PATTERNS AND TONES

"The Structural Ecology of the Lower Desert" My visual essay submission to  ARID: A Journal of Desert Art, Design and Ecology  consists of 7 previously unpublished images investigating the juxtaposition of man made structures with the natural architectural elements found in the desert landscapes of 29 Palms and Joshua Tree. Taken throughout the summer of 2003, I began to explore and investigate how these communities visually impacted and blended with the natural environment of the lower desert.  I approached the composition, subject matter and scale with deliberate intent. The snapshot quality of prints with white borders, fingers in front of the lens and a pilgrimage to Gram Parsons' last hotel room, lends itself to a folksy feel - as if a tourist on vacation.  The man made one story structures, all harkening back to an era of wooden road signs and drive up photo huts, were engulfed by the vast open spaces, towering moonscape mountains and human ...

 "The Photo Place - 29 Palms"  © Julie Pavlowski Green It all started inside of a hippopotamus's mouth. It was my brother's 2nd birthday and we were celebrating it at the Oakland Zoo. My Mother was busy setting up the party and I distinctly remember her handing me her instamatic camera, you know the horizontal flat one that you could attach a flash cube to, and asked me to take pictures of the birthday party for her. Several weeks later, we drove up to the local Fotomat to pick up our processed prints (which was always an exciting moment) but was even more of an event, as it was the first time we were picking up photographs taken by me! After my Mother paid for the prints, she pulled over and parked so we could take a look at all the pictures I had taken at my brother's birthday party. I was bursting with excitement as I knew the images were going to amaze my Mother and possibly impress her enough to let me use the camera again. The look on her fa...