Lhea Lecy Photography
Artist Statement
My best memories as a little girl were the summer vacations with my grandparents. Little did I know at the time, my love for photography and landscapes would grow out of this tradition. My great great grandfather traveled to the states from Norway near the Lysefjord where my ancestors were settled. I can still hear their charming Norwegian accent whenever I think back it makes me smile. In the spirit of their Nordic heritage they were enticed to explore their surroundings. They traveled all 50 states well into their seventies and on many journeys, we joined them. My grandmothers interest in documenting our trips with her camera was keen and my grandfathers knack for retaining historical facts about these places, have influenced my artwork today. Many snap shots my grandmother took were of me and my sisters in front of road signs, state parks, geological and historical markers... always with the landscape looming behind us.
Because of my grandfather's appreciation of the land, I understood that these photographs were not just of trees, mountains and lakes. There is a history behind every landscape and every place has an untold story. Some of these places exist so quietly, people are unaware of the mystery in its presence.. I hope to tell these stories through my art.
Because of my Grandparent's influence the natural landscape has been a constant source of insiration in my mixed media work. My most recent project consists of examining the historical and cultural aspects of various sites throughout Minnesota and then photographing them. Some of the sites are of national importance while others are of cultural signifigance. My work is further influenced by 19th century landscape paintings and photography. In the process of exploring the aspects of light and color of these works, I began to experience a relationship with painting. My photography was transformed into various aspects of texture, light, shadow, movement and energy.
Through this occurence, mixed media became my primary means of artistic expression landscape and the history within it, became the primary focus of my work. My work is an expression of inspiration from nature and my relationship to the sites I am photographing. I strive to create harmony with light, shadow, color and texture, during this process natural elements are taken from the site and intergrated into each piece. My art is about presence and place. It is in the basics of our landscape that one can see and feel the beauty of the essential, the elements of nature and humanity coming together, I am portryaing the realism of the site; I am also in pursuit of the experiential expression.
I am interested in conveying the harmony of the seen and unseen. The landscape painters of the 19th century shaped humanity's understading of history and culture. Their works promoted westward expansion and established America's identity through the portrayal of an untapped land. Through the aid of historical and cultural research the influence of landscape painting and photography, I have created works that are a reaction to historical events, I am interested in revealing the narratives contained within the landscape. I hope to offer the veiwer a new reading of the landscape because landscapes leave us with information of the past. I have learned that these places reveal the land as being a site of human endevor and a witness to the historical process.
Lhea Lecy Photography
All images are copyright of Lhea Lecy
