All images from Speed Queens © Maury Gortemiller
In his statement that accompanies this series Maury Gortemiller writes: "I’m interested in images of objects which have meanings previously thought to be closed. When photography is operating at the highest level, context as suggested by the photographer is ambiguous, allowing the viewer to re-contextualize as dictated by his or her experiences, intuition and knowledge."
It was precisely that ambiguity, that dualism between obscurity and meaning which reeled me in when first studying these images. Talking about his aims for the project, Gortemiller explains: "My objective is to reinterpret and alter the intentionality of spaces and found items. The residues of human experience, the overlooked physical phenomena, can impart a wealth of information about individuals and attitudes. My photographs maintain the semblance of ordinary, everyday things while investigating their latent conceptual meanings."
He concludes: "I hope to investigate fully Robert Storr’s notion of the estrangement of the photograph, the medium’s capability to depict persons and objects in such a way that transforms context and intention."
Maury Gortemiller holds graduate degrees in Southern Studies (University of Mississippi) and Photography (University of Georgia), and is currently a Lecturer of Photography at the University of North Carolina-Asheville. I´m told Maury is also a competitive apneist, and plans to make an attempt on the breathe-holding world record by the end of fiscal year 2010. Has he done it yet I wonder?
