Imagekind Gallery herzcophoto

Paris graffiti

I am currently working on a series of contemporary photographic landscapes I call “area photography”. The subject matter I gravitate toward is unspectacular, and the images are a mischievous reaction to “epic” photography. There is a tension between meaning and meaninglessness that is expressed in this work. This series is an exploration of the ephemeral, the peripheral. I am looking for the monumental in the yard: neglect's found aesthetic. Through the juxtaposition of spatial elements, use of color and light, and choice of subject, a sort of "discovered" narrative emerges, highlighting incompleteness as a condition of everyday life. In area photography there is no “decisive moment”: what is captured is a comma rather than an exclamation point. Others may see fit to “de-ordinarize” their imagery , engineering it to produce a fantastical effect. I reject this convention. There is both a sense of idealism and anxiety in this work, and it is my hope that both the beautiful and the absurd can coexist in this work.

Paris Bicycles

Pere Lachaise, Paris

U-bahn station, Berlin

Paris airport

Pere Lachaise II, Paris

L.A. River, Atwater Village, CA

Train set, Berlin Germany

Carnival, Berlin Germany

Homage to David Leventhal

in the Berlin train station

at the airport in Paris

Selling souvenirs by the Eiffel Tower

Night Window, NYC

THE INDECISIVE MOMENT.

For the last two years I have been working on a series that I call "area photography". The subject matter I gravitate toward is unspectacular, and the images are a mischievous reaction to "epic" photography. In area photography there is no "decisive moment": what is captured is a comma rather than an exclamation point.

This series is an exploration of the ephemeral, the peripheral. Questions are not answered; the story is implied but never spelled out. The images are not symbolic but merely present. The ambivalence I feel regarding the "monumental" or "significant" in art creates a tension between meaning and meaninglessness that is expressed in this work.

I work in found situations and with objects already present in the scene. Others may see fit to "de-ordinarize" their imagery, engineer it to produce a surreal or unfamiliar effect. I reject this convention.

The aesthetic behind area photography is ancient. It is in the Japanese tea ceremony, found poetry, flawed pottery. It is in the overlooked and the rejected. The periphery is moved to the center.

Area photography simply says, "What about this?"

It is wisdom that sees the ordinary with amazement." – Lao Tzu

Night, Hollywood

From a recent series of night photography, shot in the neighborhoods of Los Angeles.

"It is wisdom that sees the ordinary with amazement"

Lao Tzu

night, roswell, n.m.

THE INDECISIVE MOMENT.

The aesthetic behind area photography is ancient. It is in the Japanese tea ceremony, found poetry, flawed pottery. It is in the overlooked and the rejected. The periphery is moved to the center.

Area photography simply says, "What about this?"

It is wisdom that sees the ordinary with amazement." – Lao Tzu

Night Roses

From a recent series of night photography, shot in the neighborhoods of Los Angeles.

Burbank Hills

From a recent series of night photography, shot in the neighborhoods of Los Angeles.

John Wayne (impotent)

herzco_cat+hose

THE INDECISIVE MOMENT.

The aesthetic behind area photography is ancient. It is in the Japanese tea ceremony, found poetry, flawed pottery. It is in the overlooked and the rejected. The periphery is moved to the center.

Area photography simply says, "What about this?"

It is wisdom that sees the ordinary with amazement." – Lao Tzu

motel drama

THE INDECISIVE MOMENT.

The aesthetic behind area photography is ancient. It is in the Japanese tea ceremony, found poetry, flawed pottery. It is in the overlooked and the rejected. The periphery is moved to the center.

Area photography simply says, "What about this?"

It is wisdom that sees the ordinary with amazement." – Lao Tzu

angel on grand street

man with cane

THIS IMAGE IS FROM A SERIES CALLED "PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. ALL OF THE IMAGES HAVE BEEN SHOT OUT OF BUS WINDOWS, WHILE I AM INSIDE THE BUS. IT HAS BEEN AN ONGOING PROJECT OF MINE FOR SEVERAL YEARS....THE STATEMENT FOLLOWS.

¨¨¨

THE DARKENED OBSCURITY OF THE BUS WINDOW ALLOWS ME TO PHOTOGRAPH VIRTUALLY UNNOTICED, AND HENCE WITH A GREAT DEAL OF FREEDOM.

WHEN GOING OUT TO SHOOT, I DO NOT PLAN IN ADVANCE, AND I PREFER NOT TO USE AN "ITINERARY". THIS HELPS ME MAINTAIN A SENSE OF SPONTANEITY.

THE PURPOSE OF THIS SERIES IS TO REVEAL ORDINARY (DOCUMENTARY) SITUATIONS / PLACES IN A "POETIC" MANNER. I FEEL MANY PEOPLE HAVE BECOME SOMEWHAT IMMUNE TO STRAIGHTFORWARD "DOCUMENTARY" PHOTOGRAPHY.

SHOOTING THROUGH WINDOWS THAT ARE COVERED WITH SCRATCHES, GREASE AND GRAFFITI, (OBSCURING PEOPLE'S IDENTITIES AND SOFTENING THE OUTSIDE WORLD), I AM ATTEMPTING TO TURN SPECIFIC, IDENTIFIABLE IMAGES INTO MORE UNIVERSAL ONES. WHAT AT FIRST APPEARS IDYLLIC YIELDS QUICKLY TO SOMETHING ELSE .

I AM DRAWN TO WORK WITHIN WHAT MIGHT BE CALLED "CLICHED" OR COMMONPLACE SITUATIONS. A COMMON THEME RUNS THROUGH ALL OF MY WORK, ADDRESSING MOMENTS OFTEN TAKEN FOR GRANTED AND IGNORED....THE TINY DRAMAS.

grafitti out of bus window

¨¨¨

THE DARKENED OBSCURITY OF THE BUS WINDOW ALLOWS ME TO PHOTOGRAPH VIRTUALLY UNNOTICED, AND HENCE WITH A GREAT DEAL OF FREEDOM.

WHEN GOING OUT TO SHOOT, I DO NOT PLAN IN ADVANCE, AND I PREFER NOT TO USE AN "ITINERARY". THIS HELPS ME MAINTAIN A SENSE OF SPONTANEITY.

THE PURPOSE OF THIS SERIES IS TO REVEAL ORDINARY (DOCUMENTARY) SITUATIONS / PLACES IN A "POETIC" MANNER. I FEEL MANY PEOPLE HAVE BECOME SOMEWHAT IMMUNE TO STRAIGHTFORWARD "DOCUMENTARY" PHOTOGRAPHY.