Alpenglow Collages
2016
photographs on bamboo paper, cut and layered
8.5 x 11 inches each

The alpenglow visual phenomenon looks like a distinctly shaped, warm glow near the horizon, occurring around dawn and dusk. It is most easily identified on mountains, but it is also visible on buildings and clouds. I first witnessed alpenglow on Montserrat during my time at Can Serrat Artist Residency in El Bruc, Catalunya. I was captivated by the phenomenon and after the residency I began looking for every piece of information I could find on the subject. I found hundreds of slightly different photographs by hundreds of different photographers of the same few mountains. I think of this phenomenon as "destination image-making," where people seem to visit locations specifically to make a photograph that has been made hundreds of times, with slight differences due to time of day, season, height of photographer, camera angle, etc. I collected these photographs, erased everything except the mountain and light shapes, printed the images, and meticulously cut out the alpenglow forms. As these cut photographs stacked up on my desk, I noticed layered landscapes building up and dissolving. Through this process I developed 98 collages - a select few are pictured here. When the collages are viewed sequentially, a geologic and atmospheric narrative evolves. The collages have been exhibited and collected individually, but I envision this series complete as a book with all 98 collages.

Katie Westmoreland

Katie Westmoreland