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. 

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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. 

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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.

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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.