Before discovering the graphic tension of rusted loading docks and weathered render, I, too, dutifully submitted to the rules of traditional minimalism. A portfolio is apparently required by fine-art law to feature a few serene, empty sea horizons or sky.
Inspiration: The Built Environment
Minimalist photography has long gravitated toward the wide-open stillness of sky and sea, but I have found Jay Mullineaux's work particularly inspiring. His superb Flickr portfolio renewed and focused my attention on the overlooked corners of the urban and industrial built environments.
Jay's eye for weathered doors, boarded windows and worn brick turns ordinary urban surfaces into compositions as spare and considered as any horizon line. Discovering his photography — and the conversations that followed — helped draw my own minimalist photography away from land and seascapes. A seemingly almost unlimited variety of possibilities opened up. The quadriptych or tetraptych featured here is based on four of his images, offered here with generous permission — and my gratitude for the inspiration as well as his time and observant input.
