TITLE: Shapeshifter
Spanish Colonial Churches, New Mexico.
The Spanish missions in the Americas were Catholic missions established by the Spanish Empire during the 16th-19th centuries in the period of the Spanish Colonization. The central building of each newly established mission was it's church. Made of adobe with walls 3-7 ft thick, they not only play crucial role in establishing visual dominance over the terrain but also became a formidable stronghold during frequent uprisings of native population. Combination of local and foreign esthetic, style and building practices created a unique colonial iconography.
AUTHOR: Pawel Pilch (United States)
Pawel was born in Southern Poland and lives in New York City. He studied English at Hunter College and trained at the International Center of Photography. He travels across the United States actively perusing photography with the intension to use his images as a creative form of expression. You can find his images at http://www.pilchphotography.com
"As a kid growing up in Poland in the 80's with the Iron Curtain still firmly in place, I vividly remember typical small town's visual palette. Heavy with history and grounded in tradition, restricted by guidelines, solid and never changing. Running through the streets I always thought the scene needed some tension. At the time Polish School of Poster Art became prominent creative outlet for graphic designers and painters across Central and Eastern Europe. Commissioned by the government posters were regularly printed and distributed across the country. Delivering the intended official message with sharp precision, were also (with just few lines and strong colors) creating optical focus and visually disrupting the status quo. I remember various walls of my town littered with large print playbills and posters. From socialist propaganda to latest movies and everything else in-between. Blurring the lines between design and art, very graphic in style with clear linear quality and bold colors, trying to convey information in the most basic way. They always got my attention and asked to be decoded, and I always took the challenge. Maybe that's way to this day I continue to look 'out there' for the simplest lines and primary shades, trying to focus my perception, eliminate peripheral distraction and reduce what I see to it's most basic visual elements. Hoping I can play my childhood game once more and see clearly again."
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