Past Exhibition

A Way of Seeing

Alfred Siemens
Apr 18, 2013
to
May 30, 2013
EXHIBITION
Alfred Siemens, Tulipan (detail), photograph

Photography out of the open door of a small plane – in aid of science and poetry.

This is a flexible, searching way of making images. It can be a prime means of exploration: it yields a range of information and suggests hypotheses for research. In fact, it has repeatedly launched demanding investigations. It is a fine way of studying landscapes, of sensing their change through time, of appreciating their aesthetics, their moods, even their rhythms. A lot of research is drudgery: not this. However, it must be preceded and followed by a fairly careful consideration of all available cartographic and literary sources in order to arrive at explanations of what has been seen.

The possibility of a “bird’s-eye view” fascinated earthlings long before the achievement of flight or photography. It was first actually realized out of the baskets of balloons in Europe in the late-18th Century and then developed in the 20th Century for the gathering of war intelligence and the direction of bombardment. As it happens, I was first intrigued myself when I became aware of the magnificent photography by British airmen just after WWII. They turned their skills to peaceful reconnaissance over their homeland and revealed a great deal about ancient settlements, fortifications, roads and agriculture that hadn’t been appreciated before. I applied it in Latin America, particularly in Mexico, as well as over my home ground, the Lower Fraser Valley.

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