2023 Return-Visit
to Memphis
12x12" Studies Project
Part 4 of the "Walkabout" projects
Introduction
I first visited my friend, Larry McPherson in Memphis in 2014 while I was working on my Still Life project inspired by the painting of Giorgio Morandi. I published the photographs made during that journey as the tenth chapter in my Still Life project, subtitled "Walkabout, Part II : Journey to Memphis." Thus project is a 2023 follow-up to that earlier project. I have included titles, notes and--in some instances--links to relevant content under selected images. And this project, which includes twelve inkjet photographs printed 12x12 inches square with tonal matts surrounding the images, is the first in a series of forthcoming projects entitled 12x12" Studies projects.
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Larry and I met each other in Rochester, NY in 1965 when we we students at the Rochester Institute of Technology. We became close friends and have shared our photographs with each other regularly since then. Larry would travel to show me work sometimes once or twice a year in person, and we often share work via e-mail. When I visited Larry in 2014 he was very involved with a film documentary about birds. I have always thought of Larry as a landscape photographer but he did lots of work in architecture as well. He has published the book entitled The Cows, and several of his landscape photographs can be seen in his book Memphis. Larry lived and taught in Chicago, then in 1978 he moved to Memphis and taught photography at the University of Memphis. In 2023 Larry was preoccupied with his most recent, haunting landscape photographs made in a number of Wildlife Management Areas outside of Memphis. He intends to produce a book of that work and perhaps an exhibition in the near future. We spent most of our time during this 2023 visit--my second visit with him in Memphis--looking at each other's photographs and talking about old times and his new book project.
The photographs I am presenting below were made between August 30 and September 3, 2023. I have presented all of the images in the square format with surrounding tonal mattes, the same format I have been using for my most recent 2023 work entitled 12x12" Studies. As I write these introductory notes in September, 2023, there are four separate published blog projects or "books" of the 12x12" Studies, and I am pretty sure there will be a fifth book coming later. You can see the complete collection of my Studies projects, including all of the published Walkabout projects (which are part of the Morandi inspired Still Life project) at this link: "Studies : The Complete Collection of Published Blog Studies Projects.
I have placed titles under each of the twelve images below and in some cases I have provided some commentary on the images and a few blog links to relevant related material. (I was very interested in the fact that I photographed some of the same subjects in this project that I photographed nine years ago when I visited Larry.) I would say, without hesitation, that all of the images presented here reflect Morandi's influence in some way. Similarly, I have an unwavering respect for Larry's work and his way of living. The dark mattes around my images may probably be a reflection of the fact that I have known Larry's living space as having always served his photographic practice as necessary. His house in Memphis, for example, has served him as a filmmaker, a meditator, as his photography studio, darkroom and digital lab.
(A note regarding the viewing of these--and all of my--blog published photographs. ~ I have created this project and all of my other projects using Apple desktop computers, Google's Blogger.com, and Google's browser Chrome. When I click on the images once, the image will appear within a dark-toned environment, which I much prefer compared to the blog's default presentation mode which presents the images and words in white space. When I click on the images a second time, the image appears larger, and in this alternative viewing mode the images appear very sharp and luminous--much more so then how they appear in the default mode of presentation. ~ I hope your computer and and browser will allow you to see my blog images in the alternate viewing mode. However, if the alternate viewing mode does not appear after clicking on the image I suggest you try downloading Google's Chrome browser and try viewing my blog projects in Chrome. ~ Also, remember, you can always control your computer screen brightness and image size (zoom in and out) while looking at the blog images in either viewing mode.)
The Photographs
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Memphis, 2023 #1 The Little Butterfly on the kitchen window screen, early morning (12x12)
Back in 2014 I took a photo of a glass of water sitting in front of the same
kitchen window as pictured here. (Click here and see image #6.) During
my recent 2023 visit with Larry he noticed the little butterfly on his
kitchen window screen and asked me to take a photograph of it.
The image above was made early in the morning as the sun
was just beginning to rise above the horizon line.
Memphis, 2023 #2 Stack of pots and pans on the kitchen stove (12x12")
I took a similar picture of these very same pans in April, 2014.
Click here and see image #8
Memphis, 2023 #3 Bathroom still life with glass of water (Nocturne) (12x12")
Memphis, 2023 #4 Workout room, early morning (12x12")
Memphis, 2023 #5 Photographic flood light aimed at ceiling (12x12")
Memphis, 2023 #6 Still life : Camera equipment table (12x12")
This configuration of dark shapes against a light toned wall reminded
me of several still life paintings Morandi had made. Morandi's
Morandi's influence dominated my work during my 2014 visit
with Larry in Memphis, and that influence has continued to
manifest in much of my work since then and in 2023.
Memphis, 2023 #7 Bathtub fixtures (Nocturne) (12x12")
Memphis, 2023 #8 Still life: Orange cord on kitchen counter (12x12")
Memphis, 2023 #9 Turkish chewing gum on a round dish by the stove (12x12")
This sugar-free gum, made in Turkey, never tastes bad, no
matter how long you chew it, according to Larry. (You
can purchase Falim at Amazon.com)
Memphis, 2023 #10 My garden hat and shirt on an inflated air mattress (12x12")
When I visited Larry I brought several of my new 12x12 Studies photographs including
one in particular I knew Larry liked which I had published in an earlier blog project.
He had been having trouble identifying the subject matter in the photograph.
After I showed Larry the image (click here and view #36A ) I entered his
wearing my garden hat. I got a big kick out of seeing the expression of
surprise on his face once he realized that the hat I was wearing in the
photograph I had shown him earlier (image #36A).
Memphis, 2023 #11 Charing my laptop before the flight home (12x12")
Memphis, 2023 #12 Charing my iPhone before the flight home (12x12")
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Memphis, 2023 #13 The back of Larry's front door, and the sign he made: "Here" (12x12")
The word "Here" invoked the remembrance of a story associated with
Barnett Newman while he was visiting some sacred Indian Mounds
in Ohio. Click here to read about his experience, and to learn
about the Jewish concept Makom, "the Place"
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This project was published and announced
on my blog's Welcome Page September 12, 2023
as "Walkabout, Part 4" -- "2023 Return Visit to Memphis"
Related Blog Photography Projects
Still Life Photographs inspired C Giorgio Morandi
Please visit the Welcome Page to my blog The Departing Landscape. It includes the complete hyperlinked listing of my online photography projects dating from the most recent to those dating back to the 1960's. You will also find on the Welcome Page my resume, contact information . . . and much more.