Curvature
Digital Capture, Gelatin Silver Print
2010
Halibut Point State Park on the Massachusetts coast presents itself as both natural and unnatural. The defunct granite quarry reminds us of the foundations of the urban landscape, while living a second life as a place for leisure and solitude. It is this juxtaposition of two competing elements I find especially intriguing. With this work I find beauty in a place that is both defunct and full of life. Harnessing this tension, I strive to create a new perspective for the viewer.
At first glance, the chaotic arrangement and overall volume of granite is striking. The massive piles are intriguing, and I am drawn closer. Camping alone nearby throughout the project facilitates an intimacy with the land reflected within each image. In a quasi-natural setting, this work represents the unification of several areas of deep interest to me, math, nature, and photography. This series unifies different ideas, some premeditated, while others evolve through seeing and photographing. Initially interested in exploring the quarry as a leisure activity, I picnic, toodle, and dream. Over time, the stones’ shapes, tones, textures, and scale become an immense interest. I spend more time sitting, being, and getting a sense for the stones and their formations with my camera. While my emphasis on these qualities remain throughout, I begin seeing distinct geometric shapes, spheres and triangles. My natural inclination to uncover the order, even the mathematical, within the randomness of the stone piles emerge. As I carefully hop from stone to stone, the illumination of the “almost” emerges. Through my camera, I begin to appreciate what exists even in the negative space and what can be seen in the crevices rather than what is not. I aim to capture elements ‘almost’ touching, detail that we can ‘almost’ see, and stone formations that are ‘almost’ humanistic.
The title of each photograph describes some mathematical quality I either see or feel within the stone. As a former math teacher, the identification of concepts comes naturally. Some titles depict geometric characteristics within the arrangements, such as “Inscribed.” In this image the oblate stone is positioned to almost touch the exterior triangle in three locations; it is inscribed. Other titles refer to specific mathematical ideas that resonate such as “Curvature” and “Singularity.” Stemming from my innate tendency for order, the mathematical titles are a mere conduit for connection. I use them to add insight and meaning to my work.
2010
Halibut Point State Park on the Massachusetts coast presents itself as both natural and unnatural. The defunct granite quarry reminds us of the foundations of the urban landscape, while living a second life as a place for leisure and solitude. It is this juxtaposition of two competing elements I find especially intriguing. With this work I find beauty in a place that is both defunct and full of life. Harnessing this tension, I strive to create a new perspective for the viewer.
At first glance, the chaotic arrangement and overall volume of granite is striking. The massive piles are intriguing, and I am drawn closer. Camping alone nearby throughout the project facilitates an intimacy with the land reflected within each image. In a quasi-natural setting, this work represents the unification of several areas of deep interest to me, math, nature, and photography. This series unifies different ideas, some premeditated, while others evolve through seeing and photographing. Initially interested in exploring the quarry as a leisure activity, I picnic, toodle, and dream. Over time, the stones’ shapes, tones, textures, and scale become an immense interest. I spend more time sitting, being, and getting a sense for the stones and their formations with my camera. While my emphasis on these qualities remain throughout, I begin seeing distinct geometric shapes, spheres and triangles. My natural inclination to uncover the order, even the mathematical, within the randomness of the stone piles emerge. As I carefully hop from stone to stone, the illumination of the “almost” emerges. Through my camera, I begin to appreciate what exists even in the negative space and what can be seen in the crevices rather than what is not. I aim to capture elements ‘almost’ touching, detail that we can ‘almost’ see, and stone formations that are ‘almost’ humanistic.
The title of each photograph describes some mathematical quality I either see or feel within the stone. As a former math teacher, the identification of concepts comes naturally. Some titles depict geometric characteristics within the arrangements, such as “Inscribed.” In this image the oblate stone is positioned to almost touch the exterior triangle in three locations; it is inscribed. Other titles refer to specific mathematical ideas that resonate such as “Curvature” and “Singularity.” Stemming from my innate tendency for order, the mathematical titles are a mere conduit for connection. I use them to add insight and meaning to my work.