Week 52 - 2019
Elaine Mayes, 4th of July, 1978. Belongs to the Preus Musuem Collection
Heavenly painting of light
Preus Museum wish you all a Happy New Year with this firework photography. Elaine Mayes (1936-) is an American photographer and retired professor. Her main focus throughout her career has been to investigate methods of ‘seeing’. How do you perceive an image? Because we look at this picture now, towards the end of the year, we will quickly interpret it as a photo from New Years Eve, even though it's actually from the American celebration of Independence Day on the 4th of July. It's quite accurately the opposite season of which were are currently in.
Photography allows us to see what the eye cannot. Here we get to see the orbit of each individual spark from the explosion, like long white lines of light against the black night sky and the dark walls of the city. The long exposure time creates a light painting effect, and we can also observe the interior within a few of the cities illuminated windows. Who lives there? What we see is framed by our own experiences and histories, and this includes our overall interpretation of it.
Welcome, and do follow the photo museum and the pictures we’ll share throughout the next year!