Circular Motion
DAVID RICCI PHOTOGRAPHY
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NEW BOOK: EDGE
Interview by Harryet Candee Congratulations on your upcoming book, EDGE. When we last spoke, two years ago, the tentative title for your book was Edge of Chaos. Why did you change the title? Thanks, Harryet. When we last spoke, I had just completed work on a prototype, or what is often referred to as a “book dummy” that included photographs spanning nearly four decades of my career as a fine art photographer. I collaborated with Larry Chernicoff of WindHorse Design to develop the dummy which I then used to pitch my book idea to publishers. The title “Edge of Chaos” came from the field of complexity science, the discipline that investigates what occurs when large numbers of individual elements are added to a system and coalesce. As more components are added, at a point bordering on chaos, something new materializes that is not just complicated but rather an entirely new entity that is both greater than the sum of its parts and essentially different from them. That magical region is called the “edge of chaos”. That concept
became a metaphor for my photography because I try to capture an unexpected elegance that emerges from visually dense scenes. Over several years’ time my compositions became extremely complex, bordering on chaos. It took a few years, but I am thrilled to have signed a contract with Fall Line Press in Atlanta, Georgia to publish my monograph later this year. While we are still making use of the “edge of chaos” metaphor, the publisher suggested the single word “edge” for the title – simple and concise while still capturing the essence of the book. After much contemplation I agreed with him. I understand Tim Davis, professor of photography at Bard College will be including an essay. This is an important addition in promoting your book and you as a photographer. What does he write that supports and promotes your intense 40 years plus of photography work?
40 • SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER 2021 THE ARTFUL MIND
Tim is highly regarded in the photography world because he is a fabulous photographer and writer. Both of those talents are on display in his recent book “I’m Looking Through You” which was just published by Aperture. It’s hard to summarize his essay for EDGE in a few sentences, but the title alone hints at Tim’s unusual writing style: “The Photographs of a Spoonleaf Sundew”. My first response when I read that was “huh?”. I’ve been called a lot of things over the years but never a Spoonleaf Sundew! Then I realized the title will certainly pique the reader’s curiosity whether he/she knows what a Sundew is or not. Tim makes great use of metaphor throughout the piece, the main one comparing this carnivorous plant (akin to a Venus Flytrap, but much more inviting in appearance and name) to the book. The author suggests that EDGE lures the viewer in with its “nectar of visual complexity” and as the book progresses, like the Sundew, it engulfs the reader and doesn’t let go.
