Hot Springs Bathers
Artist
Peter de Lory
MediumBlack and white gelatin silver print
Dimensions24 x 20 in. (61 x 50.8 cm)
ClassificationsPhotograph
Credit LineSeattle Public Utilities 1% for Art Portable Works Collection
In 1996, Peter de Lory was commissioned by the Seattle Arts Commission to document the inner workings of the Seattle Water Department. It is appropriate that we have in the collection this much earlier work which reflects his apparently long held fascination with water. However this photograph is more concerned with a formal presentation of the distorting effects of water on the human form than by representing the complex urban infrastructure required to move water to Seattle's citizenry.
In 1996 the photographer Peter de Lory received a commission through the Seattle Arts Commission to document the inner workings of the Seattle Water Department. Having recently moved from New Mexico where water was scarce, he was initially attracted to the abundance of rainfall and water here in the Northwest. As the Water Department's Artist in Residence he was drawn to what he referred to as the source, the reservoirs, facilities and lush landscape of the Cedar River Watershed. As he learned more about the Water Department, he asked for and received access to facilities not normally open to members of the public. Soon, he admitted, the project of documenting the different aspects of the department had expanded beyond his original ideas. He found himself hiking through wet forests following drain pipes, hanging from water towers to get the right shot or staying up all night to document a construction crew ( if they had to stay up to do their work, he reasoned, then he would have to stay up too). He looked into water pipes, control stations, crowded office cubicles, warehouses and construction sites for images which would not only stand alone as credible artworks, but would also allow a casual viewer an insight into just how much effort is expended to bring drinkable water to the city dweller's faucet. As de Lory admitted, his passion and ambition went beyond the budget. The final product is a dramatic portfolio of individual and multiple images which reflect the size, scope and complexity of the facilities belonging to, as well as the pride and commitment of the people working for, this department.
In 1996 the photographer Peter de Lory received a commission through the Seattle Arts Commission to document the inner workings of the Seattle Water Department. Having recently moved from New Mexico where water was scarce, he was initially attracted to the abundance of rainfall and water here in the Northwest. As the Water Department's Artist in Residence he was drawn to what he referred to as the source, the reservoirs, facilities and lush landscape of the Cedar River Watershed. As he learned more about the Water Department, he asked for and received access to facilities not normally open to members of the public. Soon, he admitted, the project of documenting the different aspects of the department had expanded beyond his original ideas. He found himself hiking through wet forests following drain pipes, hanging from water towers to get the right shot or staying up all night to document a construction crew ( if they had to stay up to do their work, he reasoned, then he would have to stay up too). He looked into water pipes, control stations, crowded office cubicles, warehouses and construction sites for images which would not only stand alone as credible artworks, but would also allow a casual viewer an insight into just how much effort is expended to bring drinkable water to the city dweller's faucet. As de Lory admitted, his passion and ambition went beyond the budget. The final product is a dramatic portfolio of individual and multiple images which reflect the size, scope and complexity of the facilities belonging to, as well as the pride and commitment of the people working for, this department.
Peter de Lory
Peter de Lory
Peter de Lory
