Today we went to go see Alec Soth's work in the Arthur Roger Gallery in New Orleans. His series is called "Sleeping By the Mississippi" and is a number of large-scale color photos taken by 4x5 view camera. I must admit that I love the concept behind his work. Mr. Soth travelled along the Mississippi River and photographed people and places that he felt evoked a sense of longing. Each image depicts either a person, or a place that shows evidence of human inhabitance or interaction. The scale of the photos, combined with the large amount of detail contained within each, provided for a graphically rich viewing experience. One of the photos that spoke to me was an image showing a crucifix on a hill in the middle of winter. The structure that the crucifix is attached to is actually an electrical wire support, with the lines moving down the hill to the right and out of sight. The detail of the image is such that one can even see a barn on a far hill and note that the upper story loft window on it is open, a tiny square of white sky seen through it. The scene gives hints of human presence, enough to make the absence of any humans in the winter scene almost palpable. The Jesus figure is white, like the snow, and the connotation of the electrical lines travelling out from it add additional depth of meaning. The entire body of work has a similar feel, with the human presence (or absence thereof) apparent, with some humor and irony mixed in quite well. It was a show well worth seeing and I would highly recommend checking out his works online as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment