Outtake from “Go West Old Man” tour

Abstract–“…the term comes from the Latin for “drawn away” or “pulled away,” signifying that the summary is a distilled version detached from the original, longer work.” Google AI

Fifty plus years ago, in an Art History class, I learned that the artwork I had always referred to as “abstract” would more accurately be called “non-objective,” literally, not about an object.

By the above definition, every photograph could be considered “abstract.” In a medium so inherently documentary as photography it is a real challenge to create non-objective images. How do you frame a very real thing in such a way that the viewer doesn’t see subject but has a sensory experience of one or more design elements–point, line, shape, form, tone, color, texture, pattern?

For more of Bill’s photographs, go to https://www.billdurrence.com/index

Outtakes from “Go West Old Man” tour

When you are from the soggy, humid southeastern US coast, and spend a few days in the arid desert, you start seeing things, imagining things….

For more of Bill’s photographs, go to https://www.billdurrence.com/index

Serendipity is a beautiful thing.

We were looking for something to do on our last full day in Mexico City, in addition to making a return visit to a market for some completely frivolous shopping. We had visited the Frida Kahlo home earlier so going to the Diego Rivera Mural Museum seemed appropriate. When we got there it was closed, construction as best we could tell, but definitely closed.

From there, the aforementioned market was a reasonable walk away, and an easy navigation, but as we walked along, checking the GPS map periodically, the Museo de Arte Popular popped up, showing a half block off our route. Why not?

It was fabulous. And because we are over 60, it was free. There was a lot of death type representation; it is Mexico, but the several floors of galleries were full of challenging and beautiful pieces. The thing that struck me the most was the level of detail, and lush coloring, in the carvings, ranging from very large altar pieces to smaller items like the Purgatory Mask shown here with a detail section.

For more of Bill’s photographs, go to https://www.billdurrence.com/index