Cinematic Language
Cinematic Language
When this work began in 2002, the world was confronted with constant images of devastation, war, loss, and our nation was left with a bleak and unstable financial situation. Although tragedy brought a large number of people together, it also created a divide that was full of opinions and outrage. We were constantly bombarded by horrific images that tested our sensibilities and our threshold for havoc. Everyday life was filed with sensationalized media coverage that fed into a fear of uncertainty.
Shortly upon receiving my masters degree, I found myself penniless, in Baltimore City, with heavy student loans, and few options for work. This brought a need for simplicity fueling a desire for unprovoked images that would allow the mind to rest. Unlike my previous work, that incorporated everyday scenarios of family and relationships with an element of surprise, this work was more about the safety and idealism found within an image.
My focus was on areas that included a human element or a moment when a person interacted within the landscape becoming an active component.
I was drawn to the way we alter natural environments to better suit our needs, mainly for leisure and pleasure. We add grass, hills, and trees, to create a golf course. We add paths to get us places. Light poles to add light at night, and porches to create an outdoor space outside of our home. I drove alone for days throughout Maryland, Delaware, North Carolina and into small towns in Florida; seeking out quiet places, with minimal people and and modern development. Cinematic Language is about escape, the search for harmony and the act of dissociation that comes along with it.