Citylight, 22"x24",black
and white photograph, 1998
James Hutchens
PHOTOGRAPHY
Photography, to me, is an exercise in aesthetic exploration.
In this series of photographs entitled City Light: Meditations on Stillness
within Chaos I am challenging the poetry of the camera to express the
splendor I've discovered at night under concrete freeways, in alleyways,
and in the essence of light. At its most basic level, experiencing splendor
simply involves a new way of looking at things. With this poetic way of
seeing, the urban photograph can reconcile what is active and still, beautiful
and ugly, light and dark, by seeing the city as harmonious. It has been
only with a stillness of mind that I have been able to see the chaos of
the city as beauty. With this project, I have visually approached the city
with a still mind and discovered, for myself, a new aesthetic. It is my
hope that the aim of these photos, in making ignored or ugly places seem
beautiful, invites the viewer to see the city with eyes that look beyond
the mundane and hint at the sublime.