Robert Bolla
As a photographer, Robert considers himself a storyteller. That is, he wants his photos to be a story for the viewer to read through their imagination, notice what see in the photo and what lies behind what they see.
Although Robert has had some mentoring in specific areas, he is primarily self-taught. During his career as a biologist, he used photography, including electron microscopy and image analysis, in his teaching and research.
After retirement, Robert moved into the digital world to continue as a photographic storyteller. He has two main interests; teaching the relationship of the arts and sciences and showing how people and cultures are different yet the same. While he has traveled extensively as a street photographer, he also photographs wildlife, nature, and landscape. Sometimes, he uses the digital darkroom to create digital paintings from digital photos to better tell the story he wants the viewer to read.
Most recently, one of his goals is to use photography to show that even though cultures may differ, they also are much the same and that we should see this sameness as we address worldly issues. He tries to show this through the photography of indigenous peoples in their native culture, involved in their daily tasks of living. Inspired by the photographic technique used by Edward Curtis and his contemporaries to capture the story and history of Native Americans, Robert now uses the orotype or gold type photograph to bring the viewer’s eye to the main element of the photograph. This opens the imagination to the viewer's reading of the story being told.
Robert competes in local, national, and international multimedia art juried competitions for on-line and physical gallery exhibitions, including the 2022 exhibit at the International Photographic Hall of Fame and Museum. His work has been in solo and curated exhibits at the St. Louis Artist Guild, Buder Library and Maryland Heights, Bradley University, Renaissance Hotel, Soulard Coffee Garden and EuroBiotech in Poznan, Poland. He is a featured artist in Camelback Galleries, a solo artist at Fusion Art Galleries, and Artist of the Month at Gallery Ring online galleries. He has also served on the Board of Directors for Manchester Arts.
