24-SEP-2009
Rotunda, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada, 2009
This elaborate art deco Byzantine-inspired rotunda was added to the museum in 1933, and recently restored. I photographed two visitors studying the complex mosaic ceiling above them – their faces seem etched in awe. I made this image from a balcony near the top of the rotunda’s ceiling, and linked the opposing curves of the mosaic and the arch over a viewing gallery.
30-SEP-2009
Totem pole fragments, Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver, Canada, 2009
This remarkable museum focuses on the art of the indigenous cultures that once thrived along the Canada’s Pacific coast. These wooden carvings are parts of totem poles that once stood in a village abandoned during the late 19th century due to diseases brought to Canada by European traders. I cropped tightly on the painted head that seems to be in the process of speaking.
30-SEP-2009
Totem, Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver, Canada, 2009
This image is all about the light. It not only illuminates the head of the totem, but it also casts shadows on the wall behind it. The bands of light and shadow energize the figure and make it vital.
30-SEP-2009
Visitor, Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver, Canada, 2009
I find the people who visit museums to be as interesting as the exhibits themselves. This man, taking a rest on one of the many benches in the museum’s great exhibit hall, seems to be talking to himself, just as the two huge heads are doing just behind him.
30-SEP-2009
Totem texture, Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver, Canada, 2009
I could feel the carving knives at work in these 19th century totems. The wooden surfaces are tactile, weathered, and evocative. I filled the frame with them, inviting the viewer to imagine what it must be like to actually reach out and touch them. These carvings are about 100 years old, a ripe old age for artwork that faced British Columbia’s rugged winters for many years.
30-SEP-2009
Staff, Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver, Canada, 2009
I caught the lean of this security guard in her chair, and linked it to the leaning figures at left. The prow of dugout canoe piercing the frame at right adds a touch of tension to the scene.
30-SEP-2009
Painted figures, Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver, Canada, 2009
The primary colors of original paint energize the weathered textures of this hundred-year-old totem pole. I used the long lens to stress the detail brought to life by the colors.
30-SEP-2009
Docent, Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver, Canada, 2009
I found this docent speaking to a group before a large photograph of a man getting his body tattooed in Samoa. Her blurred hands speak of her passion for teaching. The young woman’s gesture and the ritualistic scene behind her provide an incongruous juxtaposition.
30-SEP-2009
Carvings, Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver, Canada, 2009
I often like to contrast museum exhibits to each other. In this image, I compare the abstracted wall sculptures at left to an illuminated life size carving at the end of the hall. The soft glow on the dark wood complements the radiance of the light on the cement wall in the distance.
