Faces of architecture

Walk into the Favrot Lobby of Richardson Memorial Hall, home of the Tulane University School of Architecture, and you can"t help but notice the grouping of photographs hanging between the two staircases.

There are 120 photos to be exact, all current architecture students, each one representing 120 years since the School of Architecture began offering its first courses under the direction of professor William Woodward.

“The project attempts to capture a panorama of the Tulane School of Architecture for its 120th anniversary.”—David Armentor, digital media specialist

The portraiture, created in a 19th century style called tintype, is the brainchild of David Armentor, a digital imaging specialist at the School of Architecture. With a grant from the Dean"s Fund for Excellence, he spent the past year putting together “Don"t Break the Exacto Knife,” which will be on view through Dec. 13. An opening reception will take place Monday (Nov. 17) from 5 until 6 p.m.

“The project attempts to capture a panorama of the Tulane School of Architecture for its 120th anniversary by creating individual formal collodion portraits of 120 students who currently occupy its space,” Armentor said.

The collodion medium, also known as tintype, is one of the earliest photographic processes and incorporates the use of various chemicals and metal plates to give the images their vintage appearances.

“Think Civil War and Abraham Lincoln,” Armentor said.

“The idea of photographing a school as well as how architecture students are taught to view and use processes was very much in mind when this medium was chosen as the sole capture technique,” he said. “The aesthetic range of the final images shows the technical learning curve and allowed me to create a visual dictionary of the process"s break down.”

In keeping with more contemporary traditions, Armentor added a QR code that enables viewers with a code reader app on their smartphones to learn more about the students included in the portraiture.