Challenging the Surface
Challenging the surface of photographs has been a lifelong pursuit for me. Pushing, pulling, rearranging, and repurposing found images from other sources into new compositions has taught me many things. In the process of constructing tabletops the resulting compositions end up with new energies and meaning. Images initially created for one purpose are made to serve a new purpose. By refocusing the center of attention and by creating novel relationships between elements original synergies occur... some intended, some serendipitously. My photomontages use one overall image as the context framework in which I add, manipulate, or create new elements that convert the impact and meaning of the image. Many times I will create dozens of images that lead me to one or to a series of significant images. It's like photographic sketching. Photography today, especially digital photography, offers artists an unlimited new language with which to communicate fresh significance based on our life experiences.
PLAYA Artist Residency Program
In 2014 I attended the PLAYA Artist Residency Program located near Summer Lake, Oregon, for a month. It was startling, it was magic. The collection of images above is a sample of work done on the PLAYA, around the PLAYA, and in my studio at the PLAYA. I worked straight, I used front-surfaced mirrors, and I created table-top setups and show-throughs. Some in color, the rest in black & white, my decisions shift like the light and atmosphere on the PLAYA. I am still digesting the images, thoughts, emotions and new friends I met there. Visual surprises were to be found everywhere if you were patient enough.
There is presently (January 15, 2015 through September 25, 2016, for more information click http://www.playasummerlake.org/auction.html ) an exhibition traveling throughout Oregon entitled, "Sediments, Sequences and Solitude." It is a collection of work done by artists, writers and scientists who have resided at the PLAYA. Two pieces of my work are included in this exhibition ("The Sky is Falling" and "Mirage on the PLAYA"). See Upcoming Events on this website for more details. For more information about the PLAYA Artist Residency Program go to http://www.playasummerlake.org/index.html
There is presently (January 15, 2015 through September 25, 2016, for more information click http://www.playasummerlake.org/auction.html ) an exhibition traveling throughout Oregon entitled, "Sediments, Sequences and Solitude." It is a collection of work done by artists, writers and scientists who have resided at the PLAYA. Two pieces of my work are included in this exhibition ("The Sky is Falling" and "Mirage on the PLAYA"). See Upcoming Events on this website for more details. For more information about the PLAYA Artist Residency Program go to http://www.playasummerlake.org/index.html
© 2022 Don Fike