Staging Pictures, the artist’s sixth book, focuses on his working Polaroid prints, shot with a Hasselblad Polaroid back for instant proofing of lighting and composition of his subjects. The artist then transformed these proof prints into experimental works in themselves with addition of marks, color, scratching, burning and the use of mixed media. These Polaroids from the 1980’s and 1990’s lend insight into the working process of the artist, and reveal early glimpses of the subjects that inspired Stivers to create his fine art photographs.
“Stivers is an unabashed romantic in his artistic vision. He uses light, shadow, tone, and texture to create a visual tension to permeate his images with an air of mystery. As in so much provocative art, Stivers’s photographs put forward questions rather than provide answers.”
