August 20 – September 25, 2018

Artist Talk/Reception: September 25, 11:30am – 12:30pm
ALL ARE WELCOME

This piece, “I Want a Yellow House with a White Picket Fence” reflects on the American dream. This environment creates a type of mystical realism, similar to the environment pictured in the pieces by Charles Burchfield. Burchfield painted many townscapes, and nature scenes inspiring Ydeen. Within Ydeen’s pieces, there are not many people pictured, and he tries to focus on lighting and architectural design. So many people desire a home with a white picket fence, this abandoned looking town shows a broken idea. The light coming from the bedroom window is the only sign of life emitted from the piece. The nighttime scene isolates a specific vignette, and creates something that you could not get from daytime photography.

Peter Ydeen moved to Easton based on recommendations from a client. Although this is a medium sized city, Easton is between the major cities of New York City and Philadelphia. When he arrived into the city, Ydeen believed that the city had a sort of dislike towards humankind and avoided society in general. It seemed to be almost lost in time, and only related with the people nearby. After living in the town for a while, he realized that was not the truth. Rather, he believes that the town has a strong influence of Americana. These influences play through in many aspects of the town. From local businesses displaying American flags in their windows to the rebirth and repurpose of old town buildings. Although the commonality of Americana today is dwindling, it has become an important part of Ydeen’s work. Through his photographed materials, he created place that makes you feel you have visited this classic small town on the outskirts of two large cities. Ydeen accomplishes this by paying close attention to the lighting, and architectural layouts of Easton. The idea of taking the photos at night shows to be important in isolating the personal private spaces, and showing the importance of spatial lighting.

~ Gabriella Youshock, Gallery Exhibition Research Assistant