Rutherford Witthus

Crumple 22

2015

40"40" photograph, edition of 5, signed and editioned on reverse framed in natural wood shadowbox frame This photograph is from a series entitled, “(UN)THINKABLE,” the culmination of 25 years of Phillip Buehler’s work photographing remnants of the Cold War throughout the United States and Europe. Buehler has visited NATO airbases, Cape Canaveral, the Airplane Graveyard, missile bunkers and silos (even within New York City’s borders) among many other sites that are historic, and yet hidden, forbidden, and forgotten. Photographs from this series will be featured in a solo exhibition this September at the Front Room Gallery. For anyone growing up during the Cold War the sense of dread of the world’s annihilation was all to concrete. It was evidenced in films like “Dr. Strangelove” and “The Day After.” Everyone knew the U.S. had enough nuclear weapons to destroy the world 5 times over, and assumed something similar about the Russians. For those not old enough to remember this built in fear, don’t worry (worry) it is reawakening. We don’t need another Cuban Missile Crisis to push us to the brink, the renewed tension with the Russians, and now North Korea’s recent entry in the nuclear weapons club is more than enough to unnerve anyone who is watching these conflicts unfold. Phillip Buehler is watching closely. Through this comprehensive series Buehler’s photos show many aspects of this non-war war. In Buehler’s aerial photographs from a military airplane storage yard in Arizona the repetition of the same model of bomber aircraft are so abstractly pattern-based that the overall effect beginnings to feel like a Middle Eastern tapestry...

30"x40" photograph of created landscape of paper. from the series: "The Hundred- Acre Wood" signed on reverse edition of 5. The installation landscape scene created by Ken Ragsdale exisits only to be photographed. With each scene, the artist meticulously cuts paper and folds each component to be captured by his lens. This photograph of cut paper constructions depicts a bus ride through a forest scene from the artists memory. The hues of ambient amber, green, red and blue are created through lighting the staged scene created in white paper Ken Ragsdale’s process begins with rough sketches of places and things from his past that are relevant to current themes he is considering. This series focuses on a time period of 1974-78, in the regions of Northern Idaho, to Eastern Oregon and the areas between. As his working drawings solidify the dimensions of the objects which represent his memories from that era, Ragsdale considers the landscape, terrain and weather, filtered through his personal memories and experiences. 

Once the composition and components are determined as to capture the aura of a memory, schematic drawings are documented and prepared for hand assembly. Laboriously the schematics are cut out, folded and tabbed to create their final 3-dimensional formats. As each object is placed and the structures oriented, Ragsdale modifies the scenes to perfectly frame each scenario for the final photograph. From simple sheets of white Bristol Vellum, the atmosphere and lighting brings each image to life and allows for a reminiscent view of a wistful past. Pacific Northwest native Kenneth Ragsdale’s work, derived from personal memories, involves a mixture of drawing, painting, sculpture, paper-craft, theatre...

30"x40" photograph of created landscape of paper. from the series: "The Hundred- Acre Wood" signed on reverse edition of 5. This photograph depicts the artist's vision of the American landscape, created in paper and then photographed to create this atmospheric image. The limited edition photograph captures a feel of Western United States farming, with a quality of light from the Hudson Valley. A union of artistic vision from West Coast to East Coast, Ken Ragsdale is a master of material construction, light and photographic composition. The installation landscape scene created by Ken Ragsdale exisits only to be photographed. With each scene, the artist meticulously cuts paper and folds each component to be captured by his lens. This photograph of cut paper constructions depicts a bus ride through a forest scene from the artists memory. The hues of ambient amber, green, red and blue are created through lighting the staged scene created in white paper Ken Ragsdale’s process begins with rough sketches of places and things from his past that are relevant to current themes he is considering. This series focuses on a time period of 1974-78, in the regions of Northern Idaho, to Eastern Oregon and the areas between. As his working drawings solidify the dimensions of the objects which represent his memories from that era, Ragsdale considers the landscape, terrain and weather, filtered through his personal memories and experiences. 

Once the composition and components are determined as to capture the aura of a memory, schematic drawings are documented and prepared for hand assembly. Laboriously the schematics are cut out, folded and tabbed to create their final 3-dimensional formats. As each object is placed and the structures oriented, Ragsdale modifies the scenes to perfectly frame each scenario for the final photograph. From simple sheets of white Bristol Vellum, the atmosphere and lighting brings each image to life and allows for a reminiscent view of a wistful past. Pacific Northwest native Kenneth Ragsdale’s work, derived from personal memories, involves a mixture of drawing, painting, sculpture, paper-craft, theatre...

20"x30" available unframed, edition of 5 Signed and editioned From the series: "The Hundred Acre Wood" Ragsdale’s process begins with rough sketch...

available unframed, signed on reverse by the artist, edition of 5 From the series: "The Hundred Acre Wood" This photograph depicts a scene created completely out of paper, the artis...

available unframed, signed on reverse by the artist, edition of 5 From the series: "The Hundred Acre Wood" This photograph depicts a scene created completely out of paper, the artis...

30"x40" available unframed edition 1 of 5 Ragsdale’s process begins with rough sketches of places and things from his past that are relevant to current themes he is considering. Th...

27 × 40 in available unframed Paul Raphaelson’s photographs of the Domino Sugar Factory in Williamsburg, Brooklyn document a topic of continuing controversy. It was once the biggest...

27"x40" unframed signed on reverse Paul Raphaelson’s photographs of the Domino Sugar Factory in Williamsburg, Brooklyn document a topic of contin...

This 18"x24", signed, editioned color photograph, contrasts an image of a rural town landscape painting, against the highly textured aqua, teal, turquoise blue painted wall, which reveals a cream white underpaint layer. Time and age have created an image of beautiful decay with the cracked and peeling paint, which creates an amazing visual backdrop to the painting. The pairing of the two in this photograph compliment each other on a sensory level and bring out thoughts of nostalgia and longing. Phillip Buehler is a New York based photographer who documents the deterioration and remnants of neglected architecture constructed in the recent past. He is arguably the first to coin the neologism “modern ruins”. His photographs published in “Woody Guthrie’s Wardy Forty,” have won numerous awards, documenting the singer/songwriter/activist’s life at Greystone Park Psychiatric. He received his BA at Rutgers University and his MFA in photography at School of Visual Arts. Phillip Buehler has been featured in Art in America, The New York Times, Art News, The Art Newspaper, Wall Street Journal, American Photo Magazine, The Huffington Post, Hyperallergic, Gothamist, Art F City, The Sun, ABC, CNN, and numerous other publications. Phillip Buehler Church Steeple...