An Experiment in Perspective
December 7 – 30, 2006
The Conceptual Still Lifes of John Chervinsky
Edward O. Wilson wrote in 1978 in his book On Human Nature “The United States, technologically and scientifically the most sophisticated nation in history, is also the second most religious-after India.” Indeed, we live in an age, where according to a 2005 CBS news survey, that over half of Americans do not believe in the theory of evolution, in spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, and that it has withstood reasoned scrutiny for almost 150 years. Does faith come at a price? What is that price exactly? Can scientific humanism lift us out of our quagmire? Should it? Is it in fact the great irony of our condition that the very knowledge that sets us free from the tyranny of the dark ages, is also at the very root of the fear that causes us to drop to our knees to pray?
Conflicts between reason and belief are not new but never have they been held in such dramatic contrast as they have in the genomic age. The situation, such as it is, provides fertile ground for the artist and it is why I pursue the project with such urgency.
The entry point into my work is the idea of optical illusion as metaphor. I produce a different type of conceptual still life – one done in the manner of a science demonstration or imaginary physics experiment. To accomplish, I point a view camera toward the horizon point of two right-angle chalkboards. Markings with chalk are drawn in perspective (like anamorphic illusions) such that, from the point of view of the camera, they appear to be floating in space or on the surface of the photograph. The chalk markings are juxtaposed with real objects to create tensions between the real and the imaginary. The images are conceived to symbolically form a framework for open-ended narratives that ask questions rather than provide answers. It is hoped that viewers can bring their own history, reason and belief toward their interpretation.
Chervinsky has been passionately pursuing photography for nearly 20 years and strives to be at the forefront of the medium. He has exhibited his work throughout the United States.
An engineer by trade, Chervinsky has spent the past 18 years running a particle accelerator in one of Harvard University’s Applied Physics laboratories. He is involved with experimental research in physics, chemistry and materials science but his work also touches upon a diverse array of specialties, such as biology, archaeology, and fine art conservation and analysis.