Wayne Norton

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Wayne Norton follow American, born 1958

Lives in Wickenburg, Arizona, United States

Projects/Portfolios

Desert Still Life

Introduction

The subjects of these still life photograph are objects that I’ve collected in the deserts of the American Southwest. In making these photographs it has been my goal to create highly formal compositions with open-ended narratives suggesting ethical and environmental concerns regarding the desert. I am equally concerned with my concepts behind these images as I am with creating dynamic and visually interesting photographs. Therefore, my photographs have a dual purpose: To express my aesthetic values as an artist, and to express my values as a fellow inhabitant of this planet. The images in this portfolio were all made in my studio using a high-end digital camera and just one studio strobe light to help emphasize the subject's shapes and textures.

Pinhole Nudes

Introduction

All photographs were shot on film with a 4x5 inch pinhole (lensless) camera in abandoned mining buildings in Arizona. Prints are limited edition archival pigment prints:

"Rustic, dilapidated buildings in the desert southwest serve as both setting and metaphor for this series of nude photographs made with a large format pinhole camera. The images are meant to suggest and comment on a multitude of human social aspects and conditions, symbolized by the depicted female forms, whose nudity strips them of social identity and implies vulnerability. The nude figures create a visual dialog with the abandoned, decaying buildings that serve to remind us of the state of decline that we are all experiencing on a personal, cultural, and global level. The dying structures are sometimes portrayed in an anthropomorphic manner, personifying them and linking them to the fragility of humanity.

A 4x5 inch, wide-angle pinhole camera was used to help create a primitive, dreamy, and almost surreal atmosphere. A lack of complete sharpness, infinite depth of field, and natural vignetting (light fall off toward the edges of the image), are attributes of the pinhole camera, which is little more than a box with a laser-drilled pinhole, instead of a lens, to project an image onto the film inside the camera. This, along with various in-camera multiple exposures and blurring effects, help to symbolically express my visions of conflict, emotions, and desires within a social, physical, and psychological context. I strive for images with graphic formal values as well as strong narrative content that is left open to the interpretation of individual viewers."

Galleries

Moberg Gallery, Des Moines, IA, United States
Zen Mountain Gallery, Jerome, AZ, United States

Statements

Artist Statement
The subjects of these still life photograph are objects that I’ve collected in the deserts of the American Southwest, which I then photograph in my studio. In making these photographs it is my goal to create highly formal compositions with open-ended narratives suggesting ethical and environmental concerns regarding the desert. I am equally concerned with my concepts behind these images as I am with creating dynamic and visually interesting photographs.

Process Statement
The images in this portfolio were all made in my studio using a high-end digital camera and just one studio strobe light to help emphasize the subject's shapes and textures. Outputs are archival ink jet prints ranging in size from 20 to 48 inches.

Biography

Originally from Iowa, Wayne Norton earned a BA from Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California in 1982. For the next 25 years he owned and operated his commercial photography studio, Norton Photography, in the San Diego area. He then moved to Wickenburg, Arizona in 2007 to dedicate himself to fine art photography and to enjoy living in the desert, which had become one of his passions. Wayne’s transition from commercial to fine art includes his graduation in 2006 from the masters program at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, California, where he earned a MFA degree in fine art photography. He is now working on several fine art photography projects, is a part-time instructor and new course developer at the Academy of Art University, and is a part-time commercial photographer.

Website

nortonphoto.com/

Contact

For print inquiries, please contact any of the fine galleries below.

Moberg Gallery, Des Moines, IA, United States
Zen Mountain Gallery, Jerome, AZ, United States

For other inquiries, contact the artist using the form below.

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