Renaissance Portraits is a portfolio of photographs made from re-photographing reproductions of 15th and 16th century paintings with the focusing ring set at infinity.
The resulting blur investigates the nature of perception: the eye continually tries to resolve these images, but is unable to do so. It is my hope that, in the moment of visual confusion, when the psyche is derailed, the viewer may become free to respond emotionally.
The images are also a metaphor for the passage of time and the fog of history, creating a view of the Renaissance that could not have existed prior to the invention of photography and the focusing lens.
I believe the viewer is central to all portraiture; that portraiture is really about self. How one compares oneself to the subject is paramount to the experience of looking at portraits. By erasing features, dissolving personal affect, and eliminating period dress, I hope to create portraits that transcend individual personality and create archetypes for the human condition, allowing the viewer a different experience than they would otherwise have.
Finally, these images are meant to capture the light and color of the Renaissance in a new way, creating abstractions that are rhapsodies of color, meditative pieces, glimpses into a world beyond our focus, beyond our ken.
