Murray Whitehill
Digital Imagery
murray@mwhitehill.com
Notes on the Series_
Abstructurals_
What began as an exercise in learning how to use the new tools in Photoshop CS3 turned into a creative expression. The more I used the tools, the more I realized that imported imagery wasn’t needed to create something. Obviously, I have used photos in some of the images, but in most it is just the tools. I have found that most of the designs are organic, start with a small block or two and the warp tool, and the work will take shape.
>Natural<_
The world around us. From leafless trees, flower shadows, rocks, to sunset/sunrise over the sea – the world is endlessly fascinating and changing. The most important lesson photography has taught me is to appreciate the ‘right now’, if one waits a moment, you may well miss out.
Mirror Images_
We all have a fascination with mirrors – to see ourselves, to look at others and to get a new perspective on the world around us. Some of these images are not total mirror images but use a mirrored image in the composition.
The Sculptor’s Studio_
These images were made over a several week period in a bronze crafting studio. This studio was creating a life size sculpture of a local man much beloved by his family and community. The studio workers sculpted, cast, assembled and finished the piece. With many thanks to Bronze Craft Foundry for Sculpture, Waynesboro, VA and the staff for all of their help, assistance, and patience in answering my endless questions.
Water_
Water is beautiful. It can take so many forms: from a gentle mist to a raging sea; a pond with ripples to a 300 foot waterfall. Of the images in the series, I think that Endless Vista has the most meaning. The foreground is recently made land ( about 40 years old, from a lava flow ) and the visitors are looking out over 3000 miles of ocean.
Compositae_
Because I can, was my first response to, “Why did you put that there?”. And the more that I put ‘that’ ‘there’ the more I enjoyed it. Years ago when I had an actual wet darkroom, I tried making composites. The harder I tried the more I was impressed by those who could. With the advent of the digital darkroom, it became relatively simple. But since it is, one is never really finished with an image. For the moment, the ones you see, are….finished.
Portraits_
For almost twenty years I have been capturing ‘us’ as we interact with our world. From the couple walking hand in hand by the raging sea to the single girl on the mountaintop rocks, I see people interacting with their environment. Too often, though, we are too intent on the task at hand to actually see ourselves within our environment. We should slow down and see what is around us, not just a quick look.
Highways_
We’ve all been on them, we all curse them, but we love them. Our whole culture is now ‘them’. They’re a big part of what has made us great and what may be our downfall. They’ve allowed our families to move to the far corners and have allowed us to visit them whenever. We can ‘shop’ for anything, anywhere, anytime. They kill off thousands every year and yet we drive more, further, and faster. We build them, we fill them, we don’t really fix the problem. Can we? Should we?
RESUME
BACKGROUND:
Bookseller, picture framer, landscaper, carpenter, photographer
MEMBER:
Virginia Society of the Photographic Arts
McGuffey Art Center, Charlottesville, VA
EXHIBITIONS:
SOLO SHOWS:
Brainerd Gallery – Bluefield, WV
Piedmont Virginia Community College – Charlottesville, VA
Grace Street Gallery – Richmond, VA
Campbell House Gallery – Southern Pines, NC
Wilkes Art Gallery – North Wilkesboro, NC
Wise Art Gallery, Norton, VA
GROUP SHOWS:
Mentor Gallery, Charlottesville, VA
Foxfire Gallery, Charlottesville, VA
Peninsula Fine Arts Center, Newport News, VA (2)
Charles Taylor Gallery, Hampton, VA (3)
McGuffey Art Center, Charlottesville, VA
Murray Whitehill
PO Box 60
Ivy, VA 22945-0060
murray@mwhitehill.com
mwhitehill@juno.com
Statement
I use photography to capture single moments. I use digital imaging software to enhance and isolate that moment from all those similar moments before and after. In some images I strip away all that is not meaningful. In others, a change in texture, color, or style will show the meaning.
Most of my imagery tells a story. In some cases the imagery is from a single photograph, in others, images are combined from several photographs. The series, Abstructurals, is an exception, they are constructs, mimicking the real world.
If you have any questions or comments I would like to hear from you.
Review
In Pursuit of the Perfect Wave
