FINALLY.

Author/Artist Name

Tiffany DayFollow

Files

Academic Level at Time of Creation

Senior

Date of Creation

Fall 11-15-2019

Artist Statement

Tiffany Day

Trash has become part of our everyday scenery. Check the Highways. Litter Breeds Litter. The physical effects on nature made through human intervention, drives me to document the aftereffects of what those interactions cause. Whether it be forgotten buildings in the middle of the woods, or plastic bags caught on broken tree branches, I capture images of the environment in disrepair. Through exploring ideas such as human interaction with nature, I hope that my work heightens my viewers’ awareness of the global climate crisis as they move through nature every day. I pay attention to everyday evidence of this environmental crisis in my work in hopes that it helps others notice it around them.

Through capturing images of abandoned buildings the viewer sees the consumption and disposal of resources made available to humans. This creates an idea of a consumer society which leads to the disposal of consumable products and trash. I am passionate about protecting the environment through recycling and educating others to do the same. Photography acts as an important way to record and to mourn the careless destruction of our world. The camera is a way to highlight the idea of destruction by capturing images overlooked by society on a daily basis. I walk through nature noticing every piece of trash left behind and can find a beautifully tragic image in the midst of these walks. I play with the scale of my images to find the most impactful effect desired. I want the images to feel not only large due to the importance of the topic but also small due to the lack of widespread determination to enact change in the issues at hand. What started out as a technical accident turned into a compositional choice to put the main object in the middle or almost in the middle of the composition to highlight the desired concept.

Much like another favorite photographer, Ansel Adams, I am constantly inspired by nature. Adams’ landscape & nature photography is beautifully inspiring, with all of the textures incorporated and the rich black values. Before I even realized it, I was photographing nature with similar ideas as Adams. Adams writes, “I cannot change the optical realities, but only manage them in relation to themselves and the format.” Like Adams, I formulate images through a photographer's eye to depict the realities of issues that threaten Earth’s future. I utilize natural forms such as trees, rocks, and water yet emphasize the harmfulness of manmade interventions.

Benjamin Von Wong sparked my interest in using photography to raise awareness for important environmental issues. Much of his elaborate photography is centered around environmental issues. The first image I ever saw of his was an image that depicted a mermaid lying lifeless on top of an ocean of plastic bottles. Seeing this image struck a chord in me, because the artist beautifully captured a very serious, ugly, issue in our world. I use my admiration for Von Wong’s work to inspire me to create photography that sheds light on issues that invoke passionate determination in myself and others.

Advisor/Mentor

Dr. Michelle Burdine, Dr. Martin

Description

The work being shown in my exhibition is how humans impact nature by what they leave behind. My eight black and white photography creates a cohesive connection to all of the works that helps create an emphasis on the trash and materials left in nature. The subjects of my images are straightforward and forces the viewer to wonder why the subject is there, how it got there, and what is it doing to the environment by being there. With this exhibition I hope to bring awareness to others about what we are leaving behind and how those things could affect nature. How we leave footprints of ourselves in the form of plastics, metals, fabrics, just all around things we have considered trash and left behind.

Photo Credit

Tiffany Day

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Day, Tiffany, "FINALLY." (2019). B.A./B.S. Practicum Group Exhibit (ART 499). 26.
https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/art499/26