| Artist's Statement
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| by Jim
Ulrich
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The noblest aims of art, in my opinion, include helping people see the world in a fresh way
and through heightened awareness live their life differently. As a photographer, I feel I have been successful if, after seeing my pictures, people are more
aware of the incredible richness this world holds and open their eyes to see and appreciate it.
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The
subjects I am drawn to are both natural and man-made, and often
illustrate the interplay between man and nature. The perspective I
prefer is close up so close, at times, that the identity of the
subject is obscured. I frequently find myself holding my camera at
non-orthogonal angles. I avoid photographic clichιs.
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| Rather than trying to work around "imperfections" in my subject, I include them choosing
instead to accept what is. A dying flower holds its own special power, a scratch on an
otherwise smooth surface adds unique character, shadows give context and depth, and a speck of dirt
cries out to be appreciated too. Reality is not perfect (ideal), but it is beautiful
nonetheless.
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I believe sometimes "less is more": as a radio listener must use his or her imagination to visualize,
so my viewers must re-construct the whole in their minds. Yet I give them a rich treatment
to delight in and draw from. All these habits emerge from a view of reality that celebrates
texture, honors detail, and makes no apologies for contrasts or anomalies.
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Labels, symbols, and conventions are blinders, I am convinced. When people ask "what is it?"
I am afraid that if I answer, they will cease to see all that is there. Perception is selective. To stretch our ability to see, we must let go of what we
think we know. We see what we want to see and what science has taught us to see, but I prefer
my art to surprise and gratify precisely because it can't be predicted.
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| I look for beauty in common places (in the countryside or on city streets) as well as in more exotic
locales (botanical gardens or in tropical climates, on construction sites or in junkyards). But what I wind
up shooting when I travel as often as not could also be found nearer to home: close ups of toes on statues,
details of murals or other public works of art, the intricacies of machines, and
sewer gratings.
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As Sherlock Holmes said, "the world is full of obvious things which no one, by any chance, will ever observe." Beauty in all its manifold incarnations is one of those obvious things.
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