Lanny Webb


	Lanny Webb Athens, Georgia
		Listen to this artist. (AU 80K)
		E-mail this artist at lwebb@uga.cc.uga.edu.

In general my images seek to re-create more of the spirit of a place or occurrence than the actual place or occurrence itself. They are documentary in their attempt to record a posture rapidly vanishing from the Southern experience. They are editorial in that they are a reality greatly tempered by sentiment. The most important factor in determining the success of my work, however, would be in its ability to re-create the essence or mood of a particular setting. To this end, I have found the use of light to be my most valuable tool. I have always had a fascination, if not an obsession, with light and how it affects the spirit of a subject. Our perception of a subject is determined by its lighting, and yet we frequently are not aware of this ever present but subtle force.

The essence of any subject can change poetically, dramatically, or mystically depending on the quality of light. Strong sunlight can have an oppressive, suffocatingly still heat or be viewed as a wash of bright purifying light. The rapidly changing light of a late afternoon summer storm often creates a simultaneous contrast of colors and moods, for example, splendor and gloom. The mystery of a silver moon can cast a quiet peace or create a crisp tension. A special magic can be felt during a dawn or dusk full of transient light. During these times there is a mixture of calm and constant slow change like the movement of the hand on a clock. You can't see it move, but every minute is new. The use of unique lighting then becomes the primary tool I use to create the specific mood, or the character, of a subject or place.

This character of a particular setting, however, is often times very subtle. For this feeling, or unique quality, to be apparent, I must focus on its "essence" by deleting or adding information. In most instances, it is what I take away, more than what I add, that improves the image. The images, then, are not just attempts to faithfully record reality in the form of a photograph. They try to portray, in a photographic medium, an image which in reality never existed, but, through numerous manipulations, more clearly conveys the mood or character that attracted my attention to the subject initially.