ARTIST'S STATEMENT

In 1996 when I initiated this body of work, I chose to create romantic, beautiful images belonging to another era with regard to the fragility of life. It was my desire to create a narrative involving powerful, symbolic meanings and representing varying emotions such as grief, peace, longing and passion. These black and white 20" x 20" photographs became a process of discovery for me. The images began to idealize, etherealize and in some cases, eroticize the embodiment of ritual mourning.

The theme of my images became a combination of the two subjects I have always loved to photograph: the landscape and the figure. I employed the Cleveland Cultural Gardens as my backdrop due to its european atmosphere, timeless design elements and exquisite environment. Externally beautiful and exemplifying a symbolic manner associated with formal, neo-classical elements, the figure in the photograph becomes a representation of a classically-posed icon imitating the stone-like qualities of a 19th century european funeral statue. Her idealized beauty is spiritual, representing purity, passion, and a commitment to her grief.

As my ideas developed, I began to search for a more dramatic and heroic composition, providing my photographs with a more eerie and moody feeling. By wrapping the figure in different colored fabrics I could project the specific feeling I favored. I photographed the scene under soft and indirect daylight to achieve the characteristics I felt needed to give me the ominous tonal qualities I required in my prints. Later I moved to a more severe and direct light for a stronger dramatic effect.

Several individuals have remarked that my images express remorse, while others have seen rebirth. It is my intent to have my photographs capture the reality of a moment, as well as a piece of a private, internal reality. I want the viewer to feel an emotion not always visible to the naked eye.

I often see my images as classically sparse and occasionally featureless, or to the other extreme: romantically voluptuous, barely clothed, and in some cases starkly nude. What all the images have in common is that they are female, and that they belong to another era.

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