honorable mention
Marcia Mack united states
title
Darwin
For me, this place is about metaphor, a place resonant with meaning and allegory. Yet, rather than idealistically record the sublime moment and spectacular vantage point, I strive to document the compelling interplay and interconnectedness between humankind and nature—an inclusive view that embraces the transformations that we impose on the landscape in an attempt to make it habitable, hospitable, utilitarian, familiar—and ultimately ours.
Exploring the contrast between the encompassing vastness of the desert landscape and the ingenious, often ironic yet poignant structures on it, a paradoxical thought arises: perhaps a landscape might be beautiful and natural and touched by man; that here may be a particular kind of beauty specifically derived from a human presence and human culture.
I photograph to uncover and document the paradox, the conflict, the hopefulness and the beauty of man’s place in this rugged landscape and the struggle to exist with it. Through these photographs I attempt to explore the meaning and impact of our encroachment on this wilderness, as well as our accommodation to it and coexistence with it, in an attempt to challenge our conventional understanding and definition of beauty in the Western American landscape.
I am intrigued by the compelling interplay between humankind and nature. Mine is an inclusive view that embraces the transformations that we impose on the landscape. A paradoxical thought drives me: perhaps a landscape might be beautiful and natural and touched by man; that here may be a particular kind of beauty specifically derived from a human presence and human culture.
I’ve earned a living as a designer, art director, photographer, educator and marketer, yet the joy of exploring the desert has never left me. My husband, two cats and I currently divide our time between Orange County and Darwin, California, a remote 1870s former mining town (population 50 or so) in the Mojave Desert.
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entry description
Halfway between the Sierra Nevada Mountains and Death Valley is the 1870s boom town mining camp of Darwin, California. Formerly home to 3,000-plus residents and one of the biggest silver mines in Southern California, Darwin is currently home to a community of 30 or so residents.For me, this place is about metaphor, a place resonant with meaning and allegory. Yet, rather than idealistically record the sublime moment and spectacular vantage point, I strive to document the compelling interplay and interconnectedness between humankind and nature—an inclusive view that embraces the transformations that we impose on the landscape in an attempt to make it habitable, hospitable, utilitarian, familiar—and ultimately ours.
Exploring the contrast between the encompassing vastness of the desert landscape and the ingenious, often ironic yet poignant structures on it, a paradoxical thought arises: perhaps a landscape might be beautiful and natural and touched by man; that here may be a particular kind of beauty specifically derived from a human presence and human culture.
I photograph to uncover and document the paradox, the conflict, the hopefulness and the beauty of man’s place in this rugged landscape and the struggle to exist with it. Through these photographs I attempt to explore the meaning and impact of our encroachment on this wilderness, as well as our accommodation to it and coexistence with it, in an attempt to challenge our conventional understanding and definition of beauty in the Western American landscape.
about the photographer
I grew up and studied art in the Boston area: Summers as a young teen at the Museum of Fine Arts School taking art classes and roaming the galleries; stints studying at UMass Dartmouth and Boston University as a design and art history major, respectively; subsequently earning a BFA in photography from Massachusetts College of Art. Moving to Southern California in the late 1970s, my first experience of the desert was on the cross-country road trip. Breaking down outside of Glendale, Nevada on a sweltering early-September morning at sunrise—the Las Vegas lights in the distance—I was smitten. It has been a love that has endured.I am intrigued by the compelling interplay between humankind and nature. Mine is an inclusive view that embraces the transformations that we impose on the landscape. A paradoxical thought drives me: perhaps a landscape might be beautiful and natural and touched by man; that here may be a particular kind of beauty specifically derived from a human presence and human culture.
I’ve earned a living as a designer, art director, photographer, educator and marketer, yet the joy of exploring the desert has never left me. My husband, two cats and I currently divide our time between Orange County and Darwin, California, a remote 1870s former mining town (population 50 or so) in the Mojave Desert.
back to gallery