Bump Mappin’ All Up in Here

At first look, the work of abstract photographers Walter Hnatysh and Katie Deits is almost maddeningly obscure. Hnatysh’s Green Cay, for example, consists solely of a moss-like growth patterning out over a navy-blue tundra, crossed by two rectangular shadows. Deits’ Looking down at the Lake Park Library parking lot is...

By John Linn

May 29, 2008

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At first look, the work of abstract photographers Walter Hnatysh and Katie Deits is almost maddeningly obscure. Hnatysh’s Green Cay, for example, consists solely of a moss-like growth patterning out over a navy-blue tundra, crossed by two rectangular shadows. Deits’ Looking down at the Lake Park Library parking lot is equally difficult: a picture of the vacant lot is framed by ultra-tight shots of asphalt and cement (you can make out every rock and crag). But the pair isn’t just being ambiguous for ambiguity’s sake. Deits and Hnatysh — whose latest photographic exhibit “Artificium” shows at the Palm Beach Photographic Center (55 NE Second Ave., Delray Beach) through June 7 — are using these surgical snapshots as a way to showcase the beauty within the chaos.

Both found the path to abstraction in unique ways. For Deits it came from her work as an aerial photographer, where the divisions of land below formed interesting patterns. Hnatysh practices “biophilia,” or an attraction to natural forms. If you’re still lost, think of them like gallery versions of video game texture artists — you know, the folks whose work with patterns and textures turns raw polygons in games like Grand Theft Auto IV into vivid depictions of our real world. The center is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Admission costs $3. Call 561-276-9797 or visit www.fotofusion.org.
Mon., June 2, 2008

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