
  36. ↑ Smith, Ben (June 12, 2016). "An old-fashioned photography event takes place in downtown Bismarck". KXNews. Archived from the original on June 13, 2016.
  37. ↑ Harris, Bob (June 30, 2016). "Shane Balkowitsch - Photographer of 'Murderer's Gulch'". Nighttime Live with Bob Harris.
  38. ↑ Salling, John (June 11, 2016). "Murderer's Gulch recreates history". KFYR.
  39. ↑ Dickert, Allyssa (August 5, 2016). "Bismarck wet plate photographer develops special print for family in need". KFYR.
  40. 1 2 Hagen, CS (August 24, 2016). "Water and oil do not mix". HPR.
  41. ↑ Josh Fox, James Spione, and Myron Dewey (directors) Awake: A Dream From Standing Rock 2017
  42. ↑ Roehl, Emily (2019). "Deep histories and fluid futures in Awake: A Dream from Standing Rock". Jump Cut: a Review of Contemporary Media (59).
  43. ↑ "2019 North Dakota Human Rights Arts Festival Award Winners Announced". human-family.org. March 13, 2019.
  44. ↑ Shafak, Elif (August 23, 2016). "The shocking murder of trans activist Hande Kader says much about Turkey today". The Guardian.
  45. ↑ "'Death by Oil' rembembering the Dakota 38". HPR. December 18, 2016.
  46. ↑ Bull, Brian (February 19, 2026). "Meet Darren Thompson". Buffalo's Fire.
  47. ↑ Cooper, Renee (May 5, 2019). "New Bismarck Alley Art has a Political Message". KXNews.
  48. ↑ Burbank, Daniel (May 5, 2019). "Liberty Leads the Way recreation in Bismarck". KFYR.
  49. ↑ Hagen, CS (February 13, 2020). "Nixed in Bismarck after backlash, Greta Thunberg mural appears destined for Fargo". Dickinson Press.
  50. 1 2 Burbank, Daniel (July 20, 2019). "More than 45 North Dakotan artists recreating an 18th century painting". KFYR.
  51. 1 2 Olsen, W. Scott (July 21, 2021). "Photographic history". Post Bulletin. p. 12.
  52. 1 2 3 4 Armus, Teo (February 13, 2020). "Greta Thunberg mural plan falls to threats of vandalism and boycott in Bismarck, N.D." Washington Post.
  53. ↑ Stewart, Jessica (October 18, 2019). "Photographer Immortalizes Greta Thunberg in Powerful Wet Plate Portraits". My Modern Met.
  54. 1 2 3 4 Behlen, Michael (December 21, 2019). "Interview: Shane Balkowitsch's historical wetplates of Greta Thunberg". Analog Forever Magazine.
  55. ↑ Whang, Oliver (October 28, 2020). "Greta Thunberg reflects on living through multiple crises in a 'post-truth society". National Geographic. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020.
  56. 1 2 3 Hagen, CS (February 21, 2020). "Greta Thunberg mural intended for Bismarck now spotted across the globe". InForum.
  57. ↑ "Rebuffed in Bismarck Thunberg mural likely headed to Fargo". Twin Cities Pioneer Press. Associated Press. February 13, 2020.
  58. 1 2 Lamb, John (April 12, 2022). "Before winning Grammys, Jon Batiste sat for a famed North Dakota photographer". Twin Cities Pioneer Press.
  59. ↑ Ascherman, Herbert (August 4, 2021). "The Making of 'No Vaccine for Death'". Photomuse Journal.
  60. ↑ Ortiz, Erik; Arkin, Daniel (January 20, 2025). "Biden commutes life sentence of Leonard Peltier, Native American activist imprisoned for almost 50 years". NBC News.
  61. ↑ Welker, Emily (March 31, 2025). "Portrait of Leonard Peltier heading to Library of Congress". KVRR.
  62. ↑ Hornung, Sabrina (April 2, 2025). "Shane Balkowitsch documents living history: an ambrotype session with Leonard Peltier". HPR.
  63. 1 2 "Shane Balkowitsch Ambrotypes". University of South Dakota. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  64. 1 2 3 Voskuil, Vicki (Spring 2016). "Rising star highlights history with an old technique". Bismarck State College Magazine. p. 19.
  65. ↑ "Abby Balkowitsch: the next generation". HPR. August 15, 2018.
  66. ↑ Nixon, Lance (July 23, 2024). "Catching Shadows: the photography of Shane Balkowitsch". Cowboys & Indians.
  67. ↑ Reporter, The; Reported, Or; this?, verified from knowledgeable sources The Trust Project What is (2026-02-03). "The rare art of Shane Balkowitsch". Dickinson Press. Retrieved 2026-06-25.
  68. ↑ "Shane Balkowitsch". State Historical Society of North Dakota. Archived from the original on February 5, 2016. Retrieved April 29, 2026.
  69. ↑ "Alumni Awards". Bismarck State College. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
  70. ↑ Burbank, Daniel (June 23, 2019). "Local artist honored at Heritage Center for historic photography". KFYR.
  71. ↑ Rausch, Natasha (June 23, 2019). "New book shows Native Americans are not extinct, New Mexico rep says at Bismarck event". InForum.
  72. ↑ ""Balkowitsch" to screen at Human Rights Film Festival". human-family.org. September 16, 2019.
  73. ↑ Hagen, C.S. (June 24, 2019). "A warrior in his lifetime: photographic book of natives receives more than acclaim". HPR.
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