horizon


I saw a man pursuing the horizon;
- The Black Riders; Stephen Crane

I believe that man and nature can co-exist. horizon manifests my belief through the urban horizon line, a point of reference common to all city dwellers. The horizon line in nature is defined by the organic complexity of trees, mountains or a body of water. Our urban horizon is bounded by the geometric achievement of buildings, rooftops, walls and even passing trucks. My love of both city and country draws me to scenes where man-made and natural complement one another. That relationship is especially apparent when urban banal becomes extraordinary.

Each horizon image is equally divided between nature and man, a graphical partnership that represents my desire for balance between these two fundamentals. When the series is exhibited, this division creates a fraternal horizon line, bringing the horizon’s calming power right to the viewer. Each image is captured on film with a 4x5 view camera as its control over the plane of focus allows both foreground and background to be made equally sharp. The resultant flattening of the image abstracts the scene away from a pre-conceived reality and towards the emotive intent of the series. I print on matte rag paper as its’ velvet-like, non-reflective finish evokes minimalist painting’s detailed attention to surface, luminosity, monochromaticity, physicality and edge. Like the minimalist painters, I use these formal devices to better convey what I felt when I first saw the scene.

City dwellers leave behind much of the natural world, yet we can’t leave behind our need for that which the horizon provides.



close