John Back
Photographer

John Back has been an artist/photographer and commercial photographer since 1970.

"I usually work with a series of images that experiment with a single idea or concept.  The series
Smaller Than Small and Bigger Than Big was inspired by an episode in The Golden Notebook,
by Doris Lessing.  Small items (baby rattles, band-aids, lollipops, razor blades, tools, etc.) are
photographed in large format with austere lighting to explore what Lessing calls 'the
simultaneous knowledge of vastness and smallness.'

"In Monuments (top photo), I used images of man-made and natural things of monumental scale
— such as the Great Wall of China, volcanoes and tornadoes — to depict soft, painterly scenes
of primary images.  Printed on aluminum or wood panels with photographic emulsion and
added oil paint, these images seem to be felt as much as seen.

"Polagrams (middle photo) are one-of-a-kind, camera-less Polaroid images made as photograms,
a process in which objects are exposed directly on light sensitive paper.  Because these images
are formed in complete darkness, chance and intuition combine with well-thought-out
procedures to create a whimsical effect.

"In Landscapes and Compositions (bottom photo), I like to depict a world in which human
habitation is incidental, marginal or only inferred.  The viewer stands at a discreet distance,
having emerged from the woods to find an unexpected clearing, a house, a garden in
cultivation.  Selective focus, point of view and a sense of mystery pull these images into a new
abstraction. Among the group, the square compositions function as details in which the use of
selective focus and softened areas is exaggerated to enhance tonality and the sensation of
movement.  The subject becomes less important than the atmospheric effect that is evoked."

John’s commercial work has centered on the documentation of fine art and architecture,
including a specialty in photographing architectural models.  Most recently, he has branched
out into graphic design, cabinet making and furniture design.

John Back is represented by the Perimeter Gallery in Chicago and Michael Ingbar Fine Art in
New York City.  His work has been exhibited at the Mary Gearhart Gallery, Solo Gallery, and
J. Walter Thompson in New York; Falkirk Cultural Center in San Raphael, California; Hartford
Museum of Art in Hartford, Connecticut; Madison Art Center in Madison, Wisconsin; Burpee Art
Center in Rockford, Illinois; and through the Smithsonian Traveling Exhibition Service.  Public
collections include George Eastman House, the Madison Art Center and the Bibliothèque
Nationale in Paris.  John received his B.S. in Art from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and
graduated from Rhode Island School of Design with an MFA in Photography.

Contact
Barryville, NY  12719
Ph: 845-557-0343
Email:  jbackart@warwick.net

Studio Hours:  By appointment.