Words/Pictures
In my work, I have integrated my interest in philosophy, history, psychology, and poetry with the craftsmanship of photography to examine “reality” as I see it. Photography itself involves a radical re-framing of reality. Meaning is conveyed as much by selective framing and exclusion as by the included elements and their details, whether sharp or diffuse. For instance, human beings are intentionally excluded because I prefer to focus on what has been left behind rather than the evanescent contemporary conditions. However, human presence is profoundly alluded to — often through cultural remnants such as the ruins of ancient Greek theatres (see Tongues Turned to Stone), ancient castles and places of worship (see Sanctuary), the Berlin Wall (see Walls Rise, Fall and Rise Again), and Nazi concentration camps, (see Only God Knows Why). In the portfolio, Street Life, the stereotypical Italian street scenes are actually artistic installations referring to the past. These images all evoke the archetype “walls,” which is the foundation of much of my work. Archetypes are primordial psychological structures (values) rooted in the “collective unconscious,” a concept advanced by the Swiss psychologist C.J. Jung referring to universal constructs of the human psyche which are instinctual and beyond rational thought and personal experiences, e.g. the Mother archetype. Another approach to “walls” as mental constructs is that advanced by the French philosopher John Paul Sartre who said, “Existence precedes Essence,” that is, man begins as a blank slate, without any given values, and is freed or condemned to choose his values (essence), achieved by building “walls.”My photographs are also shaped by my choice of photographic process. These choices include: analog (film) or digital capture; alternative (historical) monochrome printing or color printing; and an individual image or a digitally composited one. I use alternative printing processes ( e.g., palladium, albumen, photogravure) to evoke both timelessness and the passage of time rather than to document the scene before me. Furthermore, human life is symbolized through animal and plant parallels (see The Way of Animal Spirits, The Way of Sitting Quietly). On this symbolic level, there is no difference between humans, animals, and plants. The flow of water (see Long, Long Journey to the Sea, The Watercourse Way) is a metaphorical depiction of the human journey. In this journey, transformation occurs both to water and to mankind. Each of these portfolios as well as my entire body of work is meant to be seen as a series—in other words, as an allegory.I have used Expressionistic, symbolic color in certain portfolios (see Visions in Color, The Stars Fall Down, First Do No Harm). The thrust of this strategy is to liberate color from its descriptive function of recording the “true color” of things. Color is thus free to be infused into the printed image in the manner of the the Expressionist painters. This artistic impulse is characterized by the use of heightened color to express emotional and psychological concerns (see First Do No Harm).In some portfolios, I have composited obviously constructed elements to add a surrealistic component. Consequently, images are infused with a dream-like amalgam of “facts” and emotion. “Documentary” images of Nazi concentration camps are blended with images of personal and philosophical tragedy (see Only God Knows Why). Likewise, images of remnants of the Berlin Wall (see Walls Rise, Fall, and Rise Again) contain both documentary and emotional/political elements. Thus, both photographic compositing and Expressionistic color enhance meaning.Some images include exaggerated and distinct photographic grain (achieved by a special, now discontinued film, Agfa 1000) in an allusion to the sub-atomic theory of basic existence — that the constituents of matter are inter-connected and cannot be differentiated (see The Stars Fall Down). The sharply defined red, blue, green photographic grains merge into various combinations. Falling stars become grains of sand that become shadowy forms that become fully formed objects.I am a photographer who also writes poetry (see Double Vision). Both photography and poetry require focusing on and amplifying the essence of an image. In a photograph, the image is formed by cropping a fragment of the world from its context and further developing it by the choice of process. In a poem, imagery is achieved by describing a fragment of the world concretely and in detail with the choice of words, rhythm and sounds.The psychological, philosophical, emotional, and historical themes that reverberate through my work include: sanctuary and refuge; fear, loss, and vulnerability; transformation, change, and timelessness/passage of time. All of these elements are universal concerns found in both Jungian psychology and Buddhist/Taoist principles. The archetype “sanctuary” represents hope and refuge in response to fear and loss. It often involve walls, both physical and mental, which may represent safety—or confinement when sanctuary is lost. In my portfolio, Sanctuary, this fundamental theme is explored and enhanced by using the palladium printing process to reinforce the timeless nature of this concern.As seen in the portfolio Tongues Turned to Stone, theatres are composed of walls in a functional form with a well-defined shape for audience, stage, and backdrop. This space serves to convey the Greek myths that are themselves archetypal and part of the foundations of Western culture. I chose the photogravure process to create a delicate, warm image that seems to belong to the past.Death is the all-consuming fear. In my portfolio, Only God Knows Why, the ultimate degradation and loss of sanctuary is seen in images of the walls and barriers (barbed wire) of Nazi concentration camps at Auschwitz, Buchenwald, and Mauthausen. In The Long Goodbye, the finality of death is poignantly examined through tombstone figures and inscriptions—the final remnants of a long, long journey.Transformation and change as a fact of life is a theme of Long, Long Journey to the Sea, a portfolio of albumen prints. Albumen printing was one of the first photographic printing processes. Developing and viewing the prints evokes visions of the past. I chose this process for its backward look at the forward flow of water—and life. A crucial emotional aspect of life is the sense of vulnerability. In a semi-autobiographical photographic project, First Do No Harm, this concern is explored in a medical setting. The operating room consists of “walls” that form a type of sacred space inhabited by inscrutable figures in sanctified clothing using their “cleaving” instruments. The surgical scenes symbolize violent incursions into the sanctity of Self.In summary, this body of work expresses in a visual narrative the human journey in a constantly changing and ultimately unknowable world in which we are vulnerable to fear and loss.