Artist Statement
I am a contemporary art photographer, and my work is an expression of a more contemplative and abstract way of approaching photography as an art form. Whether I am focused on the natural world or the urban environment, I use a bold, dynamic visual style to highlight the mundane as well as the sublime, to participate in the transformation of the three dimensional world into two, and the natural into the processed.
My work is grouped into collections, which are created with both formal and conceptual considerations. Three of these collections- Postcards, Impressions, and Monochromes- are original digital photographs, presented in both color and black and white.
The Postcards collection is a search for graphics and meaning in the urban landscape, and uses a consistent visual vocabulary of bold color and strong composition to tie together a wide variety of locations formally.
Impressions is a collection focusing on the natural world and its never ending show of color, pattern, and beautiful light.
The Monochromes collection is classic black and white imagery, a combination of the natural and the urban, graphic and timeless.
A fourth collection, Cellophanes, use a hybrid technique of photography, digital manipulation and hand embellishment, developed to create more abstract and painterly imagery, blurring the lines between that which is captured in camera and that which is made by hand. These images force the viewer to question what is producing these marks, and are unique objects that can stand on their own as something other than a photograph of a particular moment in time.
Photography is an exercise which requires and enables me to be completely present, in the moment; to literally engage my focus on the world in which I find myself. The simple act of paying attention helps me to appreciate and honor the chaos and beauty of the everyday.
On a symbolic and more personal note, I seek out subject matter that evokes the idea of seasons of transformation- a world in constant flux; the end of an era, and what is next to come. What does it mean to make a mark in this world, what is the difference between natural and urban? Also, how a photograph can combine past, present, and future into one transcendent moment, which is of course just like every other moment, if you want it to be.
In the end, it is my goal to Make Cool Stuff, and brighten up the day of the viewer and maybe even inspire a new perspective on the precious beauty of our shared world.