Architextures

3-D Silver Gelatin Photo Collage
13 x 12 x ¼ inches
Made from from 4 hand-cut darkroom prints, and a hand-built elevation platform

3-D Silver Gelatin Photo Collage
29 x 29 x ¼ inches (Diagonal 41½ inches)
22 hand-cut darkroom prints, mounted on double layer 4-ply Rising board, 1170 Broadway in Manhattan

3-D Silver Gelatin Photo Collage
43½ x 37¼ x ¾ inches
Made from 30 overlapping darkroom prints of a detail of Bethesda Terrace Arch Bridge in Central Park, New York

3-D Silver Gelatin Photo Collage
43½ x 37¼ x ¾ inches
Made from 30 overlapping darkroom prints of a detail of Bethesda Terrace Arch Bridge in Central Park, New York

3-D Silver Gelatin Photo Collage
19⅜ x 19⅞ x ¼ inches
Made from 14 hand-cut darkroom prints of a doorway cartouche at 18 East 72nd Street in New York

3-D Silver Gelatin Photo Collage
21¼ x 24 x ⅓ inches
Made from 26 hand-cut darkroom prints, and two hand-built elevation platforms

Silver Gelatin Photo Collage
20 x 43 inches
Two darkroom photo prints, shot from inside Time Warner Center at night

Silver Gelatin Photo Collage
35⅞ x 32¼ inches
Made from 22 hand-cut darkroom prints of a doorway cartouche at 18 East 72nd St. in New York

Silver Gelatin Photo Collage
20½ x 19½ x ¼ inches
Sixty darkroom photo sections, cut freehand

3-D Silver Gelatin Photo Collage
46 x 46 x ⅛ inches
Made from 18 darkroom prints of an architectural detail in Central Park in New York

3-D Silver Gelatin Photo Collage
22¾ x 39 x 2 inches
Made from 32 darkroom prints of the Flatiron Building in New York

Silver Gelatin Photo Collage
28 x 33 inches
Made from 12 darkroom prints of the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC

Silver Gelatin Photo Collage
39 x 42 inches
Made from 18 darkroom prints of a wrought iron stair rail in Manhattan

Silver Gelatin Photo Collage
39 x 42 inches
Made from 18 darkroom prints of a wrought iron stair rail in Manhattan

3-D Silver Gelatin Photo Collage
13 x 19 inches
Made from 2 hand-cut darkroom prints, and a hand-built elevation platform

3-D Inkjet Print Photo Collage
22½ x 21½ x ¼ inches
Made from 40 hand-cut inkjet prints of The Smithsonian Castle with vintage purse mirror and incised plastic jewel

3-D Silver Gelatin Photo Collage
31 x 15 x ¼ inches
Made from eighteen darkroom photo sections, cut freehand

3-D Silver Gelatin Photo Collage
31 x 15 x ¼ inches
Made from eighteen darkroom photo sections, cut freehand

Silver Gelatin Photo Collage
38¼ x 83 inches
Made from 16 hand-cut darkroom prints
of One Jackson Square in Manhattan

3-D Silver Gelatin Photo Collage
29½ x 26¼ x 1½ inches
Made from 80+ darkroom print sections of the Victory Apartments on the West side of Manhattan

3-D Silver Gelatin Photo Collage
30½ x 30½ x 1½ inches
Made from 80+ darkroom print sections of the Victory Apartments on the West side of Manhattan

Silver Gelatin Photo Collage
32 x 25 inches
Made from 4 darkroom prints of a panorama which includes the onramp to the Lincoln Tunnel in New York

Silver Gelatin Photo Collage
19½ x 62¾ inches
Made from 24 darkroom prints of the IAC Building in Manhattan

Silver Gelatin Photo Collage
21 x 95 inches
Made from 30 hand-cut and -woven darkroom prints of an architectural detail of New York Estonian House
Architextures Photo Collage Series Statement
My “Architextures” photo collage series, ongoing since 2000, combines my lifelong involvement with both silver-based photography and collage.
This series is inspired by the architecture and urban landscapes of Manhattan. What began as a ten-year documentary project about the growth of the west Chelsea arts district, continues still, as I remain captivated by the city’s architectural elements and vistas. I use this work to reflect the unending surprise and delight that I find walking the streets of the city, as well as picturesque and evocative architectural creations in other locations.
In this series, I combine B&W film photography with cut-and-assembled handwork. I create multiple darkroom prints of an image, which I hand-cut and -assemble into 2-D and 3-D geometric abstract collages. While at first the works may appear to be digital montages, closer inspection reveals the texture and layering inherent in the handmade pieces. Geometric abstraction through repetition of images is key to my approach, and I strive to create drama and optical effects which change along with viewing distance and perspective. I observe museum-quality archival standards in all aspects of my work.
These patterns could, with less effort, be created digitally. But it is my love for darkroom work, and the hand-cutting and -arranging of visual elements, which drives this process. Since my first foray into this genre in 2000 with simple small-scale compositions, I have expanded my repertoire to include application of glass and crystal elements, complicated layering, using the paper’s natural curves for 3-D effects, and use of inkjet prints. For the past five years, I have been making larger and more complex work.