TG Artworks / Artists represented / Ray McSavaney
 

Ray McSavaney's bio · Ray McSavaney's cv

  An important part of my photography is the exploration of different subjects and looking for connections between them. The camera became a tool to adjust the reality that most people see and introduce other meanings by refining the camera location to reflect subtle relationships. As the level of my darkroom work improved, I was able to further change the emphasis of my images. The images became not just documents but a form of communication with the viewer. Rather than making one statement, the image became a springboard for the viewer to explore some of my thoughts or bring their own background into the conversation. In doing this, the normal comprehension of beauty and subjects that are considered attractive are reevaluated.

The accidental has also become important in my photography. At an urban workshop, I would take participants to areas under the bridges of the Los Angeles River where some homeless people lived and others sometimes dumped their trash. Participants wondered why we stopped at such a place and couldn't wait to leave. Upon looking around there was a change in attitude. They realized the exceptional quality of light that existed, in combination with the structure, created very different options than originally envisioned. I often go back to previously photographed locations to see the changes that have taken place. Changes caused by weather and the addition of graffiti provide new possibilities.

Similarly, background for botanical studies are made of developer flowing across printing paper to create different patterns and Polaroid negatives that are not archivally processed, so they can begin to self-destruct. The disintegrating Polaroid prints and negatives are watched and re-photographed once they become more interesting, which can be within minutes or years after they are made. Whether it is the changes that take place as the flower or building ages or the use of photographic materials, the exploration of imagery continues.