Natura Reformati
By Tom Wachunas
“The artist and
the photographer seek the mysteries and adventure of experience in nature.” –Ansel
Adams
“Art not only
imitates nature, but also completes its deficiencies.” –Aristotle
“I am at two with
nature.” –Woody Allen
EXHIBIT: Lux Botanica: The Photography of Doug
McLarty, at the Canton Museum of Art, THROUGH JULY 21, 1001 Market Avenue
North, Canton
Part whimsy, part
high drama, the botanical imagery of photographer Doug McLarty is wholly
enthralling. The wondrous theatricality of his configurations brings to mind
this observation from Guillarme Apollinaire: “Without poets, without artists,
men would soon weary of nature’s monotony.”
There’s certainly
nothing monotonous about McLarty’s delightfully unique take on plants, flowers,
seeds and the like. His compositions, set against solid black grounds, often
appear to be intricately sculpted entities, exuding an otherworldly aura.
The heightened
dimensionality and focus of detail, astonishingly crisp and vibrant hues, and
sharp illumination of the forms are all the result of a working technique which
the artist calls Scanography. His
explanation of the technique is posted with the exhibit, described in part as a
process “…of capturing digitized images of objects for the purpose of creating
printable art using a flatbed “photo” scanner with a CCD (charge-coupled
device) array-catching device.” Sheesh. Such technospeak is so far beyond my
understanding that it might as well be alchemy.
And indeed, the
net effect of McLarty’s wizardly method is nothing short of magical. Several of
his images are mesmerizing in a way somewhat reminiscent of the playfully
surreal works by Giuseppe Arcimboldo, the 16th century Italian
painter who made portrait heads comprised of fruits, flowers and vegetables.
One resonant
function of art derived from nature has been not so much to merely imitate it
as much as shape and sharpen our attentions to its power of evocation, its
power to make us sense things beyond the obvious, or monotonous. It’s not about
improving on nature per se (a fool’s errand if ever there was one), but
improving our ability to see in the
fullest sense of the word. In McLarty’s photographs, marvelously presented forms
seem to vibrate as if to music, or recite wordless poetry.
After seeing them,
I’ve acquired a renewed, celebratory appreciation for the wild gathering of
textures and myriad shapes that are currently dancing together in my vegetable
garden.
PHOTOS (from top):
Toucan Island; Scheherazade; Supremes
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