MONROE - Dennis Manarchy, an internationally renowned, award-winning photographer raised in Rockford, is preparing to document American culture in the most incredible way possible - with the largest film camera in the world and a 20,000-mile nationwide documentary journey.
Manarchy turned to Davis Welding Inc. - located at N1944 Jeffrey Road, Monroe - to build the trailer to mount his giant 35-foot film camera, which he will use to capture the portraits of more than 50 distinct cultures across the United States. Davis Welding is also crafting the bellows for the actual camera.
"All these (other) trailer companies were not willing" to take on the job, said Kelly Bartels at the office of Davis Welding.
Davis Welding, established in 1982, provides complete fabrication services and custom-built trailers of almost any kind. Their more unique jobs include 123 custom-designed pigeon trailers, shipped to pigeon racers as far as California and British Columbia, Canada.
Pat Davis, the company owner, put Mike Bartels on the Manarchy project.
Bartels has worked in metal fabrication at Davis Welding since 1996 and is "well qualified for the job," Davis said. Mike's brother, Nick Bartels of Bartels Sandblasting and Restoration, will be painting the trailer to exact specifications, which are still evolving.
Manarchy's trailer is not your "run-of-the-mill project, not like a trailer to haul farm machinery," Bartels said. Forming the plans and getting decisions firmed up was perhaps the most difficult part of this project, he added.
"A lot of people have something in mind, and you try to capture their concepts," he said.
Manarchy's crew was "easy to work with," Bartels said. "They knew what he wanted, and he was open to suggestions."
Metal fabrication is a self-gratifying occupation, and this project was a creative, artful challenge for him, Bartels added.
"You take a stick off the shelf and bend it and form it," he said. "For this (project), I had to do a lot of thinking, and thinking ahead."
On Monday, Bartels was preparing to create the drop-down tailgate that would break open the camera to access the film plates and allow people a look inside the camera.
"(Manarchy) said he was asking people to open up their lives to him for this project, and he said, 'Why not let them into my camera, into the project?'" Bartels said.
The trailer order came in late June and must be ready to mount the camera and in Chicago by the end of September. In a couple years, after the nationwide project is completed, the camera and its trailer will be put on display in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C., Davis said.
Manarchy's project, Butterflies & Buffalo, "will be making 200 stops along the journey," Davis said, "taking photos of the last cowboys, American Indians, Creoles, old dairy farmers and their families."
Simply enlarging photographs wasn't good enough for Manarchy. His camera will be capable of producing images with 1,000 times more detail than today's most advanced digital cameras, according to the project's website.
The traditionally designed and functioning camera is reminiscent of the 1800s models but will produce unprecedented 4.5 x 6-foot film negatives, allowing for final print enlargements of more than two-stories in height. Resulting exhibition prints will be breathtaking 24-foot portraits with dramatic detail.
For more information about the Manarchy project, Butterflies and Buffalo, visit butterfliesandbuffalo.com.
Manarchy turned to Davis Welding Inc. - located at N1944 Jeffrey Road, Monroe - to build the trailer to mount his giant 35-foot film camera, which he will use to capture the portraits of more than 50 distinct cultures across the United States. Davis Welding is also crafting the bellows for the actual camera.
"All these (other) trailer companies were not willing" to take on the job, said Kelly Bartels at the office of Davis Welding.
Davis Welding, established in 1982, provides complete fabrication services and custom-built trailers of almost any kind. Their more unique jobs include 123 custom-designed pigeon trailers, shipped to pigeon racers as far as California and British Columbia, Canada.
Pat Davis, the company owner, put Mike Bartels on the Manarchy project.
Bartels has worked in metal fabrication at Davis Welding since 1996 and is "well qualified for the job," Davis said. Mike's brother, Nick Bartels of Bartels Sandblasting and Restoration, will be painting the trailer to exact specifications, which are still evolving.
Manarchy's trailer is not your "run-of-the-mill project, not like a trailer to haul farm machinery," Bartels said. Forming the plans and getting decisions firmed up was perhaps the most difficult part of this project, he added.
"A lot of people have something in mind, and you try to capture their concepts," he said.
Manarchy's crew was "easy to work with," Bartels said. "They knew what he wanted, and he was open to suggestions."
Metal fabrication is a self-gratifying occupation, and this project was a creative, artful challenge for him, Bartels added.
"You take a stick off the shelf and bend it and form it," he said. "For this (project), I had to do a lot of thinking, and thinking ahead."
On Monday, Bartels was preparing to create the drop-down tailgate that would break open the camera to access the film plates and allow people a look inside the camera.
"(Manarchy) said he was asking people to open up their lives to him for this project, and he said, 'Why not let them into my camera, into the project?'" Bartels said.
The trailer order came in late June and must be ready to mount the camera and in Chicago by the end of September. In a couple years, after the nationwide project is completed, the camera and its trailer will be put on display in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C., Davis said.
Manarchy's project, Butterflies & Buffalo, "will be making 200 stops along the journey," Davis said, "taking photos of the last cowboys, American Indians, Creoles, old dairy farmers and their families."
Simply enlarging photographs wasn't good enough for Manarchy. His camera will be capable of producing images with 1,000 times more detail than today's most advanced digital cameras, according to the project's website.
The traditionally designed and functioning camera is reminiscent of the 1800s models but will produce unprecedented 4.5 x 6-foot film negatives, allowing for final print enlargements of more than two-stories in height. Resulting exhibition prints will be breathtaking 24-foot portraits with dramatic detail.
For more information about the Manarchy project, Butterflies and Buffalo, visit butterfliesandbuffalo.com.