A few months ago my good friend Scott Wheeler referred me to Lisa M. Robinson’s website. I was immediately captivated. The minimalist compositions, the flat light in winter under which she photographed–which i find hard to work with either in color or black and white–drew me in. Her photographs are all about what she calls a “cultural landscape” where man’s remaining presence is evident, even with the physical absence of a human being. Many have very obvious evidence of man’s presence, while others obscure man-made objects with the natural world; other photographs give the feeling of being in an arctic wasteland.
On the surface, these images are quite beautiful. They appear elegantly simple and accessible, evoking, perhaps, the silent tranquility that one might feel after a fresh snowfall. Beneath the surface, however, there is a subtle tension. Like fine haiku, each image quietly references another season, a time of life or activity that has already passed, and may come again. Throughout the series run the leitmotifs of poles and ropes and a palette of man-made color. The relationship between the human and the natural world becomes more tightly intertwined as the series progresses, and the cycles of life and death and transformation fold inward.
Living in southeast Idaho for nearly all my life, I think I have an even grander appreciation for these images. I’ve seen many scenes very similar to some of Robinson’s photographs. The photographs have rich monochromes, and some show small accents of “man-made color” which is what I find so intriguing about the work. My work, which has been nearly all black and white landscapes is (and I’ll be the first to admit) pretty romanticized. Even photographs that show negative or damaging effects man has incurred on the land are “beautified.” Recently I’ve begun photographing more in color, and they have been more panchromatic, and seeing work like Robinson’s is really inspiring.
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