Upon The Face Of The Waters has developed over a long period of time, with the final form of the concept coming into being just two years ago. I wanted to do something that would work well with my ideas about art and do something that other books have not done. There are so many wonderful books already that teach about the ocean from the viewpoint of marine Biology and are magnificently illustrated. It is not necessary to repeat this sort of effort. As a result, my final concept for this book was to look at the sea as a work of art and to visually explore six concepts that seemed recurrent in my images. These six concepts, in turn, have determined the structure of the book. The book is not divided into chapters that deal with a particular subject, but instead is divided into six sections that visually explore a given concept.
The six sections and their concepts are as follows:
- The Face Of The Waters - This is a bit of a play on words from the title of the book, UPON THE FACE OF THE WATERS. The idea here is to look at the “face” of the sea with its near infinite variety of textures, colors and form, and not to be so concerned with the idea of “subject matter.” By looking beyond subject matter we are able to look at the sea as “pure form.” Subject matter is wonderful and enables us to understand the life around us. But, sometimes it is good to go beyond this and to look for the pure aesthetics in all life.
- The Light Of Recognition - This section seeks to portray the intelligence in living things in the ocean. Sometimes, we humans are able to see intelligence only from a purely human point of view. Since I have had the wonderful privilege to be head to head with Humpback Whales and to look into the giant eye looking back at we, I have felt their intelligence and know that we are not alone as sentient beings.
- Mother’s Touch - This section concerns itself with the idea of nurturing in the sea, or the relationship between the infant and mother. The images go further to explore the and the child of the sea at play.
- Face To Face - This section illustrates the relationship between marine life and humans in the sea. As in all my work, these images do not just chronicle my time in the ocean , but portray my feelings and passions about these encounters. As you could well imagine, swimming with dolphins is a powerful emotional experience, so I have much with which to work.
- Big Sea - This concept is a bit more difficult to express verbally, but I will give it a try. It is impossible or at least quite difficult to get a feel for the “big picture” of the sea. This section illustrates some of the contrasting elements in the Ocean that seem to be in a perfect balance, when not tampered with. Buy understanding something of some of the parts, we might have a better understanding of the whole.
- Cantabile - The ocean is one of the most musical places I know. This section is about that music. It is also about the idea of music becoming visual and the visual becoming music. Since I am both image maker and musician, the distinction between the two roles is sometimes not so distinct. For example, on occasion in my darkroom as I am printing and wish to change the contrast of a print, I will ask myself what key I am modulating to. Sometimes this gets a bit weird.
The publisher, Graeme Gourlay and I have been in total agreement in that the book must be done correctly. We never have cut corners on quality nor strayed from our commitment to visual and artistic excellence. I am very proud of this effort and am pleased to offer it for your consideration.
I hope that you enjoy having a look around this web site and if you have any questions about the book or the images, please don’t hesitate to send us an e-mail. Please keep in mind that I spend a lot of time out of the country with my work, and it may be a few weeks before I am able to send you a reply.
