Michael Taylor, The Willfulness of Being (Life Aware of Itself)

The show runs from April 20 through May 31, 2022
There will be an artist reception on Saturday, April 23 from 12:00 to 4:00.

The O’Brien Photo Gallery
2833 Willamette, Ste B.
Eugene, OR 97405
(541) 729-3572
Open from 1 – 5 pm weekdays..
Call to be sure we’re open.
Email:  picmac1945@gmail.com
Website:  https://www.waltobrien.net/the-o-brien-photo-gallery

“I don’t talk to my house plants or play for them a Fiscella piano composition. That would presume an aging Philodendron can be reflective as an old man facing his end.

But as I wander through the quiet muse of a redwood grove or observe the blanket of canopy embracing an old bridge, I find myself sharing with them an awareness: That we are each of us a life possessed, one brief moment trailing in the sweep of infinite time and space.

These photographs, a work in progress, are about more than seeing a tree or a leaf. They are about seeing ourselves, in connection with the world around us. They are portraits; profiles of community, of family, of souls wrapped in the fleeting grace of being.

And I believe they are aware of that single moment they inhabit, as we, too, should be. And that in each of these images there exists a willfulness of being – a life aware of itself.

Look for it. You’ll see.”

MZ Taylor

This is Michael’s first exhibit at the O’Brien Photo Gallery in Eugene. He has also shown works at the PhotoZone Gallery, the NewZone Gallery Downtown, Dr. Don Dexter’s Gallery and has been interviewed on KLCC’s “Viz City” program. He is the Coordinator and Facilitator at the PhotoZone Gallery, active board member at Photography at Oregon, and a participant in the Eugene Grid Project from 2018 to 2020. Working exclusively in black and white until the introduction of digital, he has been making photographs off and on since the 1960’s. He has recently re-discovered film and has been especially interested in infrared film.

Michael’s website: https://www.mztphotography.com