My work is about style and style begets something else. But before I get to the begetting, I'd like to talk about what I mean by style.
I consider my style as breezy meditations on urban still life. I use the word breezy as a way of saying laid-back or mellow. And meditations refer to simple images that you can sit with and contemplate. My compositions are urban because I live in the city of Baltimore and I take pictures while walking around the streets. And I use the words still life because my work generally focuses on a single object of interest without the distraction of people. So in general my work is informed by style, but how did this style come about? Let's get to it.
My style is the result of character, and in particular, my social personality, since all of my photography happens in a social environment; an urban city with lots of diversity. But let's break down the personality word-by-word.
Breezy. Yes, I am a mellow dude. And when I go on a big urban walkabout I'm typically under the influence of L-O-V-E. This laid-back attitude begets my meditative state.
Meditations. I walk slowly because I’m always looking. I’m also not in any kind of hurry because I dedicate a good three to four hours on the process. I learned to meditate back when I lived in Los Angeles in the late 80s. We (Elle and I) have five meditation cushions and four yoga mats so I’m always down for a good, slow asana. Elle even wears a silver turtle on her bracelet, the charm being a little momento I bought in Tijuana back in the 70s. So yeah, we embrace slowness, and meditation is all about slowing things down. When I see something on my walk that looks cool, I contemplate all the possibilities: the subject, the framing, the light, the surroundings. No rush. This contemplation begets a mindful sense of my urban environment.
Urban. Obviously I live in Baltimore, and the city is still fairly new to me. It’s been exactly two years. But another 40 years of my life was spent in LA and NYC. I know the streets. I also know that all my photos these days are part of my ongoing series of Baltimore exteriors so there are certain things about each picture that generally fit the theme, such as: no people, no cars and minimally banal. And there must be a sense of a fairly robust and diverse city as the urban environment is where I am most comfortable and being spatially contented begets my meditative stillness.
Still life. I have social melancholy so I avoid crowds and noisy places which bodes well for some of the thematic elements of my series. My innate uncomfortableness guides me to the narrow alleys and the lonesome side streets. This is my natural element, the places where I can meditate on the minutia.
Breezy meditations on urban still life: a style that begets my peace and happiness.
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