Customer Reviews

Observations in an Occupied Wilderness: Photographs by Terry Falke

5 star:		(4)
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3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

This nicely printed book of landscapes and townscapes examines human elements amidst the scenery of the American southwest.

Falke is an observational photographer. He looks for details, incongruities, humorous juxtapositions, and beauty in sometimes-contradictory situations. Like others in his branch of contemporary landscape photography (Len Jenshel, Karen Halverson, Beahan & McPhee, etc.), Falke's photographs combine skilled photographic technique with an untraditional eye for landscapes that have been affected by humanity. His command of the of the 8x10 camera and the light and color in the landscape is obvious, without being the sole subject of the photos which meditate on the human elements.

Evidence, obvious or subtle, of the people who live on or visit these landscapes can be found in every picture. The view of a magnificent mountain range includes an electrical power installation; a stately butte is framed by a meager picnic shelter; a large old tree bears the indignity of hundreds of pairs of shoes hung from its branches; a moonscape desert is littered with painted tetherballs put there by a Disney movie crew to mark locations for computer-generated dinosaurs.

Some of the pictures need more than a casual glance. Like one in which you first see a car parked along a winding road at the base of a tall rock cliff. Looking closer you see a Spiderman-like rock climber inching his way up the rock face. In "Lake Estes, CO," a picture that really needs to be bigger, people are fishing, feeding ducks and staring at the photographer, while a group of elk bathes behind them unnoticed. Others benefit from contemplation. For example, there are several page spreads where the images side-by-side make an observation about something, like desert water use or the appropriation of Native American icons. A couple have similar compositions, but reverse the elements in the juxtaposition of natural vs. manmade.

The absurdity of the human elements is the subject of several pictures. In "Gallup, NM," an array of signs and power poles surround some garishly colored fake totem poles. These were apparently provided by a gas station for tourists, even though to my knowledge, Native Americans in the southwest never made totem poles. In "Bagdad California," a mystery is implied by a homeless man's shopping cart, loaded with his possessions, which appears to have been abandoned in the desert as a train speeds past in the background. Yet another records layers of absurdity by showing a large motorhome "camping" in a treeless park next to resort built with an old west theme, although it is surrounded by a roller coaster.

A quote from a museum curator on the back cover says that, "The images walk a fine line between expectation and surprise, confrontation and questioning." I would say that if you appreciate large format camera craft and landscape photography with a quirky cultural twist, I think you will like this book.

This book is a tour through the southwest landscape by an outstanding photographer with an eccentric eye and a sense of humor. It's smart and beautiful and I recommend it.

From the March/April issue of Photo Techniques Magazine:

"In his beautiful color images, Falke turns on their head all the clichés of photographing the American West. Balanced Rock is framed by signs offering hikers rules and advice, an amusement park ride towers over the distant Rockies, and the Sierra Nevadas are laced with electric wires. Instead of finding a way to crop this evidence of modern civilization out of his photos, Falke acknowledges the elephant in the room, and shows us what the landscape is, rather than what we wish it to be."

Falke is a brilliant, although grossly under recognized, photographer. His photographs dare to be quiet and thoughtful in a time when media saturates us with disposable imagery. Humorous and poignant, his masterful images are observations of social behavior. DO NOT be seduced into thinking that these are merely landscapes in an old tradition. This book reveals a unique and powerful vision and Falk's ability to craft acute cultural and visual connections.

OBSERVATIONS IN AN OCCUPIED WILDERNESS by Terry Falke is a 100-page photography book printed on glossy paper, with 71 full-page photographs. The quality of the reproductions is superb. The desert skies, which are sometimes an ambiguous pink, or a deep purple, are a delight to the eye.

The pictures belong to the genre of art which discloses evidence of man in desert landscapes. Most of the photos simply disclose evidence of man, while others provide quirky and amusing aspects of man's presence. This style (quirky desert photos) has been extensively developed by Mark Klett and Richard Misrach, as well as by lesser known photographers such as John Pfahl (MOONRISE OVER A PIE PAN), Skeet McAuley, and numerous photographers from the University of New Mexico or the University of Arizona. It needs to be pointed out to the potential customer that OBSERVATIONS IN AN OCCUPIED WILDERNESS does not contain landscape photographs that are "beautiful" in the traditional sense. In other words, if you require your photographs to be beautiful in the same way that Jack Dykinga's photos are beautiful, or in the same way that David Muench's photos are beautiful, then this book is not for you.

Before moving on to this books' best photos, I would like to comment on two photos showing nighttime images where the desert is illuminated by spotlights. These are DESERT OASIS (plage 34) and RAILROAD CROSSING (plage 62). These two photographs are not good. In contrast, an entire book of inspiring and excellent nighttime desert photographs can be found in EXPANSIONS by William Lesch. EXPANSIONS is an absolute wonder, as far as desert photography is concerned. William Lesch, with the aid of his spotlight, has produced a book of miraculous desert color photographs.

William Falke's interesting photos are as follows:

(1) SAN JUAN COUNTY(plate 10) depicts an adult book store in the desert next to a huge billboard sign that promotes Jesus.
(2) CHAPEL (plate 11) discloses a tiny church next to a port-o-potty. The church is not much bigger than the port-o-potty.
(3) RADIOTELESCOPE (plate 12) shows an old windmill next to a radiotelescope dish. This photograph is my favorite in the book.
(4) MOOSE (plate 15) shows a stuffed moose inside a cage, where the cage door is open. The cage sits in the middle of the desert.
(5) POSITIVELY NO CLIMBING ON HILLS (plate 18) shows a warning sign in the middle of a bleak, totally flat landscape.
(6) HOUSE UNDER CONSTRUCTION (plate 52)shows a modern plywood house under construction, but in the style of an ancient pueblo building, that is, with a row of horizontal posts jutting out from the roofline.

Aside from these six photographs, I really am not sure if the photographer has any point to make, or any purpose in mind, aside from documenting telephone wires, ditches, decrepid buildings in a ghost town, and such. THREE STARS for OBSERVATIONS IN AN OCCUPIED WILDERNESS.

For this particular genre of photography, I prefer Mark Klett's pictures. A problem here, is that there seems to be no one particular book that contains the best of Mark Klett's desert photographs. At any rate, my favorites from Mark Klett include a Matzoh box in the desert with a reclining tourist, a U-Haul truck in the desert where the driver's door is open, and a snake in the road with the blur of a rushing motorcycle, and a tourist's legs dangling over the rim of a desert canyon. Mark Klett, Tamarra Kaida (Desert Paint, 1987), Skeet McAuley, and John Pfahl (Moonrise over Piepan) have already explored the territory that is explored by Terry Falke. Some of Terry Falke's photographs are superb, but the quality of the book being reviewed is substantially diluted by so many, many photographs that are dull.