A
Third Nature was inspired by my fascination with an obscure tool
called Claude Glass. Allegedly developed by renowned painter Claude
Lorain, this black convex
mirror was used by artists to reflect landscapes. The dark color
and curved surface of the glass reduced unnecessary detail and squeezed
a complex view into a neat composition. The Claude Glass caught on just
as the British were reshaping their landscape into the Picturesque
style. Tourists strolling through the countryside in search of picture
perfect views would use these mirrors to capture the image of nature as
a momentary work of art. Ironically, as Thomas West noted, to reflect
such a landscape, “the person using it ought to always turn his back to
the object that he views.” On this, High Sykes Davis commented, “It is
very typical of their attitude to nature that such a position should be
desirable.”
The
picturesque movement represents man’s desire to shape his world into a
cultured vision of art and beauty. Here, landscape is manipulated to
look like a painting; the earth becoming an expression of man’s view of
nature rather than man’s true experience of nature. History, decay, and
disorder are all potent tricks of the picturesque gardener, giving way
to a knowingly melodramatic visual array. It is telling that we call
these views scenery. Like a stage set, the picturesque garden was
created as a site for the dramatic display of human experience.
My work is
crafted from paper and charcoal. The paper is formed using an historic
technique called quilling and adapting its highly stylized
visual effect. In
contrast to this, the charcoal is a representation of the real earth-
loose, messy, unshaped, formed through fire. Charcoal is known for its
ability to absorb and purify the air around it. In A Third
Nature, the charcoal appears to obscure and destroy an image of
ornamentation, while acting as a grounded and healing physical presence.
