Poetics of Place Book

The turrets and topiaries of a formal garden open to a stormy sky, a sheared row of winter trees slices a far-away horizon, while algae swirls mesmerizingly on a willow-encircled pond. The changing interplay of composition, light, and the land infuse the haunting photographs of Lynn Geesaman in this, her first book. Lynn Geesaman's work is about presence. Moving through space in time, standing in place, a breathless, near-hallucinatory consciousness is felt in each frame. The present seems a fragile membrane enveloping the past, making a subtle statement about man's relation to nature. Since 1983 this Minnesota-based artist has pursued the aesthetic of a man-altered landscape in work memorable for its poetic resonance. Jamaica Kincaid's eloquent introduction explores the mystery, the longing, and the unanswerable questions these photographs pose to the viewer - as well as the trepidation they inspire in their seductive shadows.