Local Artist Showcase — The Bizarre and The Sublime
I participated in a Local Artist Showcase at Cobblestone Arts Center in 2020, from June 1 to July 19. It was the first major public showing of my work. I sought to share a vision of beauty and interest that stretched from the bizarre to the sublime, pulling from the restless energy of urban environments to the dynamism of the wilderness. Work by local artists Jeanette Hernandez and Benji Carr were also showcased.
I included abstract photo-composites in which I sought to examine how we apply the gloss of understanding to what we see and which often creates unexpected connections. I sought to visualize how we construct our understanding of the world in surprising ways, even if only momentarily, as our experience falls inward. I included some of my first forays into visual abstraction created by intentional camera movement and long exposures. These especially included abstract street images from New York City.
I contrasted these images with vivid black and white photos from the oak hammocks along the Myakka River in Florida. In these, I sought to give expression to the remarkable rhythms of this habitat; and to express how its luxuriant growth and trees were an irrepressible dance of life. I also included black and white photos from the ceremonial fire in the Festival of Lights on Genundowa—Bare Hill. With these, I sought to illustrate how the visualization of figures—spirits of the fire—can arise and emerge from the ordinary combustion of wood, connecting us to earlier times of pyromancy and divination.
