"The Number You Have Reached . . ."
30 x 48
Landscape, Interrupted
This project was inspired by a drive along Highway 37, a causeway spanning San Pablo Bay that links Marin, Sonoma, Solano and Napa counties in Northern California.
Because of the dramatic light and clouds that day, many structures that I'd never taken notice of before—a call box, a high voltage tower, a wind turbine, a traffic light—jumped out at me. Usually our brains register types of structures as scars on the landscape, but on this particular day, they revealed a kind of stark beauty.
In "The Number You Have Reached . . .", an ordinary, if slightly askew call box stands in relief. The monochrome palette, low perspective, overturned cone and heavy clouds leave us with a sense of unease: We're not sure what has happened, or what we might find on the other side of the concrete barrier.
In "The Hum of the Electric Current", a transmission tower looms over a placid range of golden hills, presenting a different type of tension. The foreboding sky hints at a possible electrical storm. In California, we almost reflexively associate power lines with potential wildfires, which are often ignited by lightning.