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About the Work |
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I was born by way of a mother in San Rafael (Marin County) California
in April of 1942. Time breeds
character, place breeds an air mix for the first breath. I am glad to have seen first light within
site of Mt. Tamalpais and just a short walk from the Mission San Rafael. Notions of Nature and the sacred have
played a significant role along the way.
I later married the Mari in Marin. I grew up in the valley, mostly Stockton, but chose San Francisco as
soon as I could strike out on my own.
I wanted art, but after dabbling in many facets of it, I still hadn’t
found my medium. Photography was a
happy accident from my mother’s hand-me-down plastic camera. I soon learned its limitations. The picture magazines like Life and Look were a dominant force in
those days, but I wasn’t immediately drawn to photojournalism or the
news......I was more attracted to the sensient and the timeless. I spent time with photographer
Ruth Bernhard. Her love of light
rubbed off on me. I was in the
Haight-Ashbury with my first wife and stepdaughter for 5 years. When it was time to go, we really went —
all the way to Virginia and North Carolina where both sides of my root family
had come from around the turn-of-the-century. And there were some country spaces left out
here. I realized that nature |
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Bio Begrudgingly |
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was as important to me as the culture of the city.....and the stars —
being able to look up and see the stars.
The Edgar Cayce Foundation was also a draw. His psychic readings had been an epiphany
for me along with Krishnamurti. So — where are the photographic influences other than Ruth? It is hard to say. I think most of our vision comes from inner
sources, from asking, from looking, from curiosity, from seeking how to
approach the mystery. It is a terrible
beauty. |
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There is absolutely nothing special
about these photographs according to my cats.
I put a new image out after an all-night darkroom session and they
walk right by as if it’s nothing - very discouraging. But then again, maybe it’s just a matter of
perspective; another group of cats might see it very differently. I have to maintain hope. I do believe that an art photograph has
to stand on its own without a narrative or a caption or
even a title. But that is not to say
that any of those things might not add layers of appreciation among viewers
or help convey the intent of the maker. My intent is common: to illuminate the
enigma of life and the mystery of death and.....I am bound to fail. |
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Rod Mann/Photographs |
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All rights reserved |
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Mi Corazon |