Turning to photography after an early and extensive period of pencil work and oil
painting, my photographic images are informed by the understandings of the visual
world encountered in that seminal time. Early influences are also to be traced to four
years of residence in Japan; the aesthetic to which I was exposed still suggests to me
the importance of clarity and balance in composition and value.
Political dimensions have become more important to my thematic focus for the last
several years, prompting a continuing series of images stemming from trips to Cuba
over the course of four years. Cuba is steeped in images calling to the past. My work
has drawn closer to the quiet and evocative beauty Havana’s decay, suggesting
ongoing themes of memory and loss. Within an interpretation of memory there can
emerge encompassing issues of personal history and the way in which memory
changes perception as we look to the past. The imaging that occurs can become a
vehicle connecting the mnemonic world with the visual realm, a union that involves a sense of place
and a personal lexicon of desire for an earlier time. These feelings pervade otherphotographic projects I’
ve undertaken in the Bay Area. I teach photography privately and have conducted solo shows and open
studios for several years. An exhibiting member of The Main Gallery in Redwood City, California, I have
also given presentations at the Palo Alto Art Center. “Cuba: Architecture of Memory” is a recent
exhibition that offered images taken during 2002 and 2003. I have upcoming solo shows in Havana and
here in California and have participated widely in juried group shows,
but also continue to photographically explore sites that compellingly demonstrate the
strange and nascent beauty of forgotten places.
painting, my photographic images are informed by the understandings of the visual
world encountered in that seminal time. Early influences are also to be traced to four
years of residence in Japan; the aesthetic to which I was exposed still suggests to me
the importance of clarity and balance in composition and value.
Political dimensions have become more important to my thematic focus for the last
several years, prompting a continuing series of images stemming from trips to Cuba
over the course of four years. Cuba is steeped in images calling to the past. My work
has drawn closer to the quiet and evocative beauty Havana’s decay, suggesting
ongoing themes of memory and loss. Within an interpretation of memory there can
emerge encompassing issues of personal history and the way in which memory
changes perception as we look to the past. The imaging that occurs can become a
vehicle connecting the mnemonic world with the visual realm, a union that involves a sense of place
and a personal lexicon of desire for an earlier time. These feelings pervade otherphotographic projects I’
ve undertaken in the Bay Area. I teach photography privately and have conducted solo shows and open
studios for several years. An exhibiting member of The Main Gallery in Redwood City, California, I have
also given presentations at the Palo Alto Art Center. “Cuba: Architecture of Memory” is a recent
exhibition that offered images taken during 2002 and 2003. I have upcoming solo shows in Havana and
here in California and have participated widely in juried group shows,
but also continue to photographically explore sites that compellingly demonstrate the
strange and nascent beauty of forgotten places.
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