ARTIST STATEMENT: VESTIGES

Summary: VESTIGES is meant to evoke introspection about what impact each of us has upon
the world and those around us, and collectively, what impact all of us will have on humanity.

In The Mikado, the comic opera that deals with love and death, the lord high executioner sings about people he could easily execute who would not be missed. Although he starts with a satirical list of types of people who annoy him, he ultimately decides that "it really doesn't matter who you put upon the list, for they'd none of 'em be missed--they'd none of 'em be missed!”

Inspired by this concept, this portfolio of photographs explores what indelible mark each of us leaves behind. Ghostly, Geisha-like images, that are but remnants of a conventional portrait, are meant to evoke introspection about what impact each of us has upon the world and those around us, and collectively, what impact all of us will have on humanity.

Like Egyptian death masks sculpted to replicate the living rather than cast from the features of the dead, each subject, full of life, stands as a memento to eternity. Having experienced great loss at an early age and throughout my life, I have chosen those close around me as subjects for this exploration.

My work draws from diverse influences. I’m inspired by the theatrical world, viewing the hand of man and nature’s landscapes as symbols for drama, pathos, and emotion. From a painterly perspective, I’m moved by the chiaroscuro of the Renaissance and draw inspiration from the soft pastels and misty light of the impressionists. The work of the American master Edward Hopper speaks to me about the moment and a sense of isolation. In the photographic world, Ernst Hass’ use of color, motion and light is etched into my psyche. Minor White’s perspective that one does not create a great photograph by capturing something simply for "what it is", but rather "for what else it is" continues to guide me.

In making a photograph I work to capture a moment that reveals itself through an artistic impulse, to allow myself to be touched and to be influenced by what I see, to articulate that experience, and to illuminate it. My photographs reflect who I am and how a subject impacts me. I look through the lens of my camera and close my eyes to see.

Playwright Arthur Miller once said he was trying to create a poem from the evidence. And so I go, creating that poem in my own hand through my photographs.

-Lou Raizin