Woodblock Constructions

Using a multiple exposure technique that I began with my Flowers for Lisa project and my Color Theory series I am now picturing wood blocks of different sizes and shapes to make architectural and sculptural imagery. My photographic approach produces random combinations and blending of these wood pieces so that unexpected new shapes and translucencies form, creating something akin to Cubism. Playing with blocks is a satisfying way to get back to childhood and to the pleasures of building stuff without seeing any end in sight. It’s interesting to note that when he was a child, Frank Lloyd Wright’s mother gave him a set of wooden play blocks developed by the German educator Friedrich Froebel.

I make most of the Woodblock Constructions very simply by building several block towers near and far lit by a couple of flashlights. I can also achieve total focus throughout the image with my camera. As weird as they look, what you see is what the camera “saw”. It is the light and shadows on the blocks that are doing most of the work. I love making complexity out of simple play. Another source of pleasure comes from my using, with a couple of exceptions, only cube shapes. That will change in time but I like how this limitation makes me try to be more inventive.