#4 — Mystery
COMPOSED BY MILAD YOUSUFI & PREMIERED BY CELLIST GABRIEL MARTINS, INSPIRED BY DALE CARTER’S “RIDGES IN SAND I.”
“Ridges in Sand I and II are heavily influenced by the abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko. There is a gentle sense of serenity and contemplation in his paintings that I attempted to capture in my Ridges in Sand series. Like Rothko, I took a meditative approach to these pieces with the soft color scheme. I flattened the picture plan in an effort to make the photographs appear more two-dimensional as in a painting. My main focus, though, was on capturing those fleeting, beautiful moments in nature when it reveals itself. I feel that a great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels about what is being photographed.
And, to photograph truthfully is to see beneath the surfaces and record the qualities of nature. I also feel that a true photograph doesn’t need to be explained, nor can it be contained in words. Further, I use photography because the camera sees more objectively than my own eyes. I spent much of my time growing up on a secluded beach where nature was untouched. Now, though, much of nature in its once pure state has disappeared. My goal with these photographs was to capture and preserve nature in its pure, untouched state for current, and later, generations to enjoy.
My work has been displayed at the Hollis Street Project in Berkeley, Fort Mason in San Francisco, the Richmond Art Center, and the Laguna Beach Art Museum Annex. It has also been in Earth Island Institute, Bali Now, Water, and Line Up magazine, as well as Star News, Lumina News, and the documentary Waves of Hope.”
