“… the most modern applications of photography … transform a human banality into a many-headed goddess” – Samuel Beckett
de/composing spaces:
Photography de/composes. This short statement is crucial to my project; it describes perfectly how in the act of selecting an image and taking the final step to release the shutter the image is taken apart. Photography decomposes the whole object into a series of objects, but in allowing the object to fall apart, photography also re/composes a human banality into new artistic forms. With this in mind, I have traveled with my old Pentax at my side to Spain, England, Scotland, and Poland to record images of de/composing worlds. Some are images of forgotten placards and advertisements, barely resisting (but resisting) years of weathering and pollution. Some are images of shop windows which appear out-of-place in our commercial age. Others are images of crumbling walls, revealing the history of a city. These images have been left behind – like a wooden toy horse left at the rear of a truck – composing a world most have forgotten or disregard as rubbish. I see in these images the determination to remain despite the inevitability of decay.
About the Artist:
Katherine Weiss, who lives in Tucson, Arizona, first became interested in photography in the summer of 1991 while
working on an exhibition of Paul Strand’s photography at the de Young
Museum of San Francisco. Working on the exhibit required not only learning
about the work of Strand and his contemporaries, but also challenged the
students involved in the program to learn the techniques involved in
photography. Katherine was one of the young photographers to be asked to
join a group exhibit at the de Young later that summer. Since then,
Katherine has taken up an academic and theoretical interest in photography
which has helped her to nurture her artistic style.
All photographs are copyrighted. Photographs are available for purchase.
Contact Information:
Katherine Weiss
Address: 425 W. Paseo Redondo
Apt. 4K
Tucson, AZ 85701
e-mail: [email protected]
