honorable mention
Michael Page Miller united states
title
Dance the Shores of Jordan
Confined by Covid to a narrow barrier island, 15 months in exile, I needed solace. I’d learn to fish. I assayed my pray. A pole and a line would not do. Spears and traps were out. I turned to cast nets with digital capture.
The harvest was promising -- hundreds, at times thousands, of very small acrobats swimming together in circles, then darting off in one direction, then another, then another, a free-for-all all. Sometimes choreography, sometimes chaos. I pressed on.
With changing light, shadows, wind, and water, each image was unpredictable, ephemeral, never to be repeated. The patterns were intoxicating, but the colors were drab, the fabric muted. I would perform metamorphosis. With digital alchemy the work became a kaleidoscope of hues and textures—and a reflection of my mercurial moods. Bounded by their own reality, like a lucid dream, the lines between real and unreal become blurred. Some images were lyrical, others discordant, but always very different from the raw capture.
I felt excited, even joyful – a rare and wonderful gift in a period of confusion and fear and random death. And, for a moment at least I could forget time.
* * *
As an artist, how did I get here? I have a passion for form and line, texture and color, patterns and broken patterns. My early influences were the abstracts of the Westons, Siskind, and White. Much later I lusted after the aura of Japanese ukiyo-e (block prints) and scrolls and the later color work of Daisuke Yokota. With Dance the Shores I could indulge these desires.
Other bodies of work include Chelsea Walls- hidden images found on aging New York City walls; Crystal Reveries - geometric distortions and fantastical patterns reflected in high-rise windows; and The Hudson Line - impressionistic river images captured from the railroad’s passenger seat.
Michael’s work has been exhibited in solo and group shows in galleries in New York City and Florida. His photographs have received multiple awards at the Garrison Art Center and the Color Club of Westchester International Exhibition.
Michael lives and works in New York City and Ossining, New York.
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entry description
"Dance the Shores of Jordan ...'Till the Angels Carry Me"Confined by Covid to a narrow barrier island, 15 months in exile, I needed solace. I’d learn to fish. I assayed my pray. A pole and a line would not do. Spears and traps were out. I turned to cast nets with digital capture.
The harvest was promising -- hundreds, at times thousands, of very small acrobats swimming together in circles, then darting off in one direction, then another, then another, a free-for-all all. Sometimes choreography, sometimes chaos. I pressed on.
With changing light, shadows, wind, and water, each image was unpredictable, ephemeral, never to be repeated. The patterns were intoxicating, but the colors were drab, the fabric muted. I would perform metamorphosis. With digital alchemy the work became a kaleidoscope of hues and textures—and a reflection of my mercurial moods. Bounded by their own reality, like a lucid dream, the lines between real and unreal become blurred. Some images were lyrical, others discordant, but always very different from the raw capture.
I felt excited, even joyful – a rare and wonderful gift in a period of confusion and fear and random death. And, for a moment at least I could forget time.
* * *
As an artist, how did I get here? I have a passion for form and line, texture and color, patterns and broken patterns. My early influences were the abstracts of the Westons, Siskind, and White. Much later I lusted after the aura of Japanese ukiyo-e (block prints) and scrolls and the later color work of Daisuke Yokota. With Dance the Shores I could indulge these desires.
about the photographer
Michael Page Miller is entranced by the beauty of form – lines, shapes, colors, textures, shadows, and light. Using “digital alchemy,” Michael explores the mutability of photographic images to create mysterious abstracts that become their own reality. His recent series, Dance the Shores of Jordan -- mysterious abstracts from the shore and bay of a Gulf Coast barrier island, was influenced by Japanese Ukiyo-e (woodblock prints) and scrolls.Other bodies of work include Chelsea Walls- hidden images found on aging New York City walls; Crystal Reveries - geometric distortions and fantastical patterns reflected in high-rise windows; and The Hudson Line - impressionistic river images captured from the railroad’s passenger seat.
Michael’s work has been exhibited in solo and group shows in galleries in New York City and Florida. His photographs have received multiple awards at the Garrison Art Center and the Color Club of Westchester International Exhibition.
Michael lives and works in New York City and Ossining, New York.
back to gallery