My “Architextures” photo collage series, ongoing since 2000, combines my lifelong involvement with both silver-based photography and collage.

This series is inspired by the architecture and urban landscapes of Manhattan. What began as a ten-year documentary project about the growth of the west Chelsea arts district, continues still, as I remain captivated by the city’s architectural elements and vistas. I use this work to reflect the unending surprise and delight that I find walking the streets of the city, as well as picturesque and evocative architectural creations in other locations. I also use images of nature, store window interiors, and other subjects that evoke strong feelings of a time or place.

In this series, I combine B&W film photography with cut-and-assembled handwork. I create multiple darkroom prints of an image, which I hand-cut and -assemble into 2-D and 3-D geometric abstract collages. While at first the works may appear to be digital montages, closer inspection reveals the texture and layering inherent in the handmade pieces. Geometric abstraction through repetition of images is key to my approach, and I strive to create drama and optical effects which change along with viewing distance and perspective. I observe museum-quality archival standards in all aspects of my work.

These patterns could, with less effort, be created digitally. But it is my love for darkroom work, and the hand-cutting and -arranging of visual elements, which drives this process. Since my first foray into this genre in 2000 with simple small-scale compositions, I have expanded my repertoire to include application of glass and crystal elements, complicated layering, using the paper’s natural curves for 3-D effects, and use of inkjet prints. For the past five years, I have been making larger and more complex work.