ABOUT
| HIDDEN VOYAGES STATEMENT |
Rob Lang has scoured harbors around the world – on the eastern seaboard,in Greece, in the post-Katrina wreckage of New Orleans – capturing the elusive beautyof the undersides of boats. The photographs that make up his Hidden Voyage Project capturethe beauty and decay of time’s effect on these mysterious hulls; cropping all contextual visualinformation that anchors the hulls to their actual function, Lang extracts phenomenal picturesfrom their worn surfaces. These are photographs of what lie hidden and dark in cool waters, toemerge occasionally into the light of day, fully revealed only by Lang’s camera.Pictorial kin to abstract expressionism, in Lang’s photographs one recognizes motifs developedby painters Clyfford Still, Barnett Newman, and Mark Rothko, or their contemporaries AaronSiskindand Minor White. Drawing on these photographic precedents, Lang introduces a sensitiveawareness of color into their abstract vocabulary. With Lang’s images one may be cognizant of what they actually depict, but more likely surrender to their abstract evocations. They are onthe one hand documents conveying factual information and on the other hand pictures withcompelling aesthetic value. In fact their clever simulation of paintings throws the photographic basis of these images into doubt. And yet in the Hidden Voyage Project there is an uncanny correlation between what is represented and the material process of photography itself.Lang’s pictures distill a fragment of each boat’s narrative into the strange language of its own particular patina, ignored or overlooked by most. The photographs plumb such forgotten histories,but also enable the viewer to create their own tales. Lang remains a conveyor of unabashedly beautiful images: of sumptuous colors, of compelling textures, of indulgent surfaces– celebrations of the ecstatic beauty that remains hidden in the everyday, etched upon the surfaces of time. INTERVIEW BY MARION WEISS: HONORING THE ARTIST While all the covers of Dan's Papers are special, this week's image by Rob Lang is particularly noteworthy: it's the winner of a competition celebrating the publication's 50th Anniversary. The photographic image is a surprising one; while the colors and composition are arresting, we can't quite figure out what the object is. This critic attributes meaning to such ambiguity: Dan's Papers has never been predictable, especially Dan Rattiner's writing itself. Simply put, the paper can't be easily categorized, which is its strength.Rob Lang can't be categorized either. Consider his diverse subject matter, including landscapes, portraits, lifestyle and nature photography. Moreover, his style runs the gamut from realism, to abstraction, to Impressionism. Examples on Lang's website reveal these variations: a humorous image of a man's legs seen from an inner tube; a young girl walking down a country lane; a yellow and blue abstract landscape; men diving into a lake from a bird's eye view.Q: I'm really curious. What is the cover image?A: It's a fragment of a sailboat. That piece is one-foot long.Q: The photograph contains some of your signature qualities. People think your work looks like paintings.A: Yes. I am attracted to details, tiny crevices, the surface of objects.Q: You're also drawn to boats.A: Isolated boats, torn apart by weather. There's a spiritual connection between me and those boats.Q: What about your experiences with boats? When do you know when to go see them?A: I am obsessed with going to boat yards. After Katrina, I went to Alabama to the shrimp yards. I only go a certain time of year when the boats are out of the water. I go to Charleston in December, when the boats are pulled out of the water. In East Hampton, it's November and December.Q: So you move around a lot, depending on what you're photographing. Right now you're in New Mexico.A: In Santa Fe, photographing on a 20,000-acre cattle farm.Q: What first motivated you to do the kind of photography that you do? I noticed another motif in your work, which is water.A: When I was 16 and living in the Hamptons, I was a lifeguard. I would photograph people underwater. I still have a place here. It's the best place to create. It doesn't get tiresome.Q: Where did you get your art training and what was a turning point in your training?A: I have a Masters in Art from New York University and the International Center of Photography, which I got in 1984. Working with Lisette Model was a turning point because she taught me about details by showing me tiny stones in pieces in the Met's Egyptian Wing. Details are important in people or abstract pieces.Q: After New York, where did you go?A: I moved to Santa Monica for nine years and took film classes at U.C.L.A. I also did commercial photography for print ads.Q: What inspired you when you were there?A: I was with a gallery where the artists were from Cal Arts, and that influenced me.Q: Then you came back to East Hampton in 1996. I know this is your favorite place, but where else would you live and what other profession would you consider?A: I would like to work in Hawaii, Greece or Australia. Friends are always sending me e-mails from other places and saying, "You have to come here." I would be a therapist if I weren't a photographer. I started to get a Masters in counseling.Q: What is it that you're really doing? A: I'm transforming what I see into something I connect with - a color, form, texture or the concept of art itself. |
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