Life, by its very nature, is messy. In our sometimes solemn, sometimes selfish, quest for meaning amidst the chaos of our given niches, we fail to notice that both the ordered and the haphazard truly exist together, and are made of the same elements. Any landscape in which one may find him or herself will surely provide both grit and beauty. Grit can be both earthy and manufactured, and the same can be said for beauty. In my city, no matter how grand the skyscraper, or how sublime the lush green park, grit and beauty coexist. Sometimes the grit hides in shadow while light reveals the beauty, like an elegant statue illuminated by streetlights, while nearby an innocent human life is being taken. The opposite scenario can occur as well. Light can show us a street carpeted by garbage, while in the dark, that same empty urban block becomes a quiet, ethereal vision. I wanted to play in the light and the shadow alone, removing color, and in turn removing the distraction of giving things names. To see beauty requires an experience beyond recognition. I wanted to illustrate the duality of nature and man's influence. In Philadelphia, the two seem to coexist, until one looks closer to see roots cracking through brick and stone, and birds flattened by vehicles. Each is always taking a stab at the other. It's messy. it's gritty. It's beautiful.
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