Burned

In a small town in Eastern North Carolina one can find The Meadow Restaurant, a longtime favorite for its cakes and pies.  A few miles from The Meadow was a small, one-room convenience store. It caught fire when a gas can exploded and scorched or destroyed most of the contents on shelves although the building was left standing. Janet Kagan joined me for an exploration inside. Carefully walking on the floor beams that remained, we discovered a long row of books no larger than the palm of one's hand. Although charred, the language of words had survived even when their shapes had turned each into paper sculpture.

Brought them to the studio and arranged a way for them to be suspended in air in front of a black background. I tediously constructed intricate lighting to accentuate the words that I felt symbolized the stubborn refusal of culture to be destroyed. Working with my 8x10 camera, large 80x60 prints were exhibited at the Laurence Miller Gallery in NYC. The Burned exhibition caught the attention of important collectors with one from Texas acquiring the first edition of each print.