Slow Burn: Undergraduate Photography at California College of the Arts
Slow Burn: Undergraduate Photography at California College of the Arts
In a world of constant distraction, undergraduate photography students at California College of the Arts turn to slowness as an antidote, expressed through labor-intensive practices and restrained visual language.
For many, slowness takes shape through experimentation with analog and alternative photographic processes—film, darkroom printing, cyanotype, and collage—and the use of non-traditional materials such as handmade paper or glass. These methods demand hands-on, focused engagement and an acceptance of uncertainty, as works develop gradually under material conditions that resist immediate correction or prediction.
Slowness is also evident in the subject matter chosen or in projects that cannot be quickly completed. Photographs depict quiet scenes—solitary figures, emptied spaces, and moments without obvious action—or embrace abstraction, resisting easy interpretation and inviting sustained attention.
Together, the works create conditions for sustained attention for both maker and viewer, embedding time in how the photographs are made and encountered. The exhibition positions slowness as a set of deliberate choices—about materials, subjects, and the pace at which meaning unfolds.
Participating students include:
Morgan Carhart · Sahalie Carnahan-Ramsey · Elijah Malcolm Henry · Jakob Jimenez · Christine Ortiz · Estella Mora-Lopez · Shaniece Minnie · Zoe E. Miles · Sydney Nordmann · Amylee Rachael · Benjamin Young · Ruoshui Zhu
California College of the Arts (CCA) is a private, nonprofit college of art, design, and architecture offering a curriculum of seventeen undergraduate and ten graduate programs. Known for its interdisciplinary curriculum, CCA fosters innovation, community engagement, and social and environmental responsibility among its students. In October 2025, the college opened its newly constructed black-and-white darkroom and photography facilities, providing students with space to produce traditional black-and-white prints, create mural-size work, and experiment with alternative photographic processes. In 2026, CCA announced that it would permanently close at the end of the 2026–27 academic year after 120 years of operation.
A very special thank you to Josef Jacques, Assistant Professor in the Photography Program at California College of the Arts, for his role in facilitating and co-curating this exhibition.
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[image left]
Night Moss 2025
Benjamin Young (b. 1999)
gelatin silver print
Courtesy of the artist and California College of the Arts
L2026.1101.015
[images center]
Tangled in the Bittersweet 2025
Sahalie Carnahan-Ramsey (b. 2005)
reproduction of cyanotype on glass
Courtesy of the artist and California College of the Arts
L2026.1101.032
In July 2025
Sahalie Carnahan-Ramsey (b. 2005)
reproduction of cyanotype on glass
Courtesy of the artist and California College of the Arts
L2026.1101.032
[image right]
Detanglement 2025
Amylee Rachael (b. 2001)
gelatin silver print
Courtesy of the artist and California College of the Arts
L2026.1101.028
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