Crossing Uneven Ground

Stones Embrace, created at Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in Arizona, was selected by the Racine Art Museum for their photography exhibit and acquired for their permanent collection.

The Racine Art Museum’s Wustum Museum has chosen three of my photographs for their “Wisconsin Photography 2018”  show. Additionally, they acquired the image above for their permanent collection.  

This year’s competition (they’ve been running this show every two years since 1979) features 110 photographs by 52 Wisconsin photographers.  The show’s awards ceremony and opening reception is on August 26, from 2:00pm until 4:00pm.  The exhibition continues until November 24th.  The address is: 2519 Northwestern Avenue, Racine, Wisconsin 53404. More information is available at the Racine Art Museum web site.

The images selected by the Wustum are part of my “Emergence Project.” 

About the Emergence Project:
In science, emergence explains how higher order phenomena “emerge” from basic components. The “wetness” of water is often used as an example. The individual components of water, water molecules, are composed of hydrogen and oxygen. Not wet by themselves, they express the quality of wetness when combined. I think of art as an emergent concept, expressing itself when several more basic components combine. There are three ingredients; the artist, the image and the viewer. When the alchemy of the three combine successfully, a new phenomena emerges. My photographs in this series evoke concepts in my mind when I make them. I find subject matter, often erosional forms and rushing water, bring forth feelings. Working in the environment, time suspends and I get as close to what I expect is a transcendent state. These are the photographs I’ve made to share my experience. If something stirs in you too..well perhaps there it is…an emergent phenomenon.

Click here to see my progress on this project.

Emergent Cliff Form – Drumheller, Alberta, Canada. I like working in badlands, areas of harsh terrain, like the Drumheller cliffs. Not only are the shapes literally “emerging” from the earth, but I see something evocative here, perhaps vigilant or eternal.

Evolutional Cliff Forms was created in the weird landscape of the Bisti Badlands in New Mexico.  I imagine these turbulent stone shapes could be the skulls of ancient creatures or the helmets of an army petrified in stone.

Photo Midwest is a competition that draws photographers from the midwestern states; Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.  This juried show selected one of my images, “Milky Way Over The Wolf River” for the exhibit.  This show opens at Madison’s beautiful Overture Center For The Arts on September 11 and runs through December 2nd.  There is an reception and gallery talk on October 5th.  The Overture Center is located at 201 State Street, Madison, WI 53703.

You can see more of my Wolf River Project by clicking here.

Milky Way Over The Wolf River. Photographing Wisconsin’s Wolf River has been a long-time project of mine. Click here to see the all the images in this project. 

The Coalition of Photographic Arts (CoPA) and The Wisconsin Marine Historic Society are sponsoring a juried exhibition titled: Wisconsin Waterways: A Celebration.  Photography that celebrates Wisconsin waterways can be biologic, landscape, recreational in nature, macro, abstract or portrait. It may include lakes both great and small, rivers, streams and canals. Work can reflect any of the seasons and all times of the day and night.  24 Photographs will be on display including two of mine.

Midstream Ice Forms – Wolf River. I often make photographs in the coldest part of winter when strange shapes form on rocks in the river.  I leave my shutter open for minutes so the water creates ghostly shapes.

Lightning on Lake Michigan – Donges Bay was made as a big storm passed over Port Washington. Its rare that I can photograph lightning and not get wet.  From where I was positioned I could see stars above the thunderhead.

This exhibition will take place at Milwaukee’s Central Library and will run from September 11 through October 9, 2018.  There is an opening reception at the library on September 11th from 5:30pm to 7:30pm.