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Charles Meanwell: I am always amazed by the stillness of your photos, a quality that seems to carry something of you. Is this something you strive for?Ned Pratt: Yes, it is when a photograph reaches its quietest that I know it is complete. There is very little temptation to wonder what is beyond the image itself, outside the picture plane. The image when quiet is complete.Charles Meanwell: For me, the subject is not the elements, but the shapes between the elements. It helps me to be awake to the places where there is nothing, rather than something. Does this resonate with you? How do you choose what will be a photo?Ned Pratt: I am quite often drawn to something that stands out in an odd way. A shape that somehow conflicts with the elements in the landscape. For me the space between and around plays a very important but supportive role in elevating the often mundane subject into something that is worth consideration and patient observation. The negative space is very important in my photographs. It serves to lock things down and helps achieve a sense of quiet.Charles Meanwell: Newfoundland has qualities that are sometimes barren and sometimes monumental. Is this a distinction you make? Does it affect you when choosing a subject?Ned Pratt: Yes, it does. I try to keep to very simple aspects of the landscape. I am generally not one for photographing large masses that obscure the horizon. What I try to do is make simple things appear monumental in significance. By raising the mundane up, by taking simplicity seriously, you can transform it.
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Ned Pratt: Does the environment you work in affect your pallet choices?
Charles Meanwell: I am obedient to the colours out there, emphasized and mixed with the colours already on the board, combined with the thoughtless action of my hand. If I decide for a yellow, say, for a sky, and my hand reaches for a green, I trust my hand, and the sky becomes green. I often punch a local colour. If a stand of spruce has a hint of crimson in the bark, everything can come out crimson. It is for the board and the trees to decide together. Interfering with their decision-making is ruinous.
Ned Pratt: What do you have against the colour blue?
Charles Meanwell: I like that my paintings have no meaning, at least for me, but they generate an experience for others. A blue sky means happy days for some, so I avoid it. I think the feeling is generated by the abstract shapes, not the definable content. A blue sky can get in the way of not knowing, instead of experiencing.
Ned Pratt: Do you have a favourite hat and if so, do you ever wear it backwards on a Jonty angle?
Charles Meanwell: Sunglasses distort the colour of the world, so I wear a ball cap instead to lower the light level. I have inherited a McMaster Marauders cap from daughter Jessie which I like. I think the term marauder is more accurate historically than settler. I wear it tipped back sometimes to let the sky onto the board.
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Ned Pratt: From Salmonier to Path End and Charles Meanwell: Sightings are on view through Thursday, April 17th.
