ArtSpan – ArtSpan Art Auction
Auction Ends: Apr 13, 2015 02:59 AM PDT

Auction Event Art

"Oracle, Burma" by Monica Denevan

Item Number
231
Estimated Value
1000 USD

Live Event Item

This is a Live Event Only item.

Item Description

2013, Silver Gelatin Print, 25 x 25

Item Special Note

Artist Statement: The first time I traveled to Burma, I knew very little about the country & its politics. I remember being struck by the meditative beauty of the landscape, the sensory chaos of the cities, & the quiet elegance of the people. As I read & learned more about the history & political situation, it seemed as though the only news & images coming from the country were exceedingly negative & ugly. Most tourists are kept away from this reality, myself included. I wanted to photograph the people I was spending my time with: the men & boys who joked around with me & each other, the girls whose laughter was so sweet, the friends I had tea with, the familiar faces wed meet on the road, & soon my days were all about making pictures. What I was drawn to were the areas outside the cities, the villages next to the river, where fishermen & their families lived & worked. In that spare & graphic river setting, I made intimate portraits, mostly of the men I encountered, in isolated & stylized poses. Returning to those places annually developed an ongoing series, yet more importantly, it familiarized me with the rhythm of the landscape, & connected me to a small group of people who kindly allow me to photograph them. My impression is that much of the country looks like early 20th century images & I kept my version of that look in mind as I made my photographs.