Three Strikes Park from the Sun Shadow Series

"Three Strikes Park No. 1" from the Sun Shadow Series

Sun shadows. Light and dark at the same time. Opposites that make each other exist. I began this series last year so I could have a parameter to study the stark contrasts of light and shadow as well as the textural nature of the bark and concrete. In this newest installation, I wanted to flatten the image into abstraction and then bring it back into a three dimensional form.

The pebbles and debris that littered the sidewalk were defined by the late afternoon sun. Their long shadows on small objects reminded me of Ruth Bernhard's study of light and form in her photograph "Lifesavers" from 1930. The stark contrasts and simplified forms flattened the image out and became more of a study of spacial geometry. It also reminded me of Piet Mondrian's non-representational forms in his paintings from his neoplastic period.

In post, I began to see the fluttering of butterfly wing patterns, stained glass windows and goal posts. By isolating panels of the image in white, the abstract image began to come back into a three dimensional plane. I was most happy when the image began to bend in "Three Strikes Park No. 4", by incorporating mid-tones back into the image which created depth.

I'll continue to explore and create patterns that I encounter on my sunny walks by playing with light and form in my sun shadow series.

Julie Green
May 28, 2016

"Three Strikes Park No. 2" from the Sun Shadow Series

"Three Strikes Park No. 3" from the Sun Shadow Series

"Three Strikes Park No. 4" from the Sun Shadow Series

"Three Strikes Park No. 5" from the Sun Shadow Series