\’93SEEN,\’94 the photo feature that appears on pages 2 or 3 of every issue of Birmingham Weekly, has proved to be one of the most powerful tools that this publication has for connecting us to the community. An ongoing open call for submissions of meaningful images, it represents one of our attempts to foster community conversation \’97 when readers become contributors, we all benefit from the deepened dialogue.\
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Of course, the ubiquity of digital cameras means we get a lot more SEEN submissions than we used to, but there are a few regulars I almost never have to call on because they send me pictures week after week. They are as eager to share their visions as we are to showcase them. One of these visual storytellers is Andrew Thomas Clifton, whom I first got to know when he started sending SEEN pictures in 2007 and whose solo exhibition, \’93A World Without Technicolors is Still My Home,\’94 opens on Thursday, Oct. 30, at Rojo.\
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\’93The pictures that really inspire me most are always in black and white,\’94 Clifton told me recently. \’93I do a lost of shooting in black & white myself because I love the way it forces you to imagine the colors for yourself. You have to imagine how green the grass is, how blue the sky is or isn\’92t.\’94\
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The photographer touts this as a \’93colorless show,\’94 but the conceit belies the intensive exploration evident in each picture. Clifton is riffing on chiaroscuro, scrutinizing light and shadow. His composition is so uncomplicated that the pictures are almost dull, and yet he saves them from dullness with precision of vision. His camera becomes a tender tool rather than just another standard-issue unblinking eye.\
The show at Rojo will include 4×6 and 16×24 black-and-white prints, framed and unframed, signed and unsigned. Eric Essix will provide live music. The artist\’92s reception starts at 6 p.m. For more information, call (205) 328-4733 or visit www.rojobirmingham.com\
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To see more of Andrew Thomas Clifton\’92s photography, including images of presidential hopeful Barack Obama, visit www.evolutionvintage.com.