Statement

The fixed photographic image has existed for nearly two centuries. The position of photographic media in the art world, however, continues to vacilate. The two major uses of photography in the mid- to late-nineteenth century were as a record (either scientific or to duplicate drawings), or as an alternative to the art forms of drawing and painting. This limited thinking about photography tends to persist today.

While photography certainly has a place in fields as varied as photojournalism, Hollywood motion pictures, and all manner of representational fine art, I believe that the related media of photography have something unique to offer, distinct from what is possible with other media. While traditional media, such as drawing, painting, and sculptureare neccessarily bound to the manipulation of the physical, tangible world (be it graphite, pigments, or stone, for example), film responds to energy in the form of light and heat. While traditional media operate via the application of oil on canvas, or the pressure of a hammer against steel, photography operates via the refraction or obstruction of energy.

I hope my work inspires people to think of photography in a different way. What new method of discourse can this relatively new way of seeing create? Photography has enabled us to see in ways we never could before. It allows us to bend and stretch light and time, to manipulate the very elements of what is arguable our primary sense: sight. There is a rich history of photographers working with in this vein, from Jules Marey and Eadweard Muybridge capturing motion in the late nineteenth century, to contemporary artists such as Adam Fuss, Susan Derges, Jerry Burchfield, Gary Schneider, and Garry Fabian Miller, to name a very few. I hope these methods of photography maintain their pace in the art world, and perhaps even be considered a distinct art form from representational lens work.