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THE NECROPOLIS SERIES 

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       My passionate belief in the inseparable 
fusion of spirituality and art has led 
me to my present major work, the 
"Necropolis Series." 

This work initially grew from a family 
childhood summer pastime spent exploring 
and admiring the beautiful tomb statuary 
in Chicago's wealthy historical cemeteries. <br/><br/>

In the decades spanning 1870-1920, funeral
 statuary reached a zenith not seen since
 the Roman early Christians in the 
3rd - 5th centuries AD. This work cut 
primarily by a dying breed of European 
master craftsmen flourished in the 
wealthier metropolitan areas of the United
 States during this brief renaissance of 
50 years. Unfortunately over the past two 
decades through weathering, vandalism and 
theft these monumental works are rapidly disappearing from cemeteries across the nation. <br/><br/>

Over the last several years my interest continued to grow and I began capturing and collecting these graceful works in a series of over 3000 photographs taken throughout the United States. After selecting 50 individual pieces for the series it became apparent that merely printing them on paper would not do justice to the original character and nature of these eroding sculptural masterpieces, they required something stronger than paper. I began a series of experiments developing a method of transfer printing the photographs onto large tablets of plaster in order to further enhance their source material, stone. <br/><br/>

Each piece is original, and completely made by my hand in a complex multistage process. I begin by custom sizing and casting the roughly 2’x3’x2”, 50 lb tablet from Hydrostone plaster. When sufficiently cured I carefully prepare the transfer and print the photographic image by hand onto the front surface of the tablet, and then crack, carve and distress the piece. By making my own metallic gilded paints and slowly building successive layers of wash surrounding the background area of the central statuary image I have been able to achieve a rich and complex illuminated surface treatment. The final step is a glaze of mud into the distressed surface cracks and sealant coats of matte varnish. <br/><br/>

This integration of these multistage processes yields a truly unique one of a kind piece with its own rich beauty and intrinsic presence. <br/><br/>

        
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