project : Black Box

description :
This project is motivated by the scientific photography of Harold Edgerton and Berenice Abbot. I had considered their images to be "scientific", or "truthful" renditions of nature. I hardly questioned their construction and understood their aesthetic to be reflective of natural patterns. I learned, however, that certain images required hundreds of exposures to fulfill their ideal of nature. Edgerton's photography fits within the context of the history of photography and science as an extension of human vision in a Western belief system marked by domination over time and space.

The scientific lab bench, like the artist's studio, is a highly controlled theater for the discovery and creation of results. In the process of re-staging typical Edgerton images i began to introduce the process into the domestic sphere. Here I could conflate the process of scientific discovery with domestic mishap.

The images are carefully assembled so that the means of construction are readily visible. But the various props, tape and fishing line are not so prominent as todestroy the tromp d'oeuil that one desires in photographic surfaces.

All images are large format (4x5) color prints.


"Ping Pong Balls II"

 

 


"Ping Pong Balls I""Shooting Three Balloons"

 




"Gravity of unleavened bread"

 




"Monopoly I"

 




"Monopoly II"

 




"Dinner with Jess"

 




"Bubble Gum Study"

 




"Tennis Ball Compression""Prisoners of our own device"

 



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