By Bill Burggren and Suellyn Scoon
“When you see a photograph, you are looking through the eyes of the artist at a singular event in time; never to be exactly duplicated again,” states photographer John Mazurek. “You could say that I begin to create a composition much like a writer does, by building with elements similar to clear factual prose and with my computer I work to distill that information into a form of poetry, which I hope becomes a dialogue with the viewer. For me it is a very intuitive process.”
John Mazurek brings you the world through his eyes and allows you to share the joy of nature, the treasure of a new location or the delight of a unique face. Add to that his artistic manipulation and what started off as a work of prose is now more like poetry. Not simply the recording of an event but the incubation of a new reality.
While attending college, he would often wander the streets of Chicago to discover that “unique angle” that would enable him to tell a story with an image. The old Stockyards were used for a series of images to portray the dying of that iconic Chicago meatpacking industry. While still using black and white images, he told the narrative of how a peaceful concert in Grant Park turned into an urban riot. These images were part of his recent one person show, “There’s a Riot Going On”, at Spectrum Gallery in Racine, WI, and were joined by another stark series in which the streets of Chicago could have been compared to the bombed out buildings of WWII. Soon after Martin Luther King was killed, the streets of Chicago erupted in violent riots. John Mazurek, then an inner-city teacher, was enveloped in the drama of those events. His camera recorded the effects of the riot, the looting and the impact on Chicago residents.
Mazurek’s initial black and white narrative photography that began with the stockyards of Chicago through an era of civil rights violence had a starkness that has softened over the years into something that resembles preserved memories.
Mazurek began as a film photographer over 45 years ago with a 35mm camera in his basement darkroom. He loved visually exploring life’s moments, using his camera to manipulate time, light, angles and perspective. While raising a family and pursuing a career, he always had a camera close by to record events.
However, as times changed, so did John’s approach to photography. He realized that photography is not only a way of preserving memories and sharing experiences, but also an art form that should be celebrated. Around this time, digital photography was in its infancy and he committed himself to learning the power and creativity that the marriage of cameras and computers allowed. “As I responded more and more to a single moment, I needed to teach myself methods that would allow me to express how that moment holds it breath in a photograph. My art has been shaped as photographic technology improved, and when you add the possibility for editing with a computer you have a union that I believe is technically superb and artistically satisfying.”
Not only did John’s tools of capturing an image change, but the process of conceiving an image or a series of images into a composition has changed. Originally, he saw his task as that of recording a subject or event as accurately and faithfully as possible. Now he sees that as a starting point in the creative process. Sometimes he will record several photos to build a final image. Other times he will choose from hundreds of images to find the critical one that will begin the move from thought to a new reality. Mazurek primarily uses Photoshop CS4 as an artistic editing tool, often working for hours and sometimes using dozens of layers and multiple techniques to create a new artistic piece.
At a recent show in Racine Wisconsin, ArtSite used vacant downtown storefront windows to showcase art. John was invited to bring large photographic images printed on metallic paper to the show. This series of vintage automobile photographs reveal their essence as strong organic forms.
Mazurek will show part of his new three person show at Lemon Street Gallery running July 28 through August 28 with an Artist Reception on Second Saturday, August 14th.
