Design Observer :: Join the Discussion http://places.designobserver.com/feature/saskatchewan/21949/ en-us Design Observer Group 2011-01-02T15:55:43-05:00 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/1.0 http://www.year01.com/pixelgrain/


]]> michael http://places.designobserver.com/feature/saskatchewan/21949/#comments 2011-01-02T15:55:43-05:00
It reminded me of when I travelled across southern Africa a couple of years ago, and there to the horizons seemed infinite. It may sound a silly thing to say, but I grew up in one of London's concrete jungles and the concept of space is not existent. In London there is barely enough room to 'swing a cat' and I often look back at the photos I took to remind myself of what it feels like to be the only person standing in all directions between the horizon and my camera.

These photos evoked a similar feeling. Thanks for sharing!]]> Ray http://places.designobserver.com/feature/saskatchewan/21949/#comments 2010-12-18T09:35:46-05:00
Many thanks for your words. It means a lot to hear that I have been able to depict the Saskatchewan you heard about in stories from your Mom.

When it works well, one of the wonderful things about photography is that it can communicate thoughts and emotions which can produce very personal connections with an audience, far beyond what the photographer imagined.

To know that this is happening tells me I am doing something right.

]]> Justin Partyka http://places.designobserver.com/feature/saskatchewan/21949/#comments 2010-12-06T13:03:54-05:00
Many thanks for your comments. You point out one of the common misunderstandings of flat landscapes: that they are "unglamorous." The flat landscape of the Fens here in East Anglia is seen as being equally so.

But you also point out that once you feel a connection to such places you can understand how to appreciate them. I certainly feel that such landscapes are very special places, which have as you rightly say, a unique visual and material culture.

Moose Jaw was probably my favourite place in Saskatchewan. It was a very comfortable place to be, and very visually interesting. It is where I would like these photographs to have their first public exhibition in Saskatchewan.

The photographs were actually taken in the months of September and October while the harvest was still on, as the second photograph shows.

I should emphasise two things about this essay:

I certainly did not set out to produce an objective representation of Saskatchewan. As a visual artist / ethnographer I am inspired by certain things and aesthetics. My photographs tell the story of how I have engaged with a place. But at the same time they only show what it there for me to point the camera at.

Second, this is still very much a work in progress, and I hope to have an opportunity to visit Saskatchewan again in the near future during a different time of year.

]]> Justin Partyka http://places.designobserver.com/feature/saskatchewan/21949/#comments 2010-12-06T12:55:51-05:00
If anything you captured the beauty that cuts through the everyday (even the supposedly poor and abandoned).

Good job.

]]> Cathy Daly http://places.designobserver.com/feature/saskatchewan/21949/#comments 2010-12-05T19:16:10-05:00
I completely agree with you about the linear aesthetic. It seems all of the bottom half of Saskatchewan is dominated by hectares, sections, acres, etc. — all of which I still don't understand how many of one make up another. You see these grid lines from the air, and they intersect rivers, meet up with roads. In full summer, the rectangle shapes take on different colours, depending on what is planted in fields and what is blooming at the time.

I've often referred to the palimpsestic qualities of the prairies, especially in Moose Jaw, where you see former aspects of itself peeking through attempts at contemporizing buildings, neighbourhoods, businesses. In my own area of study I find myself returning to the prairies to examine the material and visual culture of the place.

I also agree with Bre in that you've probably chosen the least attractive month to photograph Saskatchewan. Any kind of harvest is complete, and the landscape looks quite barren if there is no snow yet. Your photographs are honest, though. Saskatchewan can display huge aesthetic contrasts. ]]> Bonne http://places.designobserver.com/feature/saskatchewan/21949/#comments 2010-12-05T14:46:17-05:00
It was interesting to read your comments. I certainly did not see Saskatchewan as an ugly place, and I do not see my photographs from there either. In fact I found the province to be a very beautiful place, and living in the flatlands of East Anglia in the UK (please see my previous essay on Places) I felt a strong connection to Saskatchewan's sense of place. It is the beauty that I saw there which I have tried to capture in my photographs. For me, the abandoned farm house, the combine at work at dusk, the hutterite girl, the pink sweat pants on the fence, the grid road, orange palm tree in Saskatoon, etc etc, are part of Saskatchewan's beauty.

I urge you go to look at the slide show again and you'll see there is no grey snowy day in any of the photographs. And I think that if you look closely you will not see ugliness in the things I photograph.

All those things are part of Saskatchewan's mystery and beauty and they should be celebrated.

Justin Partyka]]> Justin Partyka http://places.designobserver.com/feature/saskatchewan/21949/#comments 2010-12-04T13:24:26-05:00 Maybe I have misunderstood your intent in gathering these particular images together. I do however have no doubt that these images were captured through a very narrow lens and as a result this photo essay is not at all a fair representation of the province.
]]> Bre http://places.designobserver.com/feature/saskatchewan/21949/#comments 2010-12-03T13:47:32-05:00