The Concrete Irrational in Rocks and Ice

I photograph abstract and figurative compositions in rocks and ice. Abstract art from rocks was pioneered 60+ years ago alongside the development of Abstract Expressionism, by photographers Aaron Siskind and Minor White, whom I consider my forerunners. Figurative art in natural formations has appeared (along with abstract art) in the images of aerial photographers, such as William Garnett and Icelandic photographers Sigurgeir Sigurjónsson and Ragnar Axelsson, but not much has been made of it. Good landscapes that depict a particular place must, of course, be strong compositions. But when seeking abstract or figurative compositional content, geographic location becomes incidental. Such figurative images exemplify “pareidolia,” the technical term for the perception of recognizable objects in random natural formations (also comprehensible sounds in non-speech noises). My version of pareidolia favors the ironic and surreal. It embraces but is not limited to imaginary creatures, ancient ruins, bizarre fossils, grimacing masques, heavenly bodies, erotic fragments, architectural fantasies, grotesque homunculi, and ominous settings. It constitutes an in situ cabinet of curiosities—humorous, frightening, ironic—dispersed across the geological and glacial landscape. Salvador Dalí perfected an exceptionally realistic technique in his painting, which he put at the service of his rich and often perverse imagination. This permitted him to depict—and to celebrate—the “concrete irrational” in his work. This term perfectly characterizes much of my photography, and furthermore, as rock and ice, it is LITERALLY concrete. With a brain stuffed with the 20th Century art, I discover striking “irrational” lapidary and glacial gestures wherever I go. The figuration in my rock and ice compositions is often ambiguous. It may be partial, suggested, or juxtaposed with abstract elements, difficult to identify with certainty. I call this “liminal figuration,” and the natural world abounds in it, inviting the wanderer to feel immersed in a living setting, animated by one’s fantasy. All of my images are unitary with no image-combining. I do, however, edit them to make my vision stand out, but, I don’t require any viewer to see what I see; I welcome other decodings.