These proofs capture images, seven years in the making, that complete a series of experiments in using color, density, and saturation to create a coherent architecture of visual experience. Beginning as straightforward photographs of my backyard pond, they have been recrafted to create prints whose meaning is grounded in sensation. These are pictures of a world that has never been.
Each of these images is created with one eye looking over my shoulder at the initial idea for the series and the other at how to handle the specific opportunities the image presents. Often, a particular approach to the print surface is used to create a repeating visual theme within a portfolio. In this portfolio, for example, I have created the illusion of various textures across each print, with smooth and highly textured areas abutting one another.
The prints themselves are quite large in scale, up to 40 inches on the short side. Each has a lightly tinted border. The edges of the print are torn, deckling the outside edge of the tinted area. Each print is mounted in a shadow box frame on a plain backing board a couple of inches larger than the print. By using this treatment, the viewer is presented unequivocally with a piece of paper upon which marks have been consciously managed, intentionally distancing the work from journalistic reportage.
Manifestation: II lies within a broader series of portfolios created over the past decade and exploring ways of creating photo-based prints that are vehicles for sensation. While the various portfolios in this group have quite different in tone from one another, each is internally consistent and pursues that primary goal.