"Ireland and Spirit" at Betty's

Yes! It's finally here! Of course, as all showing artists out there know, this last week is where all of the craziness sets in- framing, hanging, marketing, etc. It is nice to be in the home stretch, though.
Here's the grant (read:short) version of the artist's statement:

Photographing and printing the images from Ireland, I realize that there is a vision of culture. Does the fact that ancient, sometimes mysterious monuments are standing, mostly untouched, help to affect the way of life? Has it given the population inspiration to be a more spiritual/visual people?

As a photographer, I tend to focus on buildings that won’t be around long, such as buildings that will be torn down, or reclaimed by nature. In Ireland, neither of these seems probable. Buildings are not disposable. Being structures of stone, nature is certainly present, but only as an accent. This is something in American culture that really bothers me. Beautiful and useful buildings are often cleared away to make room for big box stores and parking lots. It’s refreshing to shoot without the pressure of the structure not existing the next day.

The opportunity to photograph in that atmosphere leaves room for a lot of thought. It has helped me cement the theory that when a people lives around their own visual history, they choose a way of building things in the present that can be appreciated by future generations.

Hope to see you all at Betty's, October 15, 6-9!