When I first saw Allie Mount’s Sandy River Landscapes, I was convinced they were paintings. After I realized they were photographs, I wasn’t surprised to learn that the artist has a degree in painting. Her landscape photographs are so sensitive, grand, and detailed. They’re quiet, and a bit moody, and I just find them gorgeous. I also enjoy Mount’s series Secret Garden, a group of photographs in which vegetation of some sort makes an appearance in every image, as an overwhelming expanse, a perfected and curated sample, or a character outside the window.
From the artist’s statement: I photograph landscapes; specifically, the western landscapes where I have grown up and now live. California’s hills and deserts, Oregon’s coastlines and Columbia River Gorge – these all describe what it means to be from the western United States. Terrain that is specific to the west is iconic, with a tradition of being documented, charted and admired. But it is also, personal, an intimate backdrop that colors the identities of the people who live here. The connection between location and what makes you who you are; what it means to be “from” a certain place – this is what I find fascinating. The land is almost a character in its own right, whose influence shapes us and informs our sense of the familiar, of home.
From “Sandy River Landscapes”
From “Secret Garden”
Visit artist's site: cargocollective.com/alliemount
Posted December 16th, 2015
