A minimal contemporary cibachrome titled "Accidental Tourism (30th Parallel)" by American artist Lee Stoetzel. Created in 2002. Edition 2/8. Gallery tag on verso from Mixed Green Gallery, New York, NY. "What I present may seem true, or self-evident, but it is not." Lee Stoetzel challenges "habits" of seeing, the tendency to jump to conclusions about what we are looking at and quickly attach recognize and literal meaning to his photographs. But with Stoetzel, it's best not to assume anything. In his series, "Accidental Tourism," he takes us on a photographic journey around the globe without ever leaving the intimacy of his home and studio. Titled after the parallel lines that help map our understanding of the earth's surface, each photograph suggests a site on the parallel line to which its name refers. The "Accidental Tourism (51st Parallel)" appears to be a snowy mountainous landscape. But is it? The 51st parallel does in fact fun through Canada's Quebec territories. Yet it is a greatly enlarged photograph depicting a one-inch area on the porous surface of a pigment-soaked household sponge. Stoetzel's series challenges us to re-examine our world and also photography, questioning the ever-blurring boundaries between actual and man-made realities. Stoetzel (1968- ) is also an established painter and printmaker. A graduate of Southern Methodist University of Texas, he received an award for creativity from the prestigious Aspen Research Foundation, Colorado. From a private collection. Dimensions: 20.75"h x 26.75"w x 1.25"d (framed). In excellent condition.

20.75 x 26.75 x 1.25 in