Gallery Artists
Gallery Artists : Kirk Jonasson :
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Original Photographs
Kirk Jonasson was born in Portland, Oregon in 1949, the third of six children. He graduated from Beaverton High School and Oregon State University with a B.S. in Biology.
A self taught photographer and photo printer, Kirk was first introduced to the medium while living in Bend, Oregon during 1976. He was influenced by a friend interested in scenic photographs who encouraged him to explore Central Oregon and its potential for scenic photographs. By the 1980's he became tired of recording landscapes and ready-made pictures provided by mother-nature. Experimenting with photo abstraction, his work still shows this influence today in various ways. To quote Kirk, "My excitement in image making draws from the challenge of discovering the extraordinary within the everyday. For me, effective use of the camera as an art instrument extends beyond skilled documentation. Ready made beauty in a grand landscape is of less interest to me than the excitement to be found in compelling images of commonly overlooked or even outwardly mundane, subject matter."
"When used in combination with introspection, and intuition, the camera can reveal not just the physical essence of a subject, but fragments of the photographer's psyche as well. This, I believe is where art and photography intersect. The challenge is to uncover the source of connection between subject and self and by so doing, to bridge the gap between reality and the imagination."
"My photographs are taken with a medium format film camera and I print the images full frame (no cropping). I avoid after the fact manipulations of color and composition, believing that to alter the original image in the darkroom or via computer would devalue the intuitive process for me, of finding the "magic" while in the field. In my opinion, nothing can upstage the authenticity of real time visualization and the feeling of self-discovery that comes with it."