Skylines

SKYLINES 2005-2006 

The series has been shot in Arizona, where I do a lot of my field work. Gray skies, here, are unusual. The gray is quieting; sometimes mysterious; serves as an unusual Arizonan, but also, as an effective backdrop. 

Color and form have captivated me since I was a child. I remember tracing patterns on the Oriental rugs, over and over again. My favorite puzzle was one of colored, wooden shapes, which if put together correctly would fit in the box. The shapes, the importance of edges, the way they fit in SKYLINES, is reminiscent of those earlier challenges. Still, so many years later, I am working that puzzle! 

The shapes in Skylines have that same kind of feeling. Something bigger than me. Captivating. Mesmerizing. Exhilarating. And yet, at the same time, gracious and peaceful. 

I have gone back to this place in Arizona many times. I can sit quietly. And, dream. Or, photograph. Try to capture the majesty, the hold, these Skyline shapes have on me. 

Color, elegance and line are a dominant feature of what I see and what I pursue as I look at life. 

SKYLINES is a very new focus for me. I have been working with edges in much of my work. Those edges have been on the periphery, often "bleeding" into the image partnered with it. I like the dialogue, which is created between separate images, when set up side by side. 

In SKYLINES, I am still working with edges, but these edges are an internal part of the image, the visual force pulling the viewer's eye into the central part of the print structure, rather than edges along the periphery. SKYLINES is a very different way of my looking at the world, capturing what I see, what excites me. 

SKYLINES has that same power over me. These towering giants are elegant, mysterious, seductive magnets, holding my attention, not allowing me to turn away. The lines within, I see as ladders that special, little people climb, hang onto, go up and down.  

The images are not manipulated. I use 35mm film; try to capture it "right" in the field.