The Center for Creative Imaging (CCI) was a short-lived education and training center located in the renovated Knox Mill complex in

Camden, Maine Camden is a town in Knox County, Maine, United States. The population was 5,232 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The population of the town more than triples during the summer months, due to tourists and summer residents. Camden is ...

from about 1991 to 1994. It was an

Eastman Kodak Company The Eastman Kodak Company, referred to simply as Kodak (), is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in film photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorporated i ...

facility designed to teach digital imaging and related subject matter to artists, design professionals, photographers, and production staff. The 27,000 square foot (2,500 m²) facility sat on the Megunticook River, and contained what was then state-of-the-art equipment, including over 100 high-end Apple

Macintosh IIfx The Macintosh IIfx is a personal computer designed, manufactured and sold by Apple Computer from March 1990 to April 1992. At introduction it cost from to , depending on configuration, and it was the fastest Macintosh available at the time. ...

computers, hard drives of up to 500 Mb of storage per machine, large displays, and an array of scanners, digital cameras, and output devices. Classes ran from one to five days in length, generally three, and covered digital imaging areas like publishing, photography, and illustration. Several invitational and special events brought artists and experts like Paul Davis,

Milton Glaser Milton Glaser (June 26, 1929June 26, 2020) was an American graphic designer, recognized for his designs, including the I Love New York logo; a 1966 poster for Bob Dylan; the logos for DC Comics, Stony Brook University, Brooklyn Brewery; and his ...

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, and dozens of others to lecture and teach. Many of the leading photographers of the day using cutting-edge digital techniques taught there; other well-known artists came to take classes. The

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

"Man of the Year" cover for 1991 of

Ted Turner Robert Edward Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American entrepreneur, television producer, media proprietor, and Philanthropy, philanthropist. He founded the CNN, Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour United States cable news, ...

was assembled by photographer Greg Heisler at the CCI with the assistance of staff. The creation of the cover took long enough to nearly delay the printing of the issue. Kodak chose to sell the CCI in 1993 to a local businessman who, without the vast resources of a multinational company behind him, was unable to transform it into a profitable teaching facility, despite expanding its focus to include conventional photography in competition with the long-running Maine Photographic Workshops down the road in

Rockport, Maine Rockport is a town in Knox County, Maine, United States. It is 35 miles (56.3 km) southeast of Augusta. The population was 3,644 at the 2020 census. Rockport is a popular tourist destination and art colony. History Rockport, or "the River ...

. The CCI's building was purchased by

MBNA MBNA Corporation was a bank holding company and parent company of wholly owned subsidiary MBNA America Bank, N.A., headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, prior to being acquired by Bank of America in 2006. History The former Maryland National ...

, the credit card company. All of the fixtures, including polished granite and hardwoods, were removed, and the brickwork and exterior of the building were painted the drab gray and green corporate colors. MBNA left Camden before its merger with Bank of America in 2005. The CCI is still remembered around Camden quite well, as many people from the area had jobs there as teaching assistants and other staff, and many locals took classes and changed their careers. Many dozens of expensive

Steelcase Steelcase Inc. is an international manufacturer of furniture, casegoods, seating, and storage and partitioning systems for offices, hospitals, classrooms, and residential interiors. It is headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. ...

chairs, even after more than a decade, could still be found throughout local businesses who bought them at the closing sale.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Center For Creative Imaging Education in Knox County, Maine Maine culture