People I Don't Know #7
Toned Gelatin-Silver Print15x15" Image
24x20" Mat
Artist Statement
I take photographs to allow myself and the viewer to linger a little longer within an image. I try to look for or create moments that are at once familiar, yet unexpected. The odd juxtapositions that we find in life are worth exploring, whether it is with humor, compassion, or by simply taking the time to see them.
I have been greatly influenced by the Japanese concept of celebrating a singular object. I tend to isolate subject matter and look for complexity in simple images, providing an opportunity for telling a story in which all is not what it appears to be. The poignancy of childhood, aging, relationships, family, and moments of introspection or contemplation continue to draw my interest. I want to create pictures that evoke a universal memory.
PEOPLE I DON'T KNOW STATEMENT
I continue to be fascinated with found photographs. For 25 years, I have collected photographs found on the ground. Recently I have been drawn to more formal portraits culled from dusty cardboard boxes in thrift stores or ratty suitcases at flea markets. There in an innate sadness connected to these photographs. Who are they? What are their stories? How did these photographs end up unloved, not with their families, discarded?
I wanted the images to be seen again, to be considered and appreciated. In order to infuse life into the images, I asked people of the same gender and approximate age to hold a photograph, leaving room for the viewer to wonder about the connection, to reflect on the photograph within a photograph, and hopefully recognize the power of our own images.
I feel a quiet satisfaction that these portraits get to be part of the world again, to be held again, recognized with love and dignity.
PEOPLE I DON'T KNOW PROCESS STATEMENT
This series was shot with a 55 year-old twin lens Rolleiflex, printed on Ilford warmtone paper and toned with sepia.
REGRESAR A LA REVISTA
