Q & A x5 - The Process
You've built an archive of digital photographs which you use in your work... do you consider yourself a photographer?
I don't consider myself a photographer, but rather an "image maker." I take pixels initially organized by the camera and re-arrange and transform in both my literal workspace (i.e. my computer/software) and my conceptual space.
I was never very interested in photography and doing what "good" photographers do -- until photography went digital. I bought a digital camera even before most of my photographer friends, and since the late 1990's have been making and assembling what is now a large archive of digital photographs. Especially in the last 10 years, public posting of photographs (often from cellphone cameras) has grown tremendously. In the last 5 years, I have also begun to occasionally utilize some of these photographs available for public use (such as Unsplash) - for background and various detail in my compositions.
With some exceptions, the images I've taken and archived have been collected in public places and/ or public events, where my goal was to capture the images in a spontaneous way - to let the camera see, without trying to capture an “iconic” moment or the “perfect” photo. The metaphor "taking my camera for a walk" is apt, realizing that the camera will record a somewhat different version of "reality" than my mind does.
I was never very interested in photography and doing what "good" photographers do -- until photography went digital. I bought a digital camera even before most of my photographer friends, and since the late 1990's have been making and assembling what is now a large archive of digital photographs. Especially in the last 10 years, public posting of photographs (often from cellphone cameras) has grown tremendously. In the last 5 years, I have also begun to occasionally utilize some of these photographs available for public use (such as Unsplash) - for background and various detail in my compositions.
With some exceptions, the images I've taken and archived have been collected in public places and/ or public events, where my goal was to capture the images in a spontaneous way - to let the camera see, without trying to capture an “iconic” moment or the “perfect” photo. The metaphor "taking my camera for a walk" is apt, realizing that the camera will record a somewhat different version of "reality" than my mind does.
What kind of images do you include in the archive?
Over some 15 years, I've recorded what catches my attention as I walk: the built environment (architecture, interiors and gardens), "created" environments (especially retail window design/display), and, more recently, people in public places who are unaware and unconcerned about posing for a camera.
I don't look for a single “one-shot” image as I work, although my camera often sees and records amazing moments in time - moments in a reality that I wasn't aware of when I was in it.
I don't look for a single “one-shot” image as I work, although my camera often sees and records amazing moments in time - moments in a reality that I wasn't aware of when I was in it.
What happens after you've downloaded images from your camera?
The post-production work on the computer is a creative process, one of examining and experiencing the images: what they are, what they mean, and what they potentially mean in multiple contexts.
Though there are similarities to traditional collage/montage and assemblage -- i.e. declassifying and reclassifying material into new contexts and meanings -- the digital tools provide a powerful creative dimension to the process because of their great flexibility. With these tools, the possibilities are almost endless.
Most effective communication is structured with semantics, so it "makes sense," -- and while not often referred to as a way to analyze visual art by artists, presenting images also requires a semantic structure - a lexicon. My own lexicon is based in visual and spoken language structure. A definition from linguistic research well describes these: "a visual structure... consists of a strongly connected core, around which there is a kernel, an asymmetric grounding set, and satellites."*
Though there are similarities to traditional collage/montage and assemblage -- i.e. declassifying and reclassifying material into new contexts and meanings -- the digital tools provide a powerful creative dimension to the process because of their great flexibility. With these tools, the possibilities are almost endless.
Most effective communication is structured with semantics, so it "makes sense," -- and while not often referred to as a way to analyze visual art by artists, presenting images also requires a semantic structure - a lexicon. My own lexicon is based in visual and spoken language structure. A definition from linguistic research well describes these: "a visual structure... consists of a strongly connected core, around which there is a kernel, an asymmetric grounding set, and satellites."*
What is the process of producing these images?
Unlike the traditional collage of Braque, or the handmade boxes of Cornell, where actual clippings or other objects are reclassified and assembled into new works, digital montages are assembled - composited - inside the virtual world of the digital algorithm.
Retrieved from a archive database, processed using multiple algorithms and virtual tools, images are de-classified and reclassified with a keyboard command, to be eventually reified to the physical world - through application of additional algorithms - to a final giclee print.
In the end, its about the power of the remix - letting chance and intuition be your guide as you find, assemble, or other wise "put-together" objects and images that belong -- images that make a work of art.
Retrieved from a archive database, processed using multiple algorithms and virtual tools, images are de-classified and reclassified with a keyboard command, to be eventually reified to the physical world - through application of additional algorithms - to a final giclee print.
In the end, its about the power of the remix - letting chance and intuition be your guide as you find, assemble, or other wise "put-together" objects and images that belong -- images that make a work of art.
What is an archival digital print?
Archival digital prints (also known as Giclee prints) are generated from high resolution digital files, printed with archival quality inks onto archival papers or other media. To print sizes larger than my studio archival printer, I use a professional, fine art printer.
The quality of the archival print rivals traditional archival printing processes and these prints are increasingly found in museums, art galleries, and photographic galleries.
The quality of the archival print rivals traditional archival printing processes and these prints are increasingly found in museums, art galleries, and photographic galleries.
What do you intend a viewer to experience as they view your work?
The images I create are rooted in pictorial "space" - both three-dimensional "architectural" space and two-dimensional spatial illusion. The pictorial spaces encourage a viewer to enter and explore and in the process, opens up a psychological space, -- a contemplative space -- a place in their head where additional meanings become apparent. Because of their richness, one can enter many times and experience different aspects at each visit.
They are also about connections between literal and figural symbols, places, events. Though obviously not IMAX-type virtual reality experiences, they are related: in a virtual reality experience, whether simple or sublime, a viewer leaves their physical world, 'transcends" and enters the non-physical (virtual) world -- however briefly.
As I create these composed spaces, I experience a sort of transcendence. It is my hope that a viewer, upon entering one of my spaces, can enjoy the same kind of experience and potential transformation of consciousness.
They are also about connections between literal and figural symbols, places, events. Though obviously not IMAX-type virtual reality experiences, they are related: in a virtual reality experience, whether simple or sublime, a viewer leaves their physical world, 'transcends" and enters the non-physical (virtual) world -- however briefly.
As I create these composed spaces, I experience a sort of transcendence. It is my hope that a viewer, upon entering one of my spaces, can enjoy the same kind of experience and potential transformation of consciousness.