Wednesday, October 20, 2010

A Window with Ice Shanties


I slid across the ice. Accidentally at first, and then as my comfort grew, I evolved my technique from a means of avoiding a broken tailbone to a proper, Risky Business-esque maneuver. Building a head of steam, I scurried across the frozen lake aiming squarely at a wind-swept portion of ice. A few feet before the snow stopped, exposing the glassy surface, I hopped, landing squarely with the toe of my right foot touching the back of my left Danner Mountain Lights. For twenty feet, I slid. Across the lake, in a protected cove, a group of colorful ice shanties broke up the green and white horizon. Marching across the frozen landscape one slide at a time, I made my way towards them, camera in hand.

Months ago, I searched through flea markets and antique malls looking for windows. My interest in old windows as picture frames and not economic replacements was bewildering to most Mainers at local flea markets. After turning over many rocks, I eventually found some windows that were both aesthetically pleasing and practical as frames. Working with Tucker, we stripped the excess paint and applied a few coats of sealant to protect the frames.

Looking through my Picasa page for groups of photos, I quickly settled on my images of ice shanties. Drawn to the bright colors contrasting the bleak landscapes and the idea of being in a place you shouldn't, protected from cold and wind, I selected my 12 favorite and ordered them in 9"x7" archive-quality prints

Throughout the summer as I transitioned into my new life in New York, Tucker put the finishing touches on the window frame.

Red and White.

Outside of Skowhegan, Maine, one of my favorite shots.

Near US Route 1 on the mid Maine Coast.

Anchored to the ice near Canaan, Maine

Built on the concept that each frame and group of images will be unique, the finished window tells a story more complex and evolved that a singular image mounted on the wall.

The finished window is 40" high by 25" wide and has 12 9" by 7" color prints.

A lonely shanty Down East.

Frozen footsteps captured by thaws and freezes.

The Ice Shanty Window is the first of a series of my favorite images partnered with antique windows.

The shanties complement each other and providing context through repetition.

Offering a view to a distant world, my window with its twelve images hangs over my living room for the time being. If you are interested in owning the Ice Shanty window, or one of the following ones, please send me an email at foster.huntington(at)gmail.com.

Here are some more links,
Windows (ART),
Ice Fishing (ART).

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

nicely done, foster.

Anonymous said...

This is so awesome.

Foster Huntington said...

thanks guys. i am pretty pumped with how it turned out. i am excited to make some more.
foster

Hallock said...

Really beautiful.

Reminds me of someone in my thesis class. Senior year she did a side-project with windows, painting it with a light-sensitive material and then exposing it to film negatives from her childhood.

Foster Huntington said...

Hallock,
That sounds like an awesome project, how did it turn out?
Thanks for the kind words,
Foster

Megan said...

That looks fantastic! Great job.

Foster Huntington said...

thank you megan. hows fall in the northwest going?
foster

Anonymous said...

Great idea, great shots. Well done!

-Jared

Foster Huntington said...

jared,
thanks for the kind words. i love the ice shanties, thats why there were the first group of images i put in a window,
foster

Hallock said...

Foster,

I will see if I can dig up any photos of it. It was very surreal looking.

Also, I know you just moved to New York, what sort of work are you doing there?

AZAA said...

Make me one please !

Anonymous said...

Good stuff as always my man.

Foster Huntington said...

don,
thanks for the kind words. I am really pleased with how it turned out.
foster

Anonymous said...

holy wow! amazing work work friend, amazing work.
ridiculously inspiring!

always a pleasure.
happy day!

Meg said...

Wow these pictures are great and surprisingly colorful. I can't wait until the lakes freeze so I can drive up and see it for myself.

Unknown said...

truely beautiful. great site mate

Foster Huntington said...

Meg,
you wont regret exploring the cold lakes of new england. Make sure to bring gloves.
foster

Conan,
thanks for your kind words. they mean a lot to me,
foster

Deb Tam Designs said...

so i feel like i have totally been creeping on you today...lucky you.
But your photo series is killer. I fell in love with a series of photographs by Catherine Opie (photographer). She had an exhibit in New York. I could not find many of the photographs online. This photograph will not do it justice...but your work reminded me of this. http://www.flickr.com/photos/46488047@N06/4267065216/
and no i did not spend 10+ minutes looking for it.
Enjoy.