Artist Statement:
I purchased my first cameras at age 17, and over time my photography has evolved into an artistic practice. Early on I concentrated primarily on technical aspects of photography. My more recent creative and artistic work started early in 2016. This work was prompted by a medical scare and a period of recovery. At present I am working on two primary projects. The first is called, What do you want to be when you grow up? The project involves individuals of the baby boomer generation (born 1946-1964) who are pursuing a least one post-retirement passion, preferably one with some public impact. I photograph these individuals as they are pursuing their passion and later pair their photo with one from their childhood. The second project is called, It never ends. Here I take photographs at locations of historical significance, such as Vicksburg, MS, and later pair these photos with historical photos that depict conflict in the same general location. Source material includes public photographic archives from the Civil Rights Era. These two projects characterize much of my artistic photographic practice -- social, socially aware, engaged with the world, and semi-documentary with a creative and speculative layer.
I purchased my first cameras at age 17, and over time my photography has evolved into an artistic practice. Early on I concentrated primarily on technical aspects of photography. My more recent creative and artistic work started early in 2016. This work was prompted by a medical scare and a period of recovery. At present I am working on two primary projects. The first is called, What do you want to be when you grow up? The project involves individuals of the baby boomer generation (born 1946-1964) who are pursuing a least one post-retirement passion, preferably one with some public impact. I photograph these individuals as they are pursuing their passion and later pair their photo with one from their childhood. The second project is called, It never ends. Here I take photographs at locations of historical significance, such as Vicksburg, MS, and later pair these photos with historical photos that depict conflict in the same general location. Source material includes public photographic archives from the Civil Rights Era. These two projects characterize much of my artistic photographic practice -- social, socially aware, engaged with the world, and semi-documentary with a creative and speculative layer.
Artist Bio:
Bruce Wilson is a fine art photographer whose work reflects his interests in combining historical images with contemporary settings or individuals. These interests and the challenge of portraying them evocatively balance the technical work that has made up most of his career. A photo review class revealed to him how images could be made more cohesive, more interesting. Since that class, he has pursued his interests with vigor. In 2019 he had a solo exhibition at the Newton Free Library. In 2020, he showed 25 works from his "Urban Ponds" series at Harvard University's Arnold Arboretum. He has exhibited and won awards in numerous juried exhibitions and serves on the board of the Newton Art Association. In addition to his artistic interests, he is fluent in Spanish and is learning French, with the idea that he will spend time in France and work there with artistic collaborators and organizations.
Bruce Wilson is a fine art photographer whose work reflects his interests in combining historical images with contemporary settings or individuals. These interests and the challenge of portraying them evocatively balance the technical work that has made up most of his career. A photo review class revealed to him how images could be made more cohesive, more interesting. Since that class, he has pursued his interests with vigor. In 2019 he had a solo exhibition at the Newton Free Library. In 2020, he showed 25 works from his "Urban Ponds" series at Harvard University's Arnold Arboretum. He has exhibited and won awards in numerous juried exhibitions and serves on the board of the Newton Art Association. In addition to his artistic interests, he is fluent in Spanish and is learning French, with the idea that he will spend time in France and work there with artistic collaborators and organizations.
