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Southlight Gallery, April 2010


On February 25, 2010, the snow fell heavily in New York and blanketed the area in a thick layer of white, frozen powder. An exploration of Prospect Park in Brooklyn found many enjoying the snow day and many like me marveling at the visual delights created by a new palette of contrasts and color.

The bare branches of the trees took on a new identity with their temporary white coats, revealing darkened limbs and highlighting shapes and forms. Wet snow sticks where it can and falls where gravity and wind take it away. This natural shadow and highlight accentuates the patterns and textures formed by the trunks and branches.

Finding peace and solitude among the trees on a snowy day is easy, even in an urban setting where the evidence of man’s presence is everywhere. The silence of the falling snowflakes and crunching of the snow beneath my feet were only gently interrupted by laughter of people enjoying their special time.

Look closely at these images to find an artifact of man, sometimes obvious, sometimes subtle. See if you can match the titles with the images:

1. Cut limbs
2. Slat fence
3. Trash can
4. Lamp posts
5. Red coat
6. Streetlight 1
7. Streetlight 2
8. Chain link
9. People at play

The overpowering presence of nature overcomes the man-made, as it should in a sanctuary such as this. It is though the insignificance of our presence is being conveyed.