Vue du Lac/Lakeview
The source for Lakeview came from a Brownie Camera box I found in an antique store in San Francisco, which contained hundreds of 3”x 5” format negatives. Each negative, taken by an unknown photographer, was carefully catalogued by location and year. The box contained negatives that were taken from 1929–1959, representing the work of a lifetime.
I’m fascinated by the idea that this unknown photographer chose to travel to such places as Germany, Austria, Switzerland and England at a time when WW II was going strong.
As the new owner of his or her work I opted to select what I think were beautiful resting views of large bodies of water.
The potential of an art practice that raises consciousness about perceiving the layers that are everywhere, and new ways of calling attention to the passages between the new and the old, of weaving the old place into the new place is fascinating to me. At the heart of “Lakeview” I examine and mark our transitory passing here on earth. I explore the perceived truth of the photograph, and how it is often used as a shield against death. One can summon up not only a particular person who may have passed from this earth, but indeed entire groups of people. By mining memories that may be conjured by a photograph, I can demonstrate the significance of the photograph to our understanding of memory, loss, history, culture, and place. History known is a good thing. History shared is far more satisfying and far reaching.