Howard Harris — Contemporary Art Curator Magazine

May 1

May 1 Howard Harris

Biography

Howard Harris has long been fascinated by visual perception and design. The Colorado USA native earned a BFA from Kansas City Art Institute and MID from Pratt in New York. With an iconoclastic streak Harris is forging new directions in design, he was bound to approach the photographic image in an unconventional way as well. In 2017 Harris was granted a US Patent no: titled Apparatus and Method of Manufacturer for a Layered Artwork proving the uniqueness and inventiveness of his photographic work. Since then his work has appeared in many books and publications such as ARTtour International Artists of the Decade, Art Collectors Choice Japan, International Contemporary Masters, and Top 10 Contemporary Artists, to mention a few. He has also been awarded Artists for a Green Planet Artist of the Decade, International Prize Raffaello, International Prize Giulio Cesare, International Prize Leonardo Da Vinci, International Prize Caravaggio and more. He serves as a Trustee of The Kansas City Art Institute has won the Who’s Who Worldwide Lifetime Achievement and the USA Small Businessperson of the Year. His work is shown internationally and represented by galleries in the United States, U.K. and Europe and appears in South Korean Yukyung Art Museum.

Artist Statement

Visual reality is an ever-shifting, highly individualized experience. In any given moment, what we see reflects both our inner state and a synthesis of outer qualities—light, color, movement, space. My exploration in dimensional photographic art represents an attempt to recreate the perceptual experience, with its dynamic nature and hidden complexities. In my patented process I use photographic constructions, a single, often abstracted image is layered over itself on clear acrylic surfaces and superimposed on a subtle grid. The resulting visual phenomenon infuses the image with a sense of dimensionality and fluidity affected by such changes as the angle of viewing and light. The enhanced visual experience Yet perceptual mechanics are only part of the equation. Equally essential are universal principles of design that produce qualities we perceive as beauty. This is my aim: to skillfully combine technology and aesthetics in a way that expands the viewer’s experience of photographic art.

What first prompted you to think of becoming an artist?
Life prompted me to become an artist. Early on I had no idea what art was. Then I began to realize that I see things differently than other people. I see things that others seemed not to see. Then I began to show people what I saw by using a variety of materials that when combined into a form, be it welded metal, paintings or painted metal people called art. I much later learned that “art” involves using a part of the brain that focuses on problem solving and learning how to see. And surviving months of blindness I realized that life gave me eyes, but art gave me sight. Due to my formal education in art, design, philosophy, and physics I understood most people look, but don’t really not see what they are looking at. That thought led to the first line of my Artist’s Statement, “Visual reality is an ever-shifting, highly individualized experience”.
What kind of an artist do you ultimately see yourself?
Honestly, until recently I wasn’t presumptuous enough to call myself an artist. I called myself a designer, defined as a person who plans how something new will look like and be made. The creation of something that has “never been seen before” came from my marketing experience where one needs to differentiate your product to be noticed/sell. That concept was reinforced by my first portfolio review. Ten different art experts, each telling me, “well, we certainly don’t have to ask you what makes your images different from every other photographer.” I guess by others’ perceptions I am an artist that creates a difference.
What are you hoping to communicate to the viewer through your work?
I hope to help each viewer realize that they have their own unique emotion/experience when viewing my images. Each image has a story that isn’t frozen in time and space. I don’t intend to evoke a fixed set of emotions. I only act as a conduit for the viewer to experience the image in a three-dimensional, spherical sense of light, emotion, time and space. However, one emotional response that seems to be most prevalent is a surprise. Words like, “I have never seen anything like this before” seems to be the reaction that is heard time and time again. Since one expects to see a static photographic image, an image that looks pretty much the same in any environment, I probably shouldn’t be surprised when the viewer is amazed by my photo constructions and movement.

Can you explain the process of creating your work?
First, I use a camera to capture a moment in time, the image. Then sometimes the image reveals itself to me quickly, meaning 1 to 2 weeks. Other times it takes many months to coax the image to reveal the nuance that helps others feel the movement, light and color. Before Covid closed the world down I also spent months traveling, taking photos, editing, sorting and selecting the art worthy images. The actual technology and construction of the final image takes an additional 3 to 4 weeks to create the final images on aluminum and acrylic.
What is your favorite part of the creative process?
Recently I was introduced to a relatively new art form definition. This new form is called Techspressionism. Techspressionism is defined as an artistic approach in which technology is utilized to express emotional experience. The definition goes on to state Techspressionism is a 21st-century artistic movement defined by this technological approach. And it is the use of technology that helps me set the image free from the constraints of the camera’s static photograph. As I said in the first question, Life gave me eyes, but art gave me sight. I can also say that technology has given me the tools to set the images free.
Can you give us an insight into current projects and inspiration, or what we can look forward to from you in the near future?
For over five years my projects came from traveling the world, capturing images, adventures and sights that supercharged my emotions and vision. During the past Covid year It was quite different. All I had was my studio and the same walls/images/sounds/lighting, etc. to work with. It only took a month of the sameness to realize what Chuck Close once said, “Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself.” That is when I realized I had a treasure chest of thousands of previously rejected images. So I sat down in front of my computer and began doing the work. My next project/show will come from previously rejected images and a lot of work.

Website www.hharrisphoto.com

Instagram @howardharrisphotoart

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