Who is he:

Barry Underwood is a photographer who makes art falling under his categorization of: Land Art, Staged Photography, and Minimalist Sculpture. He has become quite successful for these pieces and has been earned awards such as the Creative Workforce Fellowship through the Community Partnership for Arts and Culture (OH), The Cleveland Arts Prize for Visual Arts (OH), and the Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award (OH). As of now Barry lives in Cleveland, Ohio, and works I the photo and video department at Cleveland Institute of Art as an Associate Professor.

How is it done:

He first starts by immersing himself in the scene or location. These locations are either natural, urban, or suburban places in the US. To immerse himself he not only surveys the location but also does research on the area and environment. With that knowledge he tries to create tableaus or what he calls “scenes” for each specific landscape and then brings them to life through photography. This type of photography is done through long exposure with exposures lasting anywhere from 15 minutes to 7 hours.

His message:

my photographs reflect human disturbances, metaphorically suggesting how society divides and surveys landscapes or how humans force their will on the natural environment. By imposing flat and abrasive color (or light) onto a site, the resulting photographic prints contrast human interference with nature’s visually rich, wide tonal range of ambient hues. Throughout the series, I encourage the viewer to reflect upon land use, and the many ways humans have cultivated and propagandized the land to fit their needs.