PHOTOGRAPHY WESTERN WILDLIFE series
The Western Wildlife Series, like much of my work, is inspired by my travel. In this case, the daily image of squished bugs on my windshield began to take on a new dimension for me. I was aware of their color and accidental compositional displays against the blurred backdrop of landscapes and cityscapes and began photographing them in the early-1990s.
At first I sent them as postcards to friends with headings such as Wyoming Wildlife, New Mexico Wildlife, and so on. I have always been intrigued by the duality of attraction and repulsion, as expressed in images with an 'ugly delicacy' (as coined by Eva Hesse) and 'terrible beauty' (as coined by William Butler Yeats). For me, these little bugs became excellent manifestations of this concept. I work with them as art images, but still like to send them as postcards on occasion.
At first I sent them as postcards to friends with headings such as Wyoming Wildlife, New Mexico Wildlife, and so on. I have always been intrigued by the duality of attraction and repulsion, as expressed in images with an 'ugly delicacy' (as coined by Eva Hesse) and 'terrible beauty' (as coined by William Butler Yeats). For me, these little bugs became excellent manifestations of this concept. I work with them as art images, but still like to send them as postcards on occasion.