Catching Country Cowboys
"On the Canvas"
by Bob Block for The Gainesville Sun

"Life itself is like making love – it must be two sided, equal giving and taking. Perhaps our photography should be considered in that light. We might try to give more and take less."

This tidbit of philosophy on art and life is actually an excerpt from a photographic travel journal by photographer Arthur Bacon. The cumulative effort is called "Escalante Journal".

"Escalante Journal" unites Bacon’s photography with his writings in a visually stunning, unique one-person show currently showing at the Grinter Gallery.

In the present environment of retreating wilderness and shrinking rural life it takes a photographer to capture the images and precious moments of vanishing lifestyles and frontiers. We need the innovative vision of a photographer-artist who, by attentive examination, keen alertness and inquisitive contemplation, is able to rediscover for us a lifestyle that barely exists in the urban consciousness.

Bacon spent several years in a remote Mormon community in Utah. He worked as roughneck in the Tenneco oil field; he drove a loader in the lumber mill and spent two seasons as a backcountry ranger. The roving photographer had ample time to investigate and record the landscape, the town, and the people.

His photographs are arranged in a story-like fashion that reflects Bacon’s travel experiences. The photographs are linked in theme and, in some cases are sequence shots.

Bacon’s photographs come alive with vivid imagery, texture and contrast. His camera acts as a window into a natural untamed world.

Bacon is more than a photographer par excellence; he is also a modern philosopher reflecting on areas such as life itself, the state of the art of photography (which he refers to as the hundred yard dash of the arts) and on other unimportant things like art reviews.

Bacon’s photography is like his philosophy of making love except in one aspect. His photography is one sided. It does not take, it only gives. He gives of his insight and he gives of his emotions. He is an integral part of his art. It is a gift that increases from image to image.

"Escalante Journal" runs through February 23 at Grinter Gallery. Grinter Gallery is open free to the public Monday through Friday 9a.m. to 3p.m.