Chester Elmore

Artist Statement

It is fact that in all societies, membership requires that each individual meet obligations that are essential to the development of the greater good. Historically the Artist has been assigned the role of witness to the contemporary events of the group. I offer you my humble attempt to bear witness to my time.
I have chosen the faces of ordinary people as the prism of reflection through my lens to the world. The emotions etched on those faces are intended to be a reflection of how effective we have collectively discharged our obligation to care for the least among us.
I have chosen Scratchboard as the medium for this body of work for several reasons. The first reason is that philosophically the rendering of objects from a pure black surface allows me to feel that I am discovering images that exist and that I am only a participant in making them visible. Another reason is practical in that the process is a nice fit to the way that my mind is organized. The medium forces one to compose in a logical sequence so that you bring together disparate elements into a conglomerate of orders that blend to create a harmonious and aesthetically pleasing result. Finally, T he limitations inherent in scratchboard forces the composer to seek the essential only. It is this essence that I endeavor to communicate.