Chasing the Look
The career of Dennis Mattinson (b. 1945) spans four decades and reflects a singular, artistic aesthetic similar to the works of Edward Weston and Ansel Adams. A self-taught photographer, Dennis used his father's cameras beginning at age 8. He purchased his first camera in his twenty's. Though his work has remained outside of mainstream art circles, Mattinson is to be considered one of the foremost mountain aerial photographers, and an accomplished photographic artist in the Owens Valley region.
The photographs on this website display a singular style or "look", an array of themes and moods that typify art created in Southeast Asia, China and South America. They also include examples of his work from the Owens Valley, specifically aerial photographs of the Sierra Nevada.
Dennis Mattinson was not the first photographer who captured the particular nature of China and the Southeast Asian cultures. Dennis' quest to visually identify the unique character of cultures other than that of America has continued during the last decade, expanding and defining his subject matter well.
Mattinson's first introduction to a regional audience was in 2002 with an exhibit of a limited number of photographs of Mount Whitney. In presenting these images, he was largely unaware of the dozens of climbers and visitors who would appreciate his interest and unique perspective of a natural icon. Mattinson's contribution is rooted in an attention to the places and the monuments that tell of the history, as well as the culture of the places he photographs.
Part of the works in this site were drawn from Mattinson's extensive catalog of photographs made during a span of 18 years while he worked as a still photographer for a major international company. This took him around the world many times to Europe, Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia, South America and the Middle East.
Together these photographs suggest a consistency in representing a collective visual culture and are the foundation of a photographic tradition that continues today.
Richard Stewart
Archaeological and Cultural Consultant
Fort Independence, the Owens Valley, California