Severe Clear, 2014/2019
Chromogenic print on Dibond, maple frame, museum glass (artist’s frame)
43 × 63 × 2 in (109.2 × 160 × 5.1 cm)
Edition of 4 + 2 AP
“Severe Clear” is an aviation term used to describe flying conditions so clear as to be almost too much for the brain to process. It refers to skies so purely blue that you feel like you can see to infinity. The image is comprised of shapes meeting in such a way as to suggest a horizon. Historically there has been discussion about why gazing out at the open sea reduces anxiety. Viewing a vast horizon gives one a clear view of potential incoming threats, and time to prepare if needed.While gazing into the vast sea or sky of the image—an experience of depth on a flat plane—one may not realize that the scene was gesturally “drawn” into the camera with a beam of light. In the tradition of questioning what constitutes a photograph, and what constitutes a camera, Severe Clear is a trompe-l’oeil digital luminogram created with a single gesture of colored light onto an exposed, lensless sensor.
