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Artist Exhibitions:
November 2008 - "Sacred to the
Memory " Hofstra University
Hempstead, New York
October 2007- "Sacred Ground"
Solo exhibit-Fleisher Art
Memorial
Philadelphia, PA
March 7- 31 2006 -
"Warriston-Images from
Scotland" Sande Webster
Gallery
Philadelphia, PA
Feb-July 2005- "The Land
Before Me" -St. George's
School,
Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
January ...
Further Information
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Artist Galleries:
Sande Webster Gallery, 2006
Walnut St. Philadelphia PA
19103
215-732-8850,fax-215-732-7850,s
wgart@erols.com...
Further Information
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Artist Reviews:
Coming Soon!
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Collections:
Selected Collections:
Philadelphia
Art Museum
Kimmel
Center for the Performing
Arts,Phila. PA
Federal
Reserve Bank, Philadelphia PA
Fortune
Magazine, New York NY
Commerce
Bank, Cherry Hill NJ
Bell
Atlantic, Philadelphia PA
Prudential
Bache Securities, Cherry Hill
NJ
Marriot
Corporation, Philadelphia PA
Temple
University, Philadelphia PA
Community
College of Philadelphia
...
Further Information
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Commissions:
Mrs. Smiths Pies, Potstown, Pa
Tastykake Corportation,
Philadelphia, PA
Marriot Corporation,
Philadelphia, PA
Federal Reserve Bank,
Philadelphia, PA
Tinderbox Cigar Corporation,
Phoenix, AZ
...
Further Information
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Artist Statement for Robert Reinhardt
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Press Release for "Warriston Exhibit" Sande Webster Gallery, March 2006:
Warriston Cemetery
Edinburgh, Scotland
From the first day that I set foot in Warriston Cemetery, I was hit with an overwhelming sense of history and personal stories whispered from the past. It initially was a shock to view the current state of disrepair the site had fallen prey to. That once pristine environment has dramatically eroded with the neglect of the past 60 or so years. Mother nature has once again reclaimed the land by wrapping gravestones in extensive networks of vine, sprouting trees to tower over gravestones with massive branches that now shade the property year round. Saplings from years past have become mature trees that crowd already congested landscape designs. In all ways possible the natural elements have coated the once polished surfaces with films of electric green moss and deep brown decay. For purposes of safety and a definite lack of structural integrity, many of the markers have been toppled by the city’s maintenance department or met that same fate on their own accord. When one walks about the property you can only hear the thread of the wind racing through the tall weeds or the call of birds perched on ancient markers. The bustling noises of the outside city seems as remote as a distant continent.
The collision of these visual images is what drew me to Warriston. As a child I grew up in a house that was dead center of 7 cemeteries. Most were of the high Victorian design. They were Immaculate in their designs, opulent in their displays of wealth, highly maintained, and rich in celebrity. Warriston at one time possessed all of these fine qualities. What I encountered last summer was the polar opposite of my sensibilities for the perfect graveyard. I found myself locked into the reality of the past, not what currently existed in the present. The shock of seeing all of these monuments held hostage by natural forces was both disturbing and intriguing in the same breath. The more time I spent in Warriston, the more intriguing it became. I released the images of the past and embraced the beauty that nature had redrawn for me. All the monuments were no longer markers designated to commemorate one person or family, they were now collectives of darkened damaged forms rearranged and placed into varying visual configurations. The richness of their marred surfaces brought forth a different kind of beauty. The wildness and abandon of the overgrown landscape seemed more like a veil than a cloak . With more exposure to the site it became easier to see the relationships between these imposing forms, both man made and natural.
This exhibit celebrates the discovery of those relationships and the awareness of that beauty. I documented Warristion for a good part of July 2005. I returned again a few weeks ago at the beginning of February 2006. The winter has broadened the starkness of the setting but also stripped away the veils of green to expose the pure form of the monuments, now every so carefully dusted in a winter frost and powdery morning snow. The snow has heightened the contrast of differences in the seasons I photographed. I hope through this work I can share with you all of these sensibilities while honestly documenting the beauty of Warristion. I look for these images to give a new voice to a graveyard so long left silent. See for yourself the beauty that is Warriston.
General Statement for site:
The photographic images you are viewing on this site are digital. The traditional process usually involves a chemical based developing and printing combination on specially prepared light sensitive paper. That all is beginning to change. Recently, digital photography has descended upon us so quickly and dispersed throughout the masses at such a rapid pace that everyone now has the resources to take sharp, high resoluton, colour saturated, value balanced, and compositionaly cropped visual images. Imagine, everyone now has the ability to be an Alfred Stieglitz, Cecil Benton, Lord Snowdon, or Ansel Adams. Or do they?
The essential elements required in producing strong visual images are: content, craftsmanship, and creativity. The understanding of these basics create the structure of the work. For many years I have worked in traditional mediums: paint, watercolour, printmaking, sculpture, and photography. My priority was to find an image that had my vision, my voice. The mediums are only tools to allow that voice to be heard more clearly. Digital photography is the newest of the mediums I have experimented with. The past few years have seen my images manipulated, scanned, and drawn in different software programs, notably Adobe Photoshop. I ventured out in the past two years on several trips to sites that had strong voices of their own. Scotland was one of these places. My visits to the Orkney Islands, the Highlands, and the urban experience of Edinburgh and Glasgow all presented me with stunning landscapes filled with light, colour, texture, and spirit. The goal of this body of work was to capture that spirit.
The images displayed here have a lean towards seeking out basic geometric forms. The objects speak more of detail than of the Big Picture. I am fascinated by how organic and fluid images juxtaposed to man made structures pop and create visual tension. Images like the weather worn grave monuments in Warriston Cemetery speak of the power of the natural elements wearing down upon man and his made objects. They remind us of the fragile nature of our existence and the temporary nature of the objects we place in our environment. I am also intrigued by the natural selection of textures assigned to objects. There is a journey an object takes through it's lifetime when the surface texture goes through a series of adjustments and changes. The colour, pattern, rhythm, and complexity of the objects have always been a source of amazement to me.
These images are documents of the beauty of natural
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