About the Artwork
The Altered Landscape series was inspired by a sunset I saw in NYC last year that was made up of intense reds and yellows. The effect was caused by fires in Canada. I started to look at how our environment is affected through climate change and creating unnatural colors. Additionally here is a description of the Black Place Series: I began to create this series in the spring of 2017 for an exhibition at the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, NM. I started to explore the landscape that Georgia O’Keeffe called the ‘Black Place,’ first through satellite images of the area. I discovered through these images the amount of natural gas and oil infrastructure that oil companies had made in the surrounding area. In April of that year I ventured to the site of “Black Place” with the curators Carolyn Kastner and Cody Hartley. I took my drone with me to photograph the region as well as to take video footage. Upon arrival I realized just how fragile this landscape is and the drone provided a way for to see the area up close and personal without having to disturb it. The area is very otherworldly and foreign. These images provide the viewer with an abstracted composition which is how I first encountered O’Keeffe’s depiction of “Black Place.” The skewed perspectives in the pieces were inspired by having seen opera set design, and I noticed how set designers skew the set to trick the eye. I want to take that same approach to a two-dimensional image of a photograph. The colors in the pieces relate to what is currently happening in the region that surrounds “Black Place.” About three years ago NASA discovered the largest methane gas cloud in North America in this area. The satellite images of the cloud show up as red and hot pink. On my visit to the area I encountered many yellow poles sticking out from the ground along the road, these markers indicate where a pipeline is located underground. In pieces where I used black to hide the image I used this to represent a piece of the landscape that may not be there someday.
Michael Namingha is a visual artist with a spare contemporary aesthetic who works in the medium of digital inkjet images printed on canvas and paper, as well as numerous types of installations. A keen observer of today's society, he creates a compelling mix of imagery and words commenting on modern interpersonal relations and popular culture. His ability to distill everyday conversational statements results in work that surprises and engages the viewer. He studied at Parsons School of Design in New York, where, in addition to creating artwork, he worked on projects for Hermes of Paris and Richardson Sadeki architecture firm.
Michael is very active in the Santa Fe community, serving on many boards in addition to his service as an arts commissioner for the city of Santa Fe. Born and raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico, he is the youngest son of well-known contemporary artist Dan Namingha.
