The Spirit of John Muir with Star Trails,Yosemite

About the Item: "The Spirit of John Muir with Star Trails, Yosemite" is a chromogenic photograph created by Robert Kawika Sheer. This landscape photograph is mediated by the body of the artist, which adds a performative aspect to the work. the picture depicts a clearing in a a pine forest. A kind of altar appears at the center of the photography, perhaps in homage to John Muir: a felled branch lays atop boulders, producing a tent-like silhouette. A spectral shadow is cast on the rocks. Star trails streak through the night sky. Using a 4 x 5 camera, Sheer achieves the effects of presence and of the passage of time captured in a single image by using a long single exposure lasting from forty-five minutes to seven hours. After the photographer opens the shutter of the camera, he enters the frame of the picture, becoming a performer in the scene. Because he is using low-intensity moonlight to illuminate the night, Sheer can enter the camera's view without the negative recording his movement. In this work, the artist can be seen casting his shadow on the rocks, underneath the wooden "tent." Through this ghostly image, which the artist calls a "Spirit Shadow," Sheer "performs" the spirit of John Muir in the natural setting of Yosemite, befitting the conservationist and the environmental activist who fought to make Yosemite a National Park. The star trails, formed by the long exposure of the film, track the passage of time and the movement of the Earth. "The Spirit of John Muir with Stars Trails" is a performative event, carefully stages for preservation in the future. Spirits in Corkscrew Canyon by Robert Kawika Sheer. (27/250)

Artwork Size: 20" x 16"
Frame Size: 30 5/8" x 26 5/8"