Paths: The work of Clarence Porter
“Down Wentworth to Charleton Ave.”
Clarence Porter
The architect Le Corbusier defined architecture as the "masterly, correct, and magnificent play of masses brought together in light" ("jeu savant, correct et magnifique, de formes assemblées dans la lumière"). Corbusier would be a big fan of Clarence Porter’s artwork.
Clarence depicts the built environment with a vibrancy that relies on colour and light—the things that also constitute good architecture. But there is another architectural quality to Clarence’s work that is especially appropriate for this issue of The Right Angle Journal. Many of the images imply a journey, through composition and a strong sense of dimensionality. You don’t simply look at them, you travel into them. The shadows, the patches of light, and the pathway that disappears around a corner, behind the trees, over the horizon, draw us into the frame, suggesting to us that the world is a bright and beautiful place; we should all get up and go discover something.
We are featuring the images from his recent show, “Paths.” In the show's introductory text, Clarence tells us:
Paths imply a journey. A road, a direction, an expedition, an approach, a thought, a learning.
Paths can suggest a destination as the outcome.
And sometimes paths are the end in themselves. The going.
Where? Through a park, an alleyway, an experience, knowledge.
All these pieces represent places traveled and lessons learned.
They are all visual representations of moments on a path to somewhere.
Walk with me.
You can find out a lot more about Clarence Porter at https://www.porter-arts.com
