Tory Folliard Gallery

Nick Olson is an emerging artist who embraces some of the earliest forms of photographic processes-namely, the wet-plate collodian technique such as the tintype. Tintypes are unique, one-of-a-kind positives developed on thin sheets of metal. They are remarkably durable and coated with varnish. In the late 1800s the tintype process was the most common photographic process until the introduction of modern, gelatin-based processes in the 1900s. Since his recent graduation from Lawrence University, Olson has been studying methods taught by the renowned photographer, John Coffer, and working towards his Masters degree at the Cranbrook Institute of Fine Art.

In his most recent series of photographs, Olson documents the beauty found in dried flora in his Wisconsin Winter Still Life series, as well as American culture icons from his travels in the western part of the United States.

WISCONSIN WINTER STILL LIFE#7, Tintype, 7 x 5"

ROAMING THE BLACK HILLS, Tintype, 6 1/2 x 8 1/2"

WISCONSIN WINTER STILL LIFE #8, Tintype, 7 x 5"

CAR WRECK, Tintype, 6 1/2 x 8 1/2"

WISCONSIN WINTER STILL LIFE #5, Tintype, 7 x 5"

HOTROD GRILL, Tintype, 8 1/2 x 6 1/2"

MT. RUSHMORE, Tintype, 8 1/2 x 6 1/2"

WISCONSIN WINTER STILL LIFE #4, Tintype, 7 x 5"

TRAILER TRASH, Tintype, 6 1/2 x 8 1/2"