Shadows

  Los Angeles at night can be a dreamy world of light and shadow. Its dark streets played an important role in the film noir genre popular in Hollywood films of the 1940’s and 50’s.  I’ve lived in LA for the past 10 years and often go walking on its dark streets late at night and sometimes into the early morning hours. At these times the streetlights cast high contrast shadows with soft edges, and important features fade into the blackness. The scenes one is confronted with appear to have been distilled out of an amalgam of dream states. Danger lurks at every turn, or so it seems. Symbolism and meaning appear to hover at arm’s length in front of the observer just out of reach. Shadowy alleyways may harbor the source of our deepest fears or may yield realization and meaning. 

   During the day, the stark shadows lose their menace, however they retain a feeling of alienation that I am fascinated by.  The daytime Los Angeles sun has a unique quality which leads to very striking shadows that are stark, crisp and dramatic.