Northlight Gallery was founded on the Tempe campus by Professor Jack Stuler and MFA photo students in 1972 at a time when the medium was struggling to be recognized locally as a fine art. Now, over five decades later, photography and related digital technologies dominate contemporary art as well as our daily lives.
The Northlight Gallery collection was originally established to support the educational courses in photography. The collection holds examples of historical photographic processes from the
mid 1800s, including the Daguerreotype, salt prints, tintypes, Woodbury types, photogravure, Van Dyke, and cyanotype as well as more contemporary works in gelatin silver and digital printing. Photographic artworks by current and former ASU Faculty and students demonstrate the technical and conceptual foundations for the BFA and MFA degree programs and are an integral part of the collection.
The Photographic Exhibitions course was designed so students could work directly with the collections to curate exhibitions, catalog and preserve artworks and design and install shows.
This kind of hands-on experience with renowned works and historical and contemporary photography is inspiring and created a professional environment in which students apply skills and knowledge as they learn.
In 1991 an ASU alumnus who had worked with emeritus professor James Hajicek agreed to place his collection on long-term loan at Northlight Gallery to support the education of future students. The Solari Foundation collection includes artworks by renowned photographers in the canon of photography; Eugene Atget, Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Henry Cartier Bresson, Harry Callahan, Linda Connor, Mary Ellen Mark, Ralph Eugene Meatyard, Aaron Siskind, Frederick Sommer, Paul Strand, Andy Warhol, Weegee, Edward Weston and Garry Winogrand. Students continued to work directly with both collections, and in 2017 a catalogue raisonné of the Solari Foundation collection was published along with a book of featured works, which included essays written by ASU students and faculty.
The Northlight and Solari collections continue to serve a vital role in the education of students earning BFA and MFA degrees in photography.
