Meeting Places

By Edge of Humanity Magazine, December 30, 2020

Photographer and Educator Christine Holtz is the Edge of Humanity Magazine contributor of this photo essay. From the project ‘Meeting Places’. To see Christine’s body of work, click on any image.

We live in an artificial world, created for our convenience and comfort as consumers. Our collective awareness of space has changed almost imperceptibly. In our postindustrial world, esoteric concepts of time and space are subjugated by our desire for the familiar and comfortable, resulting in an environment of pedestrian spaces. The photographic representation of the “anonymous” reflects an externalization and impermanence of the infrastructure of everyday life. My role as an artist is to transform our ever-changing environment into an artifact for contemplation. Using the common language of ubiquitous space to create conceptual landscapes, my photographs facilitate an interactive exploration of deeper, universal issues regarding space, the existence of objectivity, and the verisimilitude of popular culture.

The relationship between art and observer as a metaphor for the relationship of people in their everyday environments is a reoccurring theme in my work. Photographs of archetypal surrounding illuminates the construction of our experience through the representation of physical space. While the intended purpose of the waiting room, the storage room, or the workspace is revealed through the architectural structure and interior design, interactions are referenced by object placement, discarded items and evidence of activity. The verisimilitude of photography allows a seemingly objective image to make a subjective comment. Creating a sense of objectivity through selectivity, I document environments and experiences designed for transience and unthinking.

Through the process of documentation, I transform these mechanical, mundane occurrences turn into objects for contemplation and permanence.