PAN-O-PLY Gallery by Steve Toepp
The PAN-O-PLY Gallery focuses on one artists work around a common theme. This quarter we are pleased to show Steve Toepp’s Urban Decay series.
Steve Toepp’s primary focus is in advertising and event photography, he has always had an avid interest in documentary and fine art photography. His method is to concentrate on one particular series at a time which can take one year and up to a lifetime to complete.
City Methodist
URBAN DECAY
One particular project that Steve worked on is the Urban Decay series, a break-off project from a larger scale of work called “Urban Landscapes.” Steve recaps the series below:
“My exploration of urban landscapes began in 1984 when I moved to Chicago to earn a degree at Columbia College. The work has evolved from black and white large format architectural photography to more abstract color digital imagery. The Urban Decay series is the flip side of the shiny, symmetrical work of my pervious urban landscapes. This work is shot at several location in downtown Gary, Indiana. To me, these images are about much more than just dilapidated buildings. The neglect, destruction and decay can represent what goes on in the life of many of our inner-city citizens who have been affected by economic despair or addiction. “Decay #845” (the piano) represents the precious joy that was once a part of community life before economic and social changes began to take its toll on Gary. This piece won the 2010 Mary Fedderson Memorial Purchase Award for Photography, given by the Midwest Museum of American Art.” -Steve Toep
Steve Toepp
