Phel Steinmetz & Richard Meisinger in April

From April 13 to May 5, Viewpoint showcases the work of two photographers whose pictorial commentary on the contemporary environment is sophisticated, insightful, and wryly humorous.

Richard Meisinger has gathered prints from what he calls his American Icons series. He chose specifically: basketball hoops, billboard, and American flags, which, because they are everywhere, tend to blend into the background. By isolating these particular objects, Meisinger wants the observer to look not only at them, but at the landscape around them. In the best circumstances these objects, or the expectations that we bring to them, will resonate with the landscape setting to create a provocative visual richness.

Meisinger developed his eye and his skills at The Darkroom in Sacramento. His work has been shown locally and at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. He currently lives in Seattle.

Phel Steinmetz has been photographing seriously since he was 11 years old. From a job in a small-town portrait studio to his current position as a professor of photography at U.C. San Diego, he has continued to study the psychology and landscape of California life. His concept for the making of “Indigenous Aliens” is based on the premise that much of Western culture believes that the concepts of “Man” and “Nature” are adversarial. Out of this comes a photographic commentary that is at once both deeply meaningful and tremendously humorous.

Steinmetz’s wry sense of humor masks his mastery of photographic processes. His transition from analog to digital photography was perfectly seamless.

A Second Saturday reception for Phel Steinmetz and Dick Meisinger will be held on April 14 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.