About The Artist
Robert Kawika Sheer, born in Anaheim, California, and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, developed a passion for photography at Punahou School in Oahu. He pursued this interest at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, graduating in 1985 with a Bachelor of Communication Arts. Sheer honed his skills with...
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The David Barnett Gallery is Wisconsin's premier gallery with the broadest range of art available in the region, including works of art that represent more than 600 artists. The gallery specializes in European and American masters, regional and nationally recognized artists and emerging artists. This gallery also offers museum quality custom framing, restoration, conservation, appraisals, printing, transportation and delivery. 
Artist: Robert Kawika Sheer
Price: $2,600.00
Medium: Photography
Ship From Milwaukee, WI
More Details
Creation Date: 2000
Materials: Chromogenic Print
Dimensions: 20" x 16"
Condition: Excellent condition.
Finish: Framed
About the Item: Artwork size: 20" x 16"
Frame size: 30 5/8" x 26 5/8"
"India Spirits" is a photographic performance piece by Robert Kawika Sheer, signed lower right and numbered lower left 34/250. The image depicts a shrine in Rajasthan, “city of kings,” composed of a large circular dome resting on eight arches. In the space beneath the four arches nearest to the viewer, turbaned floating “spirits” appear, reaching toward the top of the arches. They are lit against the green-black night sky and contrast with the copper-colored shrine.
Using a 4x5 camera, Sheer achieves the effects of presence and the passage of time captured in a single image by using a long single exposure lasting from forty-five minutes to seven hours. No digital manipulation or multiple exposures are used in the creation of his works. After the photographer opens the shutter of the camera, he enters the frame of the picture, becoming a performer in the scene. Because he is using low-intensity moonlight to illuminate the night, Sheer can enter the camera’s view without the negative recording his movement. As far as he knows, Sheer is the only photographer in the world performing this style of photography. Through this ghostly image, which the artist calls a “Spirit Shadow,” the photographer is a performer in the image. "India Spirits" is a performative event, carefully staged for preservation in the future.
Frame size: 30 5/8" x 26 5/8"
"India Spirits" is a photographic performance piece by Robert Kawika Sheer, signed lower right and numbered lower left 34/250. The image depicts a shrine in Rajasthan, “city of kings,” composed of a large circular dome resting on eight arches. In the space beneath the four arches nearest to the viewer, turbaned floating “spirits” appear, reaching toward the top of the arches. They are lit against the green-black night sky and contrast with the copper-colored shrine.
Using a 4x5 camera, Sheer achieves the effects of presence and the passage of time captured in a single image by using a long single exposure lasting from forty-five minutes to seven hours. No digital manipulation or multiple exposures are used in the creation of his works. After the photographer opens the shutter of the camera, he enters the frame of the picture, becoming a performer in the scene. Because he is using low-intensity moonlight to illuminate the night, Sheer can enter the camera’s view without the negative recording his movement. As far as he knows, Sheer is the only photographer in the world performing this style of photography. Through this ghostly image, which the artist calls a “Spirit Shadow,” the photographer is a performer in the image. "India Spirits" is a performative event, carefully staged for preservation in the future.
About The Artist
Robert Kawika Sheer, born in Anaheim, California, and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, developed a passion for photography at Punahou School in Oahu. He pursued this interest at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, graduating in 1985 with a Bachelor of Communication Arts. Sheer honed his skills with advanced classes at Santa Monica College. In 1999, during a trip to the Mojave Desert, he invented the "Spirit Shadow" technique, elevating his work to be exhibited alongside masters like Picasso and Rembrandt. His unique photographs, created without digital manipulation or multiple exposures, involve long exposures at night using a large-format camera. Sheer, often with his wife Ingela, becomes part of his scenes by introducing "Spirit Shadows" using a portable light and his body to create silhouettes. This technique, capturing multiple shadows in a single exposure, is unique to Sheer.
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