ARTIST STATEMENT 2007

PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION
From the Land:
Landscapes, Still Lifes, Portraits

This photo exhibition is dedicated to the memory of Toby Giacomini, Sr. I had the pleasure of photographing Toby for the book Marin Farm Families: Stories & Recipes.

The landscape photographs were inspired by a photography assignment that was art directed by my wife, Susan Bercu and facilitated through Barbara Ptak of MALT and Alex Hinds of the Marin County Community Development Agency. The photos from that assignment are a large part of the book, Marin Farm Families: Stories and Recipes.

While visiting the farmer and rancher subjects of the book, I became intrigued with the Marin landscape in an intimate way and began seeing it more clearly for its uniqueness; its pure California-ness; its Marin-ness. I never tire of seeing it over and over again, in the morning light, the midday light, the sunset. I have visited many of the places in the photographs innumerable times to see what’s new, what’s different. I am never bored, or disappointed, or feel I really “know” these places. I often photograph the same scene several times lest I miss something, lose something. Always, I am happy to have walked the trails, crossed the ridges, rested on the rocks, traveled the cow tracks and seen the hawks, deer, elk, coyote, bobcat, lizard and insect residents of Marin. This exhibition is about where I live, what we have as human beings and, hopefully, serves as an inspiration to protect and preserve Marin, California and the Earth.

In my 40 plus years of photography, I have employed many methods to make a photographic image. In 1995, I began using the latest technical innovations—the digital camera and inkjet printing. I have tried going back to the traditional, analog methods of film and silver print, but found them too restrictive. The shift of thought from analog to digital photography was challenging. However, since embracing digital methodology with the knowledge that the silver print’s time was coming to an end, I have reveled in the new technology and it’s exceptional breadth and depth of creative tools. Photography has been born again into a new era of expression and I welcome the fantastic limitless digital darkroom which has refueled my obsession for seeing the world photographically.

This exhibition focuses mainly on the last two years of work. A few older film based works are represented but all the photos are digital files printed with archival inks on archival paper.

Ken Smith
8-1-07