Michael J. O’Rourke: August, 2002

  • ©2003, Michael J. O'Rourke

Artist(s):


Title:


    August, 2002

Exhibition:


Creation Year:


    2003

Size:


    32 in x 132 in

Category:


Artist Statement:


    August, 2002 is a large-scale print produced by combining several photographs scanned at high resolution and manipulating them digitally to produce a panoramic view of dense vegetation. The size and format of the image invite the viewer to study the work both from afar and up close. As we move in closer and walk left and right, we become aware of a myriad of details that were not distinguishable when viewed from a distance. The more we look, the more we see. In one section of the image, high in a tree and camouflaged against background trees, a Great Blue Heron perches on a branch. Only if we take the time to look very carefully, do we see the bird. Only with repeated and concentrated viewing do we come to understand the landscape that is our world.

    Slightly off center, an overgrown path leading into the underbrush is faintly visible.

    The composition references the traditional horizontal scroll paintings of Chinese landscape art, as well as the “all-over” paintings of the Abstract Expressionists.

    The print is produced as a mosaic of 8-inch-square tiles, each printed on a digital ink-jet printer, then sealed and protected by a plastic facing. The tiles are in turn mounted onto a rigid lightweight board.

Other Information:


    Additional Images:

    August, 2002 (detail)