Chet Clerihue - For me photography is an attempt to answer the basic question of "who am I, where did I come from and can I go back there?" I believe that you and I are often unaware of how deeply coupled with the land and or environment we are. Taking pictures is my attempt to understand the land from which I come and, ultimately, to understand myself. My Grandparents helped settle the west in Kansas and Colorado, and their western values and dreams have helped to shape me. I was raised in Littleton, Colorado and other than a few brief departures, I have always lived in Littleton. My father is an artist and was an art teacher. Art had a constant presence in our house. Throughout my childhood my father gave me his hand-me-down cameras and photography evolved into my chosen form of expression. I am drawn almost by precedent to capture the agrarian landscape of the west and the people, artifacts, creatures that come from it. I hope that as you view my work you are able to see something in one or more of the images that evokes a sense of home and place. |
