Joseph Hyde: Certain Trees
Rosenberg Gallery
I
t was October 2013, and Joseph Hyde rolled down a rural road on the Olympic Peninsula on the extreme west coast of Washington state. Flitting past the windows, left and right, were wooded areas of alternately standing and logged woodlands. Hyde came for the trees, and there were lots of them. Just an hour before sunrise, the sky was deep blue and overcast; a light drizzle began to fall on the windshield. Ahead was a roadblock that had to be circumnavigated because the Park Service temporarily closed Olympic National Park for nonsupport. Hyde decided to chance it. He said he operates on the principle that it’s easier to be granted forgiveness for trespassing on federal property than to get actual permission. La Push, Washington, has become an expensive habit for Hyde. He’s been there four times from Baltimore because, he said, there are a lot of massive logs washed up on the beach. But when asked what makes these trees more image-worthy than others closer to home, he said it’s partly because of the setting. “Here I can find all of the primal elements of nature in pristine condition: big water, big rocks, big wood, and heavy, restless skies,” he said. Mild temps are a plus, even if the rain is relentless at times. One hundred forty inches a year is 10 times what passes for normal back home in Baltimore, and because the weather can be so whimsical, Hyde carries an assortment of garbage bags and Ziploc baggies to keep himself and his stuff dry. Rialto Beach in Olympic National Park has a lot of crazy-looking fallen trees and driftwood to which Hyde is especially attracted. It also has a narrow rocky shoreline, harmless-looking creeks that require mindfulness in crossing, and sneaky rising tides that can leave a person stranded for half a day. Hyde pointed to a trailhead sign that warned of cougar presence and recommended against hiking alone, especially at dusk, which like the roadblocks earlier, he said can be ignored. Nature immaculate always comes with a few risks.
Everlasting Hope, 2010 film/digital hybrid 22� x 30�
Hyde photographs trees obsessively. Twenty years ago, a close friend and photo colleague asked him when he was planning to finish with the trees and start on something else. In response, Hyde asked his friend when he might stop photographing people, arguing that if you can make the cognitive leap, trees have the same sentient and gestural qualities of humans.
Latent Memory, 2009 digital print 6” x 4”
While he’s collecting images, Hyde said he’s not really thinking about specific titles, but instead concentrating on form, texture, and figure-ground relationships. He prefers sharp, orderly images, with a clear separation of values, and likes to quote a Zen dictum of Minor White’s — “I photograph things for what they are and for what else they are.”
Peace Pilgrim, 1998 film/digital hybrid 22” x 30”
Hyde said the titles of his photos evolve slowly, well after the print has been made. Though some may say they seem a bit contrived, he said, “All my images are illusions, and all my titles are allusions, but they help to explain why I photograph certain trees and not others.” When others say they sometimes come off as corny, cryptic, or creepy, he says, “Welcome to my world.”
Joseph Hyde: Certain Trees january 11 – March 2, 2014 artist’s Reception
Thursday, February 6, 2014, 6-9 p.m.
Rosenberg Gallery Directions
Baltimore Beltway, I-695, to exit 27A. Make first left onto campus.
Gallery Hours
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday – Sunday 410.337.6477
The exhibit is free and open to the public. The Rosenberg Gallery program is funded with the assistance of grants from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency funded by the state of Maryland and the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Baltimore County Commission on the Arts and Sciences. Cover: Elder, 2010, film/digital hybrid, 22” x 30”
www.goucher.edu/rosenberg
14238-J2595 01/14