Incidental



For these, I thought I’d landed on Unpremeditated for a title after a lot of struggle to find the correct word.  But it’s an unwieldy one with its ‘meditate’ crusted over by the barnacles ‘un’ and ‘pre’ and ’ed’, though it does convey the meaning I’m after: “not characterized by willful intent and forethought : not planned in advance“.

That meaning works on at least a couple levels — there was no beauty intended by the original creators of these walls with their pipes and cables and brackets.  And these back alleys are not so dependably high yielding in beauty as, say Muir Woods is.  Eduction was close: “to bring out (something, such as something latent)”.  Or distillation...

You get the idea.

And I considered resurrecting the name from a collection of photos I’d started back in the 1900’s using 6 x 9 cm film in a view camera.  You can see those HERE.  What I’m seeing in these, I first discovered in those.

In the end, I’ve decided Incidental works best.  It’s a good word, unadultrated by barnacles, rolls nicely off the tongue.  And its meaning is a good fit:  occurring merely by chance or without intention or calculation.

These are only a minor evolution in the thread I am pursuing in much of my work; all the same motivations in my General Statement apply here.


Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unpremeditated. Accessed 5 Feb. 2024.


Grain

These monumental structures are all over the place here in my  back yard — so to speak.  And yet it was only recently that it occurred to me to photograph them, when I came across the patchwork patterns on the silos in #22 and 24.  But I’m late to the party.  I remember vaguely from my own studies in architecture years ago that Le Corbusier was fascinated by grain elevators and silos, but I didn’t know his interest was piqued by photos taken by Walter Gropius.  More on that in an excellent article by  HERE by Catalina Mejía Moreno.

And yes, the same motives are at work in these as in much of what I do.



#4








Tag

So is this just another case of an entitled white guy appropriating the work/culture of black and brown artists?  Or am I a curator, shining the light of recognition on an art form not sanctioned by the ‘art world’s’ gatekeepers?

A hooligan defiling somebody else’s property?

(before you call the police, know that these are compostable, biodegradable paper and barely stick anyway.  They’ll be gone in a week.)

West Bottoms


On a walk-about, so to speak.  With this in mind.


Northtown in 3D!


On one level, the idea of photographing in 3-D is just a transparent gimmick to get people to look at my photos—like Lady Ga Ga wearing a meat dress. But on an entirely more sincere level it is an attempt to draw them into looking at what they might not otherwise, and if it takes something like anagrams and 3-D glasses, I’m certainly not too proud.

Besides, I find it pretty hilarious: the idea of presenting flat, two-dimensional scenes in three dimensions. And to heighten the experience of visiting humble Northtown, all the more so. Don’t get me wrong, North Kansas City — or as we locals fondly regard it, the “Paris of Southwest Clay County, Missouri”—is a beautiful place! But this is certainly no collection of kitten videos or gorgeous sunsets.

Painted


A coating measured in mils (1 mil = 1 /1000 in).

Some are painted to beautify, never mind the building material beneath.  Some represent an endless ‘dialog’ between building owner and graffiti artist.

Blind


I've written multiple ‘statements’ about this series, and changed its name (from Painted), but when you get past the rationalization, what the photos are really about is willful blindness.

Open


This has grown into a collection of spaces defined by architectural elements.  Not sure what it means yet.
So far what I’m seeing is the conflict between ‘open’ vs ‘enclosed’ and ‘loss’ vs ‘potential’.  There may or may not be any more to it than that.  After getting Near Grinders, I unconsciously began to analyze and rationalize what it was I was seeing and pretty quickly the ‘concept’ ran out of control ahead of the ‘vision’ —  the verbal half of my brain had taken over from the non-verbal.
So I’m examining these.
What you see here is a ruthlessly culled version of the original series including only those photos that most closely represent what my eye initially saw in that first vacant lot.  I hope to add more, so stayed tuned…