The work of fine art photographer, Sparky Campanella, 54, is on display at Southeast Missouri State University's Crisp Museum.
The exhibition is entitled "Horizon." The pieces are minimally aesthetic landscapes that capture the urban horizon.
Campanella said that in many settings the horizon line is bounded by trees, mountains or some other form of nature. In a city like Los Angeles the line is defined by something man made.
"You're surrounded by buildings, and rooftops, and walls, and even trucks going by, and I think it's clear to me that there is still beauty in that setting,” Campanella said.
His work focuses on man’s relationship with nature in an evocative way.
Campanella said many artists show man destroying nature, but he wants to show a complementary relationship.
“I also like to show the places where man and nature complement one another and get along because ultimately that's what has to happen,” he said.
Campanella grew up in Pittsburgh but now resides in Los Angeles. Art is a second career for him. He originally studied business but switched over to art while he was in his 40’s, he said.
Art, specifically photography, was always something that fascinated him.
“In most of the business world what matters is what you can do, not who you are,” Campanella said. “In art your product is a direct extension of who you are, so there’s a lot more of me that I use in my daily work. It gives me an opportunity to work on those aspects of my personality that I wouldn’t otherwise work on or even be aware of in the corporate world. ”
His goal is to use his work to connect with people. He says it is very gratifying for him when someone looks at his work, has an evocative response and takes that feeling away with them.
Campanella’s work will be at the Crisp Museum on the River Campus until Oct. 25.