Ashley Kuttler

Artist Statement 

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   The idea behind my photo is to show the powerful and consuming effect fire has on the environment. When I was brainstorming for the word consumption, the wildfires in California were going on and inspired me. I saw so many photos of the destruction that the fires had caused and it got me thinking about how fire consumes everything in its path, leaving behind nothing.

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   My photo is of a person holding a lighter in front of a forest. The focus of the photo is on the lighter and the hand so the viewers eyes go straight to the fire. Shooting this photo turned out to be more problematic than I expected. The flame would burn out before the camera had a chance to focus on it.

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   Almost all wildfires are started by careless actions of humans. These actions can lead to hundreds of thousand acres being destroyed by fire. When the conditions are right, fire can spread thousands of feet per hour. As someone who loves hiking and being in nature, I think it is very important for people to preserve our nation's forests.