The Awards Collective was created to feature the works of artist who have received either a Juror’s Award or Director’s Award in ASG’s Online exhibitions.  Lisa Cassell-Arms’ image “Between Heaven and Earth 2“ received the Director’s Award in the “open/unfiltered” exhibition juried by Kevin Tully.  Lisa’s exhibition “Merged Landscapes: New Lands” is discussed in this GalleryTalk.

Artist Statement

During the pandemic I rediscovered a collection of antique stereoscope cards that had belonged to my great-grandfather. I had always been fascinated by them. Long and horizontal in format, two images appear side by side, merged in the center. They often depict exotic locations, captured from slightly different angles, suggesting an edit, or slight glitch in time. When viewed through a stereoscope viewer, they appear three dimensional. For me during that time, they provided a momentary escape to a far away place. Inspired by those images, and searching for a way to stay sane and creative, I took a deep dive into my photographic archives. Looking at images that spanned decades gave me a comforting sense of continuity and hope.

In my resulting series, Merged Landscapes: New Lands, I pair and combine two landscapes into a single merged image. The landscapes are distant from one another on the globe, and separated by time. I tone and texture them to recall the aged quality of stereo-cards, hinting at the enigmatic and slightly unreal nature that I’ve loved about those early, mysterious images. Pairs may share some commonality, perhaps in form, topography or mood. Some may be analogs to one another, merged back to back as if in mirror image. Placed together, they enter into a conversation. A visual dialogue between shapes and shadows that suggests a new and hybrid land, an alternate history to be discovered.

Lisa Cassell-Arms, January, 2024

Bio

Lisa Cassell-Arms is a fine art photographer focused on capturing the magic and beauty of the natural world and our changing relationship with it. By combining and merging images that are different, across time and location, she reinterprets landscape and explores our perceptions of natural space. Lisa discovered her love of photography as a young teenager. An early Polaroid camera and the complete Time-Life Library of Photography provided a great early education in the mechanics, principles and history of photography.

After graduating with a degree in Film from New York University, Lisa worked in television advertising production and film rights acquisitions. Lisa segued into culinary arts, cooking and recipe development which led to food photography and the publication of a cookbook, Seasons in a Vermont Vineyard, Arcadia Publishing.

Lisa has studied at the International Center for Photography and participated in the Atelier and education through the Griffin Museum, Maine Media workshops and Santa Fe Workshops. Her fine art and editorial work has been exhibited in galleries, appeared in print and online. Lisa lives in beautiful Vermont with her husband and silver Labrador.

website:  lisacassellarms.com
instagram:  lisacassellarms

link to online exhibition