The Tree Alone (Black Ivy)

Comment

Comment by Resident Curator on September 9, 2011 at 7:57pm

Curator’s Comments:

 

The Tree Alone (Black Ivy) is a somber, redolent piece. The misty grays diverge beautifully from the stoic and earthy black tree trunks.  The repeated elements in the triptych also suggest a meditative transformation.  What could be timed exposures reveal brighter light and small mossy details.  The palest green emerges from the leafy trunk’s exterior, also reinforcing the mood of conversion and renewal.  But the diffused light in the third image also eliminates the other ‘figurative’ tree silhouettes from the background, along with the aberrant, bottomless shadows.  While The Tree Alone (Branch) appears to be in succession or a related suite of photographs, the former piece has a sense of mystery and longing by the heavier value pattern and shadowy ground.  Both works exude an incarnated, weighty dialogue with their surroundings.  But while Branch is formally constructed as an appealing motif, in my opinion Black Ivy is the more soulful image.