By Rebecca Pikus
For those of us who are out and about town, whether it’s Gallery Openings, Fundraisers, or a myriad of other cultural events, Artist William Dey is there to lend style and class. His persona matches his fabulous photography, which conveys the chic and elegant sensibilities that Dey possesses.
William Dey began his career as a fashion stylist in Chicago, which provided him with his first real exposure to the professional photography process. He was surrounded by talented professionals who were at the top of their game, and each new shoot brought important insight and practical career experience. He relocated first to Miami, and later to New York City, and in both places he had the opportunity to work with important photographers from the United States and abroad.
The world, as seen through the lens of William Dey, is a reflection of incisive visual observation. Dey has a gift for composition, an innate awareness of which visual elements must remain in order to complete the image – and the discipline to remove all that is extraneous. This is evident throughout his work, be it the thunderous silence of the barren desert in winter, his stark juxtapositions of life in Palm Springs, lush reflections on the glory days of Detroit design, the savvy, structured tableaux of Dey’s fashion photography, or his innovative and revealing portraits.
When creating a photograph, Dey looks for the angles – both literally and figuratively. He constantly seeks a means to observe the world from the edges, to record unnoticed the moments that comprise the narrative threads of our being, or of our having been. His hands may hold the camera, but Dey’s interest is not in becoming part of the picture, nor in influencing the outcome. His sole purpose is to allow each thoughtful, artistically composed image to fully manifest itself and then to speak its own unique truth.
Dey is constantly engaged in visual exploration and analysis, looking for the small details, the subtle messages that can be revealed in the composition. He feels that it is not always a good thing to confront a photograph head-on, that the essence of his work is searching for the angles that are more revealing of the true nature of the subject. When asked about the importance of a visual narrative in a photograph, Dey answered, “I have an internal vision that expands and evolves as I develop the composition. Visual narrative, the ‘story’ that presents itself to the viewer, is the important difference between fine art photography and what may just be a competent photograph. What I strive for in each of my images is to impart that internal vision into the finished photograph so that the viewer can fully experience it.”
WILLIAM DEY, Photography Art (williamdey.com) His work can be seen at REBECCA FINE ART GALLERY, 68895 Perez Rd, #7, Cathedral City, CA (760) 534-5888 – Modernism Exhibition – Also visit his work at Fineartvortex.com
