Artist Statement
While searching for images in the harbor,
I was drawn to the worn hulls of the ships that dock there. These ships
seem as great whales with battle scars which record their life-long struggle
to survive. The ships at dock can be seen every day. However, the visual
secrets of the ships are generally not known because of the distance between
the ships and the observer. I have concentrated on eliminating this distance
to reveal their beauty. The brightly painted hulls exhibit interesting
patterns and textures which are reflected in the water. The hulls may
appear delicate, tenuous, even transparent. However, the scrapes, gouges,
rubber marks and rusting wounds, sometimes from the ships own anchors,
sometimes from the ubiquitous tires found on the sides of docks and tugboats,
belie this frailty. At times a series of numbers or cryptic diagrams may
appear on the massive hulls. These messages communicate only to those
who assist in ferrying the ships in and out of the worlds ports. In developing this "distilling process," I have been influenced by artists of the 20th century. The differing planes of analytical cubism come to mind when viewing some of the photographs. Many other photographs may be reminiscent of the bold and powerful paintings of the abstract expressionists of the 1950's and 1960's. I try to use composition, color, texture, depth, and detail to illuminate the subject, to remove all other distractions, and invite contemplation. Gil Mares |
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