D A V I D M E N D E L S O H N
Artists Statement
To date, I have welcomed my Mac and Photoshop into my life like a free Picasso. To be clear, as a personal choice, I don't do photo composite stuff. I don't put angel wings on a nude and have her flying over the Sahara. Frankly, I think it would be more fun to try that real time. Besides, we'd all be out there naked and warm. Nonetheless, it's quite fascinating to look at, and better when the artist considers the direction, quality and color of light when putting it all together. Rather I am using my digital tools as a darkroom. I may enhance color, change tone, eliminate detail, or dodge and burn as never before possible. Despite the up front pains I traditionally take, I have never made an image that couldn't be improved. No one has. It's the impure nature of the physical world. Beyond that, once I'm satisfied, I can now store the final information and generate identical prints whenever needed. That alone makes me understand how the crowd felt when Moses descended Sinai with an armful of rocks.
I came to photography through a rather indirect path. I always had some interest in the medium after my Dad gave me his old Argus C3 around my 12th birthday. I toyed with the camera and a makeshift darkroom too some degree, , but it was simply just another one of my interests. In late 1976, I transferred to the University of New Hampshire to attend their Forestry School. I had done my research. It offered the best program in the country, and I was quite taken with the notion of eventually living in the Rockies, riding horseback through the Continental Divide, and hunting down rogue bear. Freshly married, I moved from New York and eventually went to an interview with the chairman of the department. Halfway though, he paused, put his arm around my shoulders and gently pointed me toward reality. Seems that twenty years from graduation, I'd still be planting pine trees. If I was luckier than most I could, in time, go to work for a paper or pulp mill.
A little catatonic and needing some time, I began looking for some temporary work. found that the photo labs at UNH had a slot. I interviewed and was under the safelights the following week. As it turned out, this particular department was a highly creative place to be at the time. I stayed for seven years and in the end, due to some formal and informal training in the arts, ended up heading their design department. During that tenure, I was receiving some national attention through the likes of Communication Arts and Print Magazine. I was exhibiting and having my pieces purchased. My images were being collected by the Polaroid Corporation. I also received an NEA grant, entitled Route 40, where I took a Karmen Ghia across this southern interstate for a month and simply photI found that enjoyed being behind my camera alot more than my straight edge. I also found that I would rather shoot than assign the photography. One day, after contemplating my next move, I sent what I considered a portfolio to Bert Glinn. About two weeks later, I received a call from China, informing me that, as current president of Magnum, he was sponsoring me for membership.
At that point, there weren't too many choices left . I had a clear feeling about what I would be doing with the rest of my life. For reasons involving both business and politics, I respectfully declined. None-the-less I took a modest second mortgage, composed my resignation and hit the streets.
My work has been described as highly graphic. I 'm sure that alot of that influence can be attributed to my days as a designer. For me, there is a certain elegance in simplicity. like to work in visual Haiku. I like to impart my work with some grace, some order, and balance. Once I build that framework, I deal with content. I am fortunate enough to have an innate ability which allows me to grasp forms in space without too much difficulty. I don't tolerate extraneous elements very well. If something doesn't fit within my two dimensional world , one way or another, that element is history. It's simply a matter of focus for me. If you don't prepare the canvas, your paint has nothing to adhere to.
Meticulous may be a good way of describing my work. To be sure, the quality of light and shadow is equally important. As a matter of fact, I consider those elements as an essential part of the design. But for me, without visual order, an image fails despite the content. All things must be considered. Harmonies must be present for the message to be fluent. It all must come together symphonically. If there is too much noise, at least for me, it is difficult to hear the melody. I assume as much for the audience. It is an Eastern experience when I shoot. An attempt at Zen within the frame.
I am driven by a fear of personal failure. Historically all artists are. I tend to totally ignore the size of a budget or the complexity of a production. From experience, I know that one way or another I will pull off the shoot. Rather, any anxiety I experience comes from self-demand. The comforts of knowing that the client is pleased with the results, your estimate was within 10 percent, you didn't fall out of the chopper and your rep has you booked for another job are not to be discounted.
More importantly however, I am haunted with the question of whether or not I was able build past this personal plateau. Did I create something more original than my last image ? Did I manage to push a combination of perception and technique a little further than my last outing ? Despite any applause, the real question comes down to something quite private. Did I grow or did I simply imitate myself ? It is that factor , above everything, that creates my inertia and makes me either a little despondent or deliriously happy depending on the answer.
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