Lee Musgrave
Land scape
CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW especially when I ’ m in the process of creating . On the rare occasion when I may feel a project needs to be systematic and / or overly rational in nature , that narrow approach rarely sustains me . Therefore , I rely own my better self … on my semi-subconscious drives to spearhead the work toward completion .
As to the ‘ evolution of my style ’ … I don ’ t think in terms of style . I ’ m more interested in understanding why I want ( or need ) to see an image evolve out of my mind and into reality . That said , when I start a painting or a drawing it usually will turn out to be a semi-abstract landscape or a surrealistic statement about humanities relationship to nature , especially trees . When I start a photography session I respond to the materials things in front of me ( trash or raw nature ). If I feel a need to just drift aimlessly I draw the human figure .
For this special edition of LandEscape we have selected Light Ring Caress , an interesting project that our readers have already started to admire in the introductory pages of this article . What has at once captured our attention of your captivating exploration of the aesthetics of visual composition and the behavior of light is the way you provided the visual results of your analysis with autonomous aesthetics : while walking our readers through the genesis of Light Ring Caress , would you shed light on your usual process and set up ? In particular , what are your usual sources of inspiration ?
As far back as I can remember , the aesthetics of visual composition and the behavior of light have garnered my profound and enduring attention . Whether created by nature or man , their ability to affect my since of self and place is still paramount to my understanding of life . My Light Ring Caress images venture into that transformative realm .
How this series came about began with my need to make more space in my small studio trash bin . It is my habit to crush or cut up waste materials before discarding them and often I throw some of that material onto a light pad just to see what serendipitous surprises I may discover . Often the aesthetic elegance generated by that chaos ignites my visual cortex , sends a shot of adrenalin through my veins causing me to instinctively reach for my camera .
By chance the objects on the pad on this day came out of the pockets of my favorite jacket . As a result , they were from several places in the world . For example , the paper doily is from Adelaide and the rubber bands were given to me by a child in Perth , Australia ; the large dark blue shape with light blue swirling dots is part of a shopping bag given to me in Freiburg , Germany and the large black rubber ring , I found on the street there ; the bluegreen wave like shapes were part of an ice cream cup and spoon I used in Colmar , France ; the green dot and circle were part of a deli bag from a market in Hood River , Oregon ; and the pieces of colored tissue paper are from London . I ’ m not sure where I acquired the other objects .
When I saw them all on the light pad their disparate shapes complemented one another and the light passing through and around them held them together in an engaging way . I photographed them then shook the pad to see if the effect still held in a new arrangement . It did , so I photographed them again and repeated that process several times … ending with a series of over 50 images .
When I desire to recharge myself , I go for a hike through the hills , valleys and forest that