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As a performance artist during the mid 1970's, I delivered original text through recorded and live voice, and through slide projection ("Aces And Eights",1974). I also used photographic slides in a visual narrative sequence, an inexpensive alternative to film. More to the point, I enjoyed communicating narrative events through the aggregation of still photographs. This allowed me to play with, and present individual moments (parts) as well as the narrative whole. This formal deconstruction gave me a better opportunity to present the audience with different perspectives and interpretive possibilities at the same time that I was presenting a linear narrative; still moments as well as the passage of time, memories coexisting simultaneously with current thoughts, progressing towards an unknown conclusion.
In "Trifid Narrative" (1976-77), I applied these concerns to the text and the overall structure of the performance, as well as to the narrative photographic sequences. "Trifid Narrative" was an internal narrative filled with descriptions of events, self-doubt and moral questioning, scored for three performers. Each performer spoke an intense and incomplete part of the whole, each performer became an external manifestation of an ethereal internal conflict. During the first two sections of the performance, each main character delivered his isolated part. In the third section, the two were joined by the third performer and the three parts became one whole.
Image Gallery 1 (Work: 2005-2007)
In 2003, I began a transition into digital photography. This technology made it easier to combine text with image. It allowed me to gracefully deconstruct a photograph into sections, then enlarge, print and reconstruct these parts into a transformed whole. Once I envisioned the process, it became a matter of learning how to successfully transition from a performance context that revealed itself over the course of time, to a static construction in which the viewer took on a more active role. It enabled me to present the viewer with multiple realities that shared the same image in the same moment. It made it possible for me to create a still performance.
In many of these photo based constructions, I used texts I had written in the 1970's as a source, especially "My Darling Be Careful And (Lovely Bodies)", and "Trifid Narrative". The short stories are often united with rural landscapes within an enveloping formal grid, and are spread out over the entire image, thus slowing down and distancing the viewer from the emotional impact of the text.
Image Gallery 2 (Current Work)
In October of 2007, I began to photograph individuals who were sharing significant relationships, but instead of presenting them as a pair (couple), I wanted to see how their facial features compared when combined. I wanted them to inhabit each other's bodies to the fullest extent. Couples originate primarily through physical attraction. I was interested to see if and how this mutually chosen bond played out visually.
In 1974, I began to work with layers, whether through superimposition or juxtaposition, comparing subjective realities; seeing where they overlapped and where they did not. The structure of these live performances was always visible, and indeed, celebrated as an integral part of that exploration.
Likewise with these combined portraits, my goal is not to create a seamless third person from the two individuals. Where the individuals overlap may create the core of the combined portrait, but where they remain separate is equally as compelling to me. Indeed, the visual tension that exists where they do not overlap is perhaps an appropriate metaphor for the relationship.
Although this project is at the beginning stages, I thought I would share the images as I proceed. As of this writing, I have combined six couples in four portraits each. My intention is to shoot at least fourteen couples. As I progress, I will make decisions as to the size of the prints (currently I imagine them to be approximately 30" x 40"), as well as which images may be combined with text, and how many portraits will be presented per couple.
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