Pixilated Photographs

By Laura Peach, June 14th, 2010

ST. MARK’S PLACE (NYC)

Have you ever leafed through a stack of snapshots and considered the image far too flat for what you remember of the place? The work of San Francisco based artist Patricia McClung seeks to change all that with its explorations of the layers behind landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and MoMA. McClung uses between 30 and 75 pictures taken over time of a single spot and pulls apart spaces, focuses in on faces and creates several hundred mini-pictures, creating a collage of a monument in a moment.

McClung’s photography is currently on view at Ochi Gallery in Ketchum, Idaho. But in case you don’t happen to be near there, we’ve put together some of our favorite pieces, which run a varied geographical course from a vibrant Guatemalan streetscape to a medieval parchment-looking Prague and a shimmering, blinking evening by the Queensboro bridge. Looking sometimes more like paintings than photo collages, McClung’s work manages to capture moments of movement and energy.

PLAZA MAYOR (MADRID)