invitational: on the horizon

When thinking about creating a new Fotoplay image for the Invitational, what I wanted, first and foremost, was an image that would pull a viewer deep into space. The image that soon thereafter came into my mind was essentially not much different from what you see above. Like a gazillion other artists and writers, I’m drawn to the sea, and have been photographing the water, the light on the water, and the singular world of the beach for a long time. Perhaps in the case of designing something for the Invitational, I was also inspired by my friend Chris Osborne’s work, and the notion of Awe…

While it took me quite a while to create the Fotoplay image that I posted above, the verbal prompt, What’s on the horizon?, may have taken even longer. I could have said What might be on the horizon?, but this would have been too conditional, too indefinite. I could also have said What do they see on the horizon?, but this would have placed a viewer too directly into the minds of the figures on the beach. I could have said What do you see on the horizon?, but this would have placed too much emphasis on the creator answering the prompt. The verbal prompt I decided to use, What’s on the horizon?, has everything I like in a Fotoplay prompt: it’s open, yet not too open; it requests a solution/resolution that has a point of view, but whose point of view is yet to be determined; it sounds nice when you say it aloud or in your mind. (This matters to me.) Finally, What’s on the horizon? is a phrase with another layer of meaning, perfect for the New Year.

Yesterday I sent this new image out to some of my friends who participated in the December Fotoplay project. Thanks to internet magic, I was able to send it via email to those who could print the image out from their own printer. Others were sent the print via snail mail. In any case, the Invitational has begun, and we are looking out to the horizon. Which horizon? Whose horizon? Stay tuned and we’ll see.