Linda Connor
Tentatively ......( Sea of Stars ), 2020

digital photographs sublimated on aluminum, wood-frame hinged panels with black linen surface and museum board backing
17”H x 57”W

ARTWORK STATEMENT:

This artwork brings together a number of approaches and content that I have used during my career, as well as reflecting on the concept of the Ark. In the late 1990s, I was able to access the Lick Observatory Archive of astronomical photographic glass plate negatives, many dating back to the late 1800s. I was able to make sun exposed contact prints (some of them from broken plates reassembled for the printing). For this piece, I had sublimated prints on aluminum made to further reveal the luminosity of the night sky. The piece is designed as a triptych and can be hung on a wall or freestanding. Framed in a dark wood finish, the two hinged outer panels can fold inward. Through digital layering, I collaged an Ammonite into our Milky Way, “a sea of stars” suggesting our planet Earth and our interconnected web of life. The right-hand panel shows a section of sky from a fractured glass plate negative, with a Zephyr blowing turbulence from the corner of the image. This piece is about where we are in the largest context, in time and space and a warning of the fragility of our Earth Ark.

Artist Bio:

Linda Connor received her BFA from Rhode Island School of Design and her master’s from the Institute of Design, Chicago. In 1969, she joined the San Francisco Art Institute photography faculty where she continues teaching. Known for her photographs of landscapes and sacred sites from across the world, her work has been exhibited in the US and internationally. Connor is the founder of the nonprofit PhotoAlliance. She is represented by the Haines Gallery and has published numerous monographs.