The Center of the Universe
June 3 – 26, 1993
I can remember the hours simply looking. When I was a child, all things were worthy of inspection. Even a pole, column or wire would capture my entire focus and attention. Seen through such eyes, they would take on a sense of dignity, immediacy and passion. The surrounding landscape would seemingly melt into a mystery of color and motion. I would sit in awe, as if at the center of the universe.
This series of photographs is an attempt to recapture that sense of wonder. It is an attempt to return to a vision free of labels, titles, concepts and categories; to a time before I learned that poles were obstacles to be looked around and beyond.
Born and raised in Western Pennsylvania, growing up among the children and grandchildren of immigrants who worked in steel mills and related industries, never once did I suspect I would become an artist. Somehow, I found the courage to follow a call I truly did not comprehend.
I rely on beauty and the art of seeing. Art-making is my means of exploring, questioning and reinterpreting the way that we perceive our world and is a reflection of my ongoing personal search for meaning and understanding.
My photographs have been internationally exhibited and published, and are in the collections of such fine institutions as the Victorian and Albert Museum in London, the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, the George Eastman House, the Santa Barbara Museum, the Musee de Photographie in Charleroi, Belgium and the Lianzhou Museum in Lianzhou, China. I have an MFA from Stanford University and have taught courses and workshops on various aspects of photography in both the United States and Europe. I am a dual U.S. / Italian citizen who is currently living between Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where I was born and raised and the San Francisco Bay Area.
www.JimVecchi.com
www.AtMyWindow.com