Lisa Elmaleh is a large format photographer whose current work focuses on American folk and old-time musicians. Using a portable darkroom in the trunk of her car, Elmaleh photographs using the nineteenth century tintype process.

Elmaleh is a recipient of the Everglades National Park Artist Residency (2010), the Goldwell Artist Residency (2010), the Camera Club of New York Darkroom Residency (2008), and the Tierney Fellowship (2007). Elmaleh’s work has been published in Harper’s Magazine, Dear Dave, and Visura Magazine. Her work has been exhibited internationally, including a solo show, Everglades (KMR Arts Gallery, Conn.), Linked: New Yorkers Meet Londoners (2009, Keumsan Gallery, Korea), Arbor (2009, Michael Mazzeo Gallery, N.Y.), and the New York Photo Festival (2009 and 2007, Powerhouse, N.Y.).

Shown Left: Hogslop String Band, Harpeth River, TN, tintype, 10" x 8 "

Artist's Statement:
"I photograph musicians who are practitioners of traditional American music using a tintype process, a process from the mid-1800s, which utilizes an on-site darkroom and an antiquated camera which has been outfitted for the process. The tin is hand-coated and sensitized, exposed and developed on-site. My travelling darkroom is located in the trunk of my car. Parked within earshot of the musicians, my darkroom resonates with song. A lonesome banjo floats along the breeze, carrying with it the echoes of early America.”

Arts at the Airport receives funding for the visual arts from the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority (MNAA) and the Tennessee Arts Commission (TAC). The Flying Solo Exhibition Series is funded under an agreement with the Tennessee Arts Commission and the State of Tennessee. For more information about Arts at the Airport, please call (615) 275-1614 or send email to arts@nashintl.com.