Work in progress: Eclesiastica
I'm working with the series of photographs I took recently when I had fairly private access to Wells Cathedral in Somerset, and another set of photographs of trees I took today in a park in Devon.
I've applied a rather heavy filter that is unlikely to feature in any final work, but it moves the photographs a little closer to the look and feel of colour-separated linocut relief prints.
My plan is to develop this idea by producing drawings from these images - so that the natural and architectural forms will have even more in common than they do already.
I have no idea of the extent to which the builders of the Cathedral were directly influenced by the natural shapes of trees, although it is clear that the decoration of the pillars, bosses and other works contain ideas taken from nature. I like to think that the structural similarities are largely there out of necessity, as the divine work of tree-making takes place in a world governed by the same laws that had to be followed by the medieval masons.
For me, this juxtaposition, whether due to intent, or out of necessity, allows me to consider the organic beauty of the Cathedral in the context of natural forms - not that either needs such consideration - both are things of such great beauty they don't require comparison with anything, or by anyone, else - it's enough that they are what they are - but that's artists for you...
But when I look at some of these images of trees alongside the pictures I've taken inside the Cathedral, I find myself seeing each slightly differently.
Although my plan is to turn a selection of these image pairs into lino prints, I think they would work as well in their original photographic form, reproduced as photogravure prints. If I can keep on topic for long enough, I may do both.
You can click on the pictures to enlarge them.
