artist statement

current exhibition :
The Last Frontiers / Alaska and Easter Island
Photographs by Darcie Goldberg
April 2011

I was not sure how I was going to relate Alaska and Easter Island for this exhibition.  As I gathered the photos and information, I realized the associations were similar in many ways.  The obvious was the isolation, barrenness, extremes in weather and also their endurance of the elements.  They are each majestic and geographically in their own way and their histories reflect struggles and conquers from the outside world. 

 My usual genre is people and a more photojournalistic approach to my subjects when photographing.  However, I felt small on the scale of the landscapes and saw each in the black & white style I have practiced for over 30 years.  The lighting was all natural light. 

I have labored over the years to stay true to my style of black & white from a mid-format camera (Hasselblad) with hand printed paper.  Due to the new technology and digital conversions, it has become more difficult to be a purest.  I realize I have to let go and learn the newer technology, as well as convert some of my negatives to produce an exhibition.  I compromised.  I developed my negatives, had a digital lab scan my negatives and print on a large format paper.  All my images are square due to the size of my negatives 2 ¼  x 2 ¼.  The images in this exhibition are not cropped.  When I look through my viewfinder, I create the image to be printed with no alterations. 

My love and my passion, as well as my second home, has been the Chester County Art Association (CCAA) for the past fifteen years.  The vision to create an environmentally “green” renovated art center has been a goal.  Benefits from this exhibition will go directly to CCAA’s Green Renovations.

Many thanks to John Baker and West Chester University for the opportunity to exhibit my photographs.  My love to my family who know that gypsy blood runs through their veins and travels and journeys are important along the way.