The Overlook
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Date
2024
Authors
Gordon, Conner
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
The photographs in The Overlook are made in the scenic viewpoints that dot the Oregon Coast, which attempt to flatten the land into a definitive vista. Within these spaces, I depict overlook infrastructure with a large format camera and photograph the landscape through a pair of binoculars, in an attempt to bring the sublime into clear view.
These same processes compromise the images from their outset. The overlook photographs never reveal the views their subjects are meant to frame, while the binocular images collapse into peripheral abstractions where optical aberrations, pixelation, and fragments of landscape intermingle. In doing so, I work to undermine the essentializing logic of the definitive view and reimagine the sublime not as a fixed element of the terrain, but as an elusive resonance of the camera’s making.
Description
25 pages
Keywords
tide pools, sublime, Oregon Coast, landscape, visual arts, photography