Frontier States
For Frontier States, Gaudiani was drawn back to the southwest as metaphor for the new landscape for her life, wanting to capture the beauty in the desolate, vast, and architectural landscape where she could see the weather at long distances. Gaudiani shared the lonely tension that existed in the history of this frontier land: the disparity between wide open spaces and the marks men had tried to make, between the hope and innocence it once represented and the reality of what it became. This is not an easy land to find a foothold in, but people have done it. The angular architecture of the train windows mirrors this austerity, creating the effect of going far away and sometimes coming together. When grouped in threes, in triptychs, the images remind one of altar pieces and speak to the sacredness of this land.
Thom Sempere, Director, PhotoAlliance, writes: “look up track and the view is anticipatory – as is the future. Look in front and the moment is briefly locked – as is the present…Gaudiani is keenly aware of this Doppler effect on our perception of time as well as space…Throughout, the trapezoidal black frame acts as a proscenium that serves to confirm that what we have in front of us is only a scene” © 2009 Thom Sempere.