Scenes
As with the venerated television show, Seinfeld, this project, Scenes, is not about anything. These photomontages capture daily life; the panorama that one may see when they lift their eyes, focus, and accept what lies before them. Nothing more.
What does it mean to suggest that an art is not about anything (as distinguished from “about nothing)? It means that the author has decided to denude a work of those applied elements that attempt to direct a viewer toward a predestined perception; the cues, the signs, the directed visual paths that lead them to the author’s intent.
I believe there is an inherent beauty in perceiving the world in its nakedness, whether we agree with what we see or don’t; whether we are pleased or angered, joyous or saddened, excited or bored. Too often we are bombarded with prognostication, supposition, misrepresentation such that we are taken to mindsets beyond our ability to be perspicacious. To act effectively, it is better to have a material base from which we can initiate our action, one that we construct ourselves, not as others suggest that we do.
Please don’t mistake me. I am aware that viewers, as well as artists, bring a priori their own meaning/bias to any work. Still, as you can see, the deep space within these Scenes provides the opportunity to infill. Perhaps the lack of terrain will encourage and allow one to create a novel ground from which to commence their own refreshed project.
One may ask, why not just take, and present, an unfiltered photograph of the locale? An argument may be made that what I have presented above is most honestly delivered in such a manner. But such a solid-state image neither allows nor provides for the opportunity for questions, and questions are the grist of this enterprise.
Each Scene is developed using photographs taken from the immediate area that they portray. Images are selected from the array and collaged to capture an essence of their socio-geographical entity. Except for Scene 11, each piece prints at 30”x60”. Scene 11 prints at 48”x144”.
2023