Image as Metaphor - Juried show Ypsilanti, MI (opening Aug. 13th)

Excited to be included in the first "Image as Metaphor" show at the Riverside Arts Center in Ypsilanti, MI.  My "Objectification: Tools of the Trade" tool portraits will be my contribution.  Putting together the series was relatively easy as I've been working for some time on tool photographs for a variety of projects I have in mind, and the 'metaphor' aspect is intrinsic in the subject matter; however, putting together the artist statement was quite challenging.  Though I had some pretty convoluted ideas as to what I was trying to do, writing it all out came across as too intellectualized for anyone's patience.  Much re-writing paired it down to the following:

"Tools hold an infinite fascination for me.  The “tools of the trade” in the process of objectification are presented as three portraits, both as metaphorical and objectified images in of themselves. The juxtaposition of the actual every-day object alongside the photo image provides the opportunity to consider the benefit or the caution in objectification.  For me, this grouping is about the ‘process’ and acknowledgement of the role of the subject, the artist, and the viewer as equal and essential components in the conveyance of an image."