Wilson Arch Winterscape is unique for its deviation from Muench’s typical straight through window. In this piece, the curve of the arch frames the background and displays the shifts in light and dark throughout its arc. The values contrast with the winter scene (of which there are so many in this exhibit), especially towards the back. At the edge of the arch, the color of the sun calls back to the color of Wilson Arch in the foreground. Here, Muench utilizes his classic “near/far” technique, flattening the midground and placing a shape in the foreground, close enough to touch, to lead the eye to a crisp background far off in the distance.
In this handwritten artist’s statement for the Wilding Museum of Art and Nature, Muench discusses the “dismal grey February day” and “juniper dotted landscape,” painting Wilson Arch Winterscape in the viewer’s mind with words. He also recalled how the photograph was taken and how he positioned himself in order to get a unique shot, what he calls a “timeless moment.”
This photograph was displayed in the exhibit Boundless Vision (2008) at the G2 Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It was also shown at the Brookover Gallery in Wyoming, the Wilding Museum of Art and Nature in California and at Magnifico in New Mexico.
Taken at Wilson Arch, Utah.