Photographer’s work Challenges and inspires BY JENNIFER MADISON DAVIS JOURNAL NEWS EDITOR Internationally recognized photographer Bruce Barnbaum has released a new book of his work, his first since the award-winning ' monograph, Vii-ital Symphony in 1986 and the textbook The Ar! ofl’hulagraplzy in 1994. Barnbaum, who resides on the Mountain Loop Highway east ofGranite Falls. is known in the art world as one of today‘s finest pho- tographers, working mostly in black and white with subjects ranging from landscapes to architecture and abstract images. In an interview with the Journal last week. Barnbaum talked about the new book. Tone Poem: — Book I. and the hobby that has be- come his life work. The walls of his mountain retreat are lined with prints spanning his prolific career, which began 35 years ago as a way to document hiking trips into the Sierra Nevadas. Barnbaum's photos unexpectedly found their way into the New York Times with a story about the Sierra Club fighting a ski resort pro posed near Sequoia National Park. Barnbaum's work is now displayed in art galleries across the country and in private and museum Collections worldwide. He writes for several photo magazines and directs a series of photographic arts workshops each year, taking groups of students to Italy, France, California, Montana, Utah. Arizona (and the Puget Sound) to photograph and learn. “For a guy with a background in math. I'm really very fortunate." said Barnbaum. Several years in the making. the new book is a collaboration between Barnbaum and Seattle pianist Judith Cohen. Ninety black and white photographs are divided into three sections. or opuses, by theme, and are accom- panied by a CD of classical piano music se7 lected to convey the same cmotionus the photos. “You probably won't sit there and listen to the music and page through the book, What I’m hoping for is more of an emoi tional link, that the two art forms will contribute to one another," said Barnbaum. The book’s first Opus, “Enigmas, Abstractions and Surprises” includes experimental work and abstract images drawn from manmade ob— jects and the natural world. There is no defining text next to each photo, freeing the viewer to imagine the source and the mean- ing. The music chosen to accompany the photos is lively, reflecting the unexpected conclusions you might reach about the im- ages. The second Opus, “Darkness and Despair" is a deeply personal reflection ofBarnbaum’s battle against a quarry on the Mountain Loop “wow November 20, zoo: Highway. The ten previ— ously unpublished photos are details from a log felled by a Windstorm in I993 but not pho- tographed until 1999. In the log’s whorls and spirals, Barnbaum's camera found unset- tling ghost-like faces, drawing im- mediate comparisons to the famous painting “The Scream" by Norwegian painter Edvard Munch. Accompanying this gection of the book are dark musical selections from Rachmaninoff and Scriabin. The final section is an uplifting celebra- tion of the natural world. Titled “Lyricism Bruce Barnbaum with the now-overgrown log that generated a series of emotional photos in his new book, Tone Poems. Photo by Jennifer Madison Davis of the Land,” it includes some of Barnbaum’s finest landscapes and perhaps his most mag— nificent work to date. The deepest canyons of southern Utah, the soaring peaks of Montana‘s Rocky Mountains. rolling coun- tryside and barren desert each photograph conveys the artist’s great respect for Mother Earth. A chamber music piece, Trio in D by Anton Arensk. accompanies this section. Barnbaum plans three additional books in the Tone Poems series, and is working with Judith Cohen on the musical selections. Most of the music for the first CD was recorded exclusively forTone Poems at Benaroya Hall. SEE TONE POEMS ON PAGE 5 , Author: , Accession/Object ID: 2005.56.38, Object Name: Newspaper, Title: , Description: Article on Bruce Barnbaum, Nov 20, 2002, local photographer, OCR Text: Photographer’s work Challenges and inspires BY JENNIFER MADISON DAVIS JOURNAL NEWS EDITOR Internationally recognized photographer Bruce Barnbaum has released a new book of his work, his first since the award-winning ' monograph, Vii-ital Symphony in 1986 and the textbook The Ar! ofl’hulagraplzy in 1994. Barnbaum, who resides on the Mountain Loop Highway east ofGranite Falls. is known in the art world as one of today‘s finest pho- tographers, working mostly in black and white with subjects ranging from landscapes to architecture and abstract images. In an interview with the Journal last week. Barnbaum talked about the new book. Tone Poem: — Book I. and the hobby that has be- come his life work. The walls of his mountain retreat are lined with prints spanning his prolific career, which began 35 years ago as a way to document hiking trips into the Sierra Nevadas. Barnbaum's photos unexpectedly found their way into the New York Times with a story about the Sierra Club fighting a ski resort pro posed near Sequoia National Park. Barnbaum's work is now displayed in art galleries across the country and in private and museum Collections worldwide. He writes for several photo magazines and directs a series of photographic arts workshops each year, taking groups of students to Italy, France, California, Montana, Utah. Arizona (and the Puget Sound) to photograph and learn. “For a guy with a background in math. I'm really very fortunate." said Barnbaum. Several years in the making. the new book is a collaboration between Barnbaum and Seattle pianist Judith Cohen. Ninety black and white photographs are divided into three sections. or opuses, by theme, and are accom- panied by a CD of classical piano music se7 lected to convey the same cmotionus the photos. “You probably won't sit there and listen to the music and page through the book, What I’m hoping for is more of an emoi tional link, that the two art forms will contribute to one another," said Barnbaum. The book’s first Opus, “Enigmas, Abstractions and Surprises” includes experimental work and abstract images drawn from manmade ob— jects and the natural world. There is no defining text next to each photo, freeing the viewer to imagine the source and the mean- ing. The music chosen to accompany the photos is lively, reflecting the unexpected conclusions you might reach about the im- ages. The second Opus, “Darkness and Despair" is a deeply personal reflection ofBarnbaum’s battle against a quarry on the Mountain Loop “wow November 20, zoo: Highway. The ten previ— ously unpublished photos are details from a log felled by a Windstorm in I993 but not pho- tographed until 1999. In the log’s whorls and spirals, Barnbaum's camera found unset- tling ghost-like faces, drawing im- mediate comparisons to the famous painting “The Scream" by Norwegian painter Edvard Munch. Accompanying this gection of the book are dark musical selections from Rachmaninoff and Scriabin. The final section is an uplifting celebra- tion of the natural world. Titled “Lyricism Bruce Barnbaum with the now-overgrown log that generated a series of emotional photos in his new book, Tone Poems. Photo by Jennifer Madison Davis of the Land,” it includes some of Barnbaum’s finest landscapes and perhaps his most mag— nificent work to date. The deepest canyons of southern Utah, the soaring peaks of Montana‘s Rocky Mountains. rolling coun- tryside and barren desert each photograph conveys the artist’s great respect for Mother Earth. A chamber music piece, Trio in D by Anton Arensk. accompanies this section. Barnbaum plans three additional books in the Tone Poems series, and is working with Judith Cohen on the musical selections. Most of the music for the first CD was recorded exclusively forTone Poems at Benaroya Hall. SEE TONE POEMS ON PAGE 5 , Granite Falls Historical Society,Documents (articles, clippings, letters, papers),General Articles & Documents,General Articles,General Articles 05,Newspaper (2005.56.38),Newspaper (2005.56.38) 1, Newspaper (2005.56.38) 1