Library Art: 2024 Winner: "Leviathan" and "The Plains"

Cameron Riley’s latest series of digital photographs, entitled The Carpenter, focuses on what it means to be crafted or created by examining natural wooden forms: namely, tree roots, branches, and bark. This series is derived from examinations of repetition — that is, whether or not repetition is even possible. The Carpenter demonstrates that the act of creation in and of itself is repeated infinitely, just as with the act of observation and, simultaneously, the act of photography in its ability to be physically reproduced. The heavy, imposing visual presence of the forms in this series, their strong monochromatic contrast, and their visceral texture contribute to their sense of permanency — a stable ground in an otherwise-uncertain world.

The series is heavily inspired by Christian ideas about creation, the nature of truth, and the relationship between God and humanity. Before he began his ministry, the Bible tells us that Jesus of Nazareth was a tektōn — the Koine Greek word for a craftsman, artisan, or carpenter. This series examines the meaning of creation in the natural wood of trees, demonstrating that growth and creation are ongoing in their own unique ways, and that everything traces its existence back to that ultimate Artisan. The Carpenter elevates the natural creation beyond human influence — the forms are viewed as works of art in and of themselves rather than just raw material to be made into something else. They stand in rejection of contemporary ideas of postmodern relativity. There is nothing uncertain or fragmentary about the subjects — they encapsulate their own whole meaning, including the interpretations of the observer. The handiwork of God invites the observer into visual communion, for they, too, came from this dust.

Riley’s work draws influences from several different sources, including both visual and literary mediums. This latest series was particularly inspired by the writings and amateur photography of Thomas Merton, a 20th century Catholic monk, mystic, and interfaith activist who spent much of his life in the American Midwest. Merton’s work demonstrates the beauty and profundity of the everyday, as well as the fundamental mark of divinity within the entire created world. The photographs that make up The Carpenter were all produced through a similarly meditative and contemplative lens — in silence, solitude, and self-reflection on the part of the artist. By consciously choosing such ‘common’ objects as solitary chairs or barn doors, otherwise uninteresting subjects, Merton elevated them to the status of artistic subjects worthy of contemplation. One image of a tree branch simply titled “Bark” particularly influenced those within Riley’s series. Vincent van Gogh’s oil paintings were another source of inspiration for The Carpenter, especially his 1890 painting Tree Roots.

Besides Merton’s work, other literary influences on the series include Søren Kierkegaard’s existential examinations of recollection and repetition and the modernist poetry of T. S. Eliot with its rich imagery and religious overtones. The underlying religious themes behind The Carpenter undoubtedly present a challenge to contemporary trends within the culture of art, seemingly too preoccupied with decrying the divisions that humanity has brought upon itself. This series rejects the notion that the world has become irreversibly divided or ‘secularised’ by revealing the foundational truth and beauty present within the entire world, within ‘a handful of dust’, and even within the roots of a tree.

— Cameron Riley, Class of 2024