Spring 2013, Volume 14

From the Art Editor

Ever fallen for a new city just because the right person was showing you around?  I am pleased to present the artwork of Beth Kerschen as an example of how a medium we know, photography, can be used to picture a place we've probably already seen a lot of images of, Portland, Oregon, in such a way that it is new, inviting and personal.  Technique and subject matter cooperate with her intelligence about designing composite images to shape her own stories of her town.  She is aware of the history of panoramic photographs of the American west and of David Hockney's polaroid composite landscapes—but not slavish or just mimicking either of those.  She is serious and strong enough to include a bit of whimsy like the smokestack appearing to spew clouds of (The) Chapman Swifts and the quiet smile-shape of the composite image in Captured by Alberta.

 

                                                                                                 — Jack Miller