Photographer’s show ‘Naturally Reflective’
Published 11:46 am Wednesday, March 25, 2009
The natural world of the Northwest has been captured by countless artists and photographers over the years, but a current exhibit of photographs at the Lynnwood Convention Center treats the viewer to a fresh perspective on that natural world. Edmonds resident Ray Weisgerber explores the chaos in nature, through his unique way of imposing symmetry and reflection onto that chaos,
Along with five other Puget Sound artists, Linda Bergeron, Vivian Chao, Tim Cross, Greta Musland and William Turner, Weisgerber’s works are featured at the Lynnwood Convention Center now through June.
Carefully selecting subjects that represent strong visual elements in nature, Weisgerber controls the view of those subjects by isolating them or, in most cases, by manipulating them in a unique, symmetrical point-of-view that he calls hyper-natural. In either approach, the photos will draw the viewer in for a closer look.
Four of the six images included in the exhibit are from the series of surrealistic photographs that he has been producing for three years using a digital method for duplicating the image in reverse, and oftentimes superimposing the image on itself. Weisgerber feels the manipulated end results bring a kind of order to the chaos inherent in nature, losing the original subject to some degree, and creating a new one that challenges our perception of reality. They can also provoke an interaction with the viewer due to “hidden” faces or shapes within them, caused by accident in the process.
Despite bearing a strong resemblance to the hyper-natural images, the other two images do not use digital manipulation, but rely on Weisgerber’s ability to select and isolate subjects, helping the viewer to pause and contemplate the intricacy of nature.
