BARBARA CRANE
These pictures are from the Littoral zone, that place in-between the deep sea and dry land, an in-between place where giants are suspended, like sleeping elephants foisted in the air, improbably teetering on slender supports. Having been flipped upside down, rendered helpless, taken out of context. Once transcendently powerful and graceful, now literally “fish out of water”, behemoths of the deep strangely displaced, separated from their natural function, interrupted in flight, are forced to wait in suspended animation. Just as the whole world is uncomfortably suspended during the corona virus pandemic, they are in “Lock Down” in a kind of purgatory, while simultaneously being, dismantled, disassembled, stripped down and remade.
They submit to harsh purification as their old skins are scraped down and replaced.Their histories once evident in bleeding paint, spidery cracks, flanks bruised and oxidized by time, a dearly won beauty wrought upon them by the elements, is now steadily being erased, replaced by the seductive high gloss surfaces of brilliant and impermeable paint.
I tiptoe amongst their underbellies holding my breath, palpably aware of how fragile, minuscule and mortal I am.Their vastness, their massive weight so delicately balanced overhead engenders anxiety. I can’t make out the whole from any one single point of view, therefore am unable to form an inner map. like an infant with a limited point of view I can only see parts, like pieces of a puzzle.
Yet the bold geometries and ergonomic shapes of these puzzle pieces, and each angle of their surrounding birthing caves indicate the vast scope of what lies just beyond my vision. As simple and singular parts of a whole, each a grain of sand, a microcosm within a macrocosm, they signal the power and glory of these suspended giants, when they will be whole again, when each of their disparate parts will come together once again fused into a powerful ergonomic force, once again to be freed on the ocean.
Inside this zone I find a synesthetic geometry, a graphic beauty, metaphor and poetry. Examining close up that which is usually hidden; propellers, ducts, vents and rudders, lost in textural topographies made up of countless complex surfaces, each reflecting the other. Elegance sings in the strong curving shapes, pathos in the weathered and barnacle encrusted skin, bleeding alluvials from old wounds, patinas glazed by the flow of water or oil, awaiting the transformation into becoming so highly polished as to be a mirror slicing through the elements, attaining an impermeable perfection.
Everywhere there is color. Even the floors underfoot are awash in color, as every surface has been scrapped, sprayed, speckled and splattered with vivid primary color, tinting the very light that penetrates. Improbable shapes are wrapped in cellophane, tied with neon green and blue tape, plastic sheets like second skins become curtains of color, draped or billowing, sometimes transparent sometimes opaque membranes of color. All present a visual feast, all the while being broken down and remade.
Barbara Crane was born and raised in the woods and along the beaches of New England. Growing up frequenting the Shaker village in New Lebanon and reading about the Transcendentalists of Concord lead her to Jungian psychology and comparative religion, and spurred her to travel and photograph many of the diverse religious expressions around the world, from Lourdes to the Maha-Kumba-Mela in Allahabad, to the Shiva Ratri Festival in Nepal. She lived in New York City for many years, immersing herself in the contemporary art world and the Global Village. Since 9/11 She lives and works in Wakefield, Rhode Island.
1.Educated at the Rhode Island School of Design, the Harvard School for Film and Visual Studies, and the School of Visual Arts, NYC. A life long learner she has also studied directly with a wide range of masters in the Field of photography among whom are: Maggie Taylor, John Paul Caponigro, Elizabeth Opelanick, Craig Stevens, Richard Tuschman, Katrin Eismann, and Sean Duggan, among others. She has studied at the Global Village, N.Y.C., the Santa Fe Photographic workshops; the Maine Media Workshops, and at the Institute of Contemporary Photography NYC.
2.) She has shown in numerous galleries and museums including; the Van Buren/Brazelton/Cutting Gallery in Cambridge; The Castle Gallery, New Rochelle,N.Y.; the Thread Waxing Space, N.Y.C.; B4A Gallery, N.Y.C.; the “Affordable Art Fair”; the NY Design Center, the Danforth Museum of Art.; Gallery “Z”; the Krause Gallery; the Jamestown Arts Center, The Warwick Museum of Art; the Mystic Museum of Art; the Newport Art Museum; and the Art League of Rhode Island. She has also shown her work at the “Houston Foto-Fest"; and at the “Center” in Santa Fe
3.) She has won numerous awards including Newport Art Museum annual juried show - Best in show, Newport Art Museum annual Juried show - First prize photography, Scenes of Rhode Island, Atrium Gallery, RI State House - prize from Governor Carcieri, Mystic Art Museum, juried Regional Photography Show, - 1St prize and Honorable Mention & Excellence Award Warwick Center for the Arts