Light Bath Photograph - Limited Edition of 1

Color Photograph Mounted on Aluminum Honeycomb Panel. Panel stands out about 1" from wall and has own support so that it needs no frame. This work is a unique, non-editioned, print. Work is archivally mounted and has a protective finish - should not be hung in direct sunlight. These works are large-scale color photographs, archivally mounted to aluminum honeycomb panels. There is no computer manipulation or manipulation of the negative or final print. They stand as pure photographs, the recording of a light event on a negative. I say this because when first seeing these works, most viewers believe they are paintings. Even after discovering they’re not, they still catch themselves referring to them as paintings. This is quite gratifying as one of my primary goals was to make the final print stand on its own. I wanted the work to emphasize itself rather than the subject being photographed; free of the direct representation of the subject. As an artist, I have long had a love-hate relationship with photography. And yet because photography and its role in art cannot be ignored, I’ve increasingly incorporated it into my work in a wide variety of ways. My previous work relied on collage, distressing and manipulation to bring out the formal, object qualities of photography. While often satisfying, I realized those works were no longer photographs but instead were collage or manipulated photography. With the “Big Blurs,” I set a formal challenge for myself. I wanted to create works that were pure photographs; works that would emphasize their own formal qualities, without the crutch of any type of manipulation. The process of creating these works was spontaneous and playful. I randomly shot what was around me, without viewing or composing the image or adjusting the exposure or focus. My son’s room was a great inspiration; toys, clothing, window blinds, a plastic chair, a cookie jar – all were fair game. My goal was to show a playful disregard for photographic conventions. I wanted to stay out of the way of the process by removing direct intention from the creation of the work. I wanted to create work that existed in spite of and not because of intention. This allows the richness and character of the process, qualities, and limitations inherent to photography to come through. And hopefully creates objects that are both engaging and elusive. Excerpt from “Flirting at a Distance: New Abstraction,” by Jennifer Borders “John Philip Sousa’s works start as random photographic shoot—from-the-hip encounters with objects in his young son’s colorful bedroom, and end up as highly processed abstract images on aluminum panels. This work refers to the history of both photography and painting while stretching the conception of each of those traditions.” The use of the camera for John, allows the artist to use a “non-intentional expressivity” in the explorations. That expressivity then returns later. It is manifested in Sousa’s work through the use of intense color. A sense of mystery is roused in the work – being both compelling and elusive. “The experience of looking at John Sousa’s large pieces can be visually disorienting in itself. Because of the intentionally distorted focus, the eye tries to fix on something, to focus and rest. The work, however, continually denies this rest. The feeling is compounded by the large scale of the work. The presence of the work creates a sense of physical unbalance. Since a photograph makes us think that we are a witness to reality, we want to know what it is, and yet we are denied answers. No puzzling out of the image reveals its origin. Sousa is toying with our relationship to reality, to the photograph and to our own visual physiology.” - Jennifer Borders

Photography:Color on Aluminium

Artist Produced Limited Edition of:1

Size:48 W x 70 H x 1.5 D in

Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.