The Desert in Depth

Photograph by Lee Friedlander Untitled, from the exhibition "An Excess of Fact"

Photographer Lee Friedlander shares no such illusions. As an occasional photographer of the Sonoran Desert for more than 15 years he has obsessively pursued a unique, aggressive and authentic vision of our local landscape. "An Excess of Fact: Lee Friedlan der/The Sonoran Desert," a new show at the Center for Creative Photography, features 94 of his photographs taken since 1991 in a prickly, edgy and fascinating show.

Those who have actually experienced it know that the Sonoran Desert is no postcard. Dense, tangled, prickly and just plain dangerous to the unwary, the unforgiving creosote and palo verde forests and towering sentinels of saguaro cactus dominate a complex landscape. Species crowd densely together, using each other for precious bits of shade and protection from the wind. There is too much detail and chaos to fit within the confines of the idealized magazine cover.

As a photographer, Friedlander isn't concerned with pure aesthetics or safe, publication-friendly illustrations. His edgy, in-your-face style is perfectly suited to capturing the Sonoran Desert as it really appears. Ignoring the traditional landscape phot ographer's sedate, distant approach, he allows elements of chaos, harsh lines and the blinding noonday sun to dominate his work.

Far from static, his ocotillos and agaves lean toward the frame in a seemingly threatening manner. Having an "active" foreground is a hallmark of Friedlander's work, and this series is no exception - he uses this technique to turn the desert into a drama, bringing life to an often static genre. His technique is uniquely suited to the desert landscape, as such an approach would probably not work as well in dense forests or barren plains.

All 94 photographs in the show are identical in shape and size, and completely focused on the desert with an almost palpable intensity. Arranged on the walls in interesting geometric patterns and grouped by content rather than chronology or location, at f irst glance the show seems bewildering and heavy on repetition. It is only after viewing the exhibition as a whole that the potency and honesty of Friedlander's vision becomes apparent.

Curator Trudy Wilner Stack and Exhibitions Designer Dustin Leavitt did a brilliant and creative job of installing the show. Taking advantage of the identical shape and untitled/undated status of each photo, they arranged and grouped them on the CCP's gall ery walls in patterns that add immensely to both the content and impact of the photographs. By arranging the photographs to suggest sequences and parallel observations, the intensity of Friedlander's gaze and his deep understanding of the landscape is bro ught to the foreground. The result is a show that functions as a complete document, turning what might have been a mere collection of landscape photos into a lyrical and moving work.

Viewed up close, his technically exacting black-and-white prints have a crisp, harsh look that seems almost posterized. His landscapes feature multiple level of detail rather than the traditional distance view. Branches and spines crowd the foreground, co mplex tangles of brush lurk just beyond and saguaros march endlessly into the distant haze. No single photo stands out from the rest; instead, each adds to the complexity of the others and to the show overall. Yet the individual photos have a crystalline, fragile beauty all their own.

Lee Friedlander dared to document the desert as it truly exists: complex, chaotic, spiny and uncomfortable. Forsaking the idealized gaze of the postcard view, he created a multi-level exhibition of breathtaking simplicity and honesty.

The gallery also features a concurrent show entitled "Selections from the Permanent Collection: Depth of Field." Assembled by Curatorial Intern and UA junior Rosey Truong, this diverse selection of prints from the CCP's collection is a pleasant contrast a nd complement to Friedlander's work. With both color and black-and-white photographs from both famous and little-known artists, this show concentrates on the photographers' use of depth of field in their compositions. Using focus, blur, foreground objects and endless vistas to emphasize depth and composition, these photographers crafted complex and eye-catching compositions.

"An Excess of Fact: Lee Friedlander/The Sonoran Desert" and "Selections from the Permanent Collection: Depth of Field" is showing through July 6 in the Center for Creative Photography's main gallery. Hours are 11 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays, noon-4 p.m. Sunday. Call 621-7968 for more info.