I use photography as the means capturing and rendering what fascinates me about my environment so I can describe what I cannot otherwise articulate.
I have been drawn to the process of natural reclamation as it stresses the inevitable return from our temporary and, from a global view, insignificant existence. Without constant care and maintenance, every manufactured object will disintegrate under nature's unflinching power.
I revere the detail in the bubbles, cracks, drips, stains, growths and crumbling that occurs. The seemingly random methodical destruction of form and structure creates patterns of color and texture that, when combined with macro photography and perspective, results in a beautiful and unique living canvas from a once artificial surface.
The photographs of naturalistic return were taken in and around Oswego, NY in late 2005.
In central Pennsylvania, there is a business locally known as the "chair barn." A family buys or salvages furniture and other miscellaneous items from businesses, and sells them to the public out of their large barn and yard. You just wander onto the property, find something you want and negotiate for cash.
The hanging and piled human forms I found in April of 2007 in the midst of a veritable junk yard impacted me on an unexpected emotional level. I personified and pitied the once glamorous and admired sculpted bodies left naked to age and rot in the beating sun, stripped of their humility and purpose. The anonymity of featureless torsos stressed the dehumanized nature of their existence in a parallel to my perspective of fashion.
discarded_decay can be seen at the Sugar Pearl Espresso Bar + Lounge, located at 600 Burnet Ave in Syracuse. The exhibit runs from Wednesday, March 5th through Tuesday, March 18th with an opening reception on Friday, March 7th at 7pm.
I am a PHP 4 and PHP 5 Zend Certified Engineer and developer for ProZ.com, the translation workplace. I worked for Campus Technology Services at the State University of New York at Oswego from 1999 through 2007, full-time in 2003 following my graduation cum laude from SUNY Oswego with a Computer Science BA.
I was selected as a recipient of the Oswego County 2006 Forty Under 40 award, and am a member of the Leadership Oswego County Class of 2007.
I founded the Oswego Film Group in January of 2005, a non-profit society that presented alternative and foreign cinema to the Oswego community. The group presented dozens of low-cost and free films, events and fundraisers to great public acclaim. As the President of the OFG, I developed and maintained the website and all publication materials (press releases, posters, mailing lists, etc.). I transferred leadership to another community member in the Fall of 2006 when I moved to Syracuse, and currently serve on an advisory basis to the group.
I helped form the Young Professional Voice of Oswego group in 2005 through active participation on their steering committee. I created and maintain the their website, mailing list and other supporting forms of electronic communication, and continue to play an active role in committees and meetings.
I was a part-time, then full-time producer and host at the WRVO-FM Stations (NPR affiliate)) from 2000-2004. Also, I was a member of the Executive Board of the student radio station WNYO-FM from 1999-2003; Web Master (3 years), RPM Director, Production Director (2 years), then General Manager. My weekly radio show ran from 1999-2003 on WNYO-FM, where I played electronic, experimental, and other music.
My resume and other supporting materials are available upon request.
email: whistler37 at gmail