Artist Statement

“The job of the artist is to deepen the mystery.” ~ Sir Francis Bacon

For me a straight photograph is rarely enough to capture the essence of what I am seeking to express. Don’t get me wrong. I have a deep appreciation for the pure photograph as art. I think that Dorothea Lange or Ansel Adams or Edward Weston are extraordinary artists and a “simple” color or black and white image can have the impact or beauty of any great work of art. However, for me I generally want to make the art of creating an image a process that goes beyond the simple art form to what I have termed a “dreamlike quintessentialism” designed to spark an emotional response from the viewer. Even now as the words escape my figurative lips they seem contrived, arrogant – an affectation. Yet, for the life of me I can’t find a more apt way to explain either the process or the outcome when I undertake to create an image. Perhaps it is a measure of my own failing as an artist. The fact that I can only rarely capture an image that I find satisfying without my intervention.

 Often when looking to create an impact I find myself torn between trying to disguise my treachery and flaunting it. Sometimes I choose to disguise it and sometimes I chose to flaunt it – ignoring perfect straight lines and making them rough and imperfect. It usually works for me, it may not work for you or you may find it as compelling as do I.

 That’s what makes the world an interesting place and that’s what achieves dreamlike quintessentialism in my own universe.

 “Spring’s Dance of Form” is an image that rises to this level. Perhaps that is why it was chosen by the Bauhaus Prairie Gallery for the honor of 1st place in their 2018 Still Life Competition. On the day I photographed the Skunk Cabbage that became Spring’s Dance it was the first real warm day in the shadow of Rattlesnake Ridge in New Hampshire where I live. Anyone who goes out on that first warm day will find almost nothing growing . . . nothing, that is, except Skunk Cabbage which has thrust it’s green leaves into the cool spring air. While its color does indeed provide a stark contrast to the browns, beiges and muted greens of the landscape the color is less important than the form. Not to say that I didn’t try by creating an image titled “Spring’s First Blossom” which creates an image where color is equally important to form. Yet the simplicity of Spring’s Dance makes it both more simple, pure and stunning at the same time makes it more compelling still.

Biography – Publications

Books & Columns:
New: *Sacred Trust, a Novel*
“The Monkey Wrench Gang Meets the Third Industrial Revolution”

https://thesacredtrust.blogspot.com/

Asquamchumaukee – Place of Mountain Waters

A Spot on the Porch – Rumney at 250

Washday – An Homage to Humanity’s Shared Tradition

The View from Rattlesnake Ridge
A bi-weekly column by Wayne King on New Hampshire Center for Public Interest Journalism website

Art:

*The Best of Wayne King* – The Artist’s Best Selling and favorite images.

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