My interest in recording the arbitrary marks on city walls began about 10 years ago. I have walked the streets of cities in 25 states photographing the results of chance encounters between posting, tagging, painting, taping and the eventual decay of this activity. Living near the Cadillac Ranch with its steady stream of international tourists, I discovered that it is the perfect local setting for an ever changing palette of similar subject matter. Between the weather and perpetual spray painting by visitors, the Cadillac’s are in a constant state of change. As with my larger body of work, “City Walls,” I magnify small fragments that for me reveal a visual alchemy.
René West is an Assistant Professor of photography at Amarillo College. Her photographs have appeared in over 50 exhibitions in museums and galleries, including numerous solo and two-person shows throughout the United States and Europe. She curates photography exhibitions in the Southern Light Gallery at Amarillo College and serves on the Photography Society for the Amarillo Museum of Art. In her spare time, she likes to write songs and play the ukulele.
Oh My, 2018, 4 panels 28.5 x 16 inches each, assembled 28.5 x 64 inches, Archival pigment prints mounted on Sintra board[/caption
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