Janet Neuhauser
Out the Dike Road
“My images are made with a pinhole camera. The pinhole is actually quite simple and very complex. I am intrigued by the long exposure and the surreal reality it portrays. Watching the landscape while the film is exposing conveys to me a sense of wonder and innocence toward our planet. I often question why I stop where I do. It is an immediate reaction, a need to comprehend the world before me, whether it’s Hovenweep or the Swell in Southern Utah; my family’s ranch in South Dakota; Civita, Italy or Willapa Bay in Washington State. These photographs are proof of my wandering to find an image.
Perfection is a fallacy. Inclusion is what is important. When an image is taken out of context, possibilities open up. Imperfection fuels my imagination: it can be a beautiful confection or a simple loaf of bread. Embracing the complexity of the world is my intention as an artist. Interpreting the image is a collective experience. For me, these landscapes are one way to sort the plethora of images humans face; they help me tell our story.
I rely on many artists to help me find my way in the world: painter Hieronymus Bosch wasn’t afraid to put everything into his art; pinhole photographer Nancy Spencer, changed reality for me; my grandmother Bertha Boysen Neuhauser, a farmer and accomplished amateur photographer worked in isolation for over sixty years; Knut Hamsun, the Norwegian writer, impressed upon me a hunger to see, find, and live in a landscape.”