Petah Coyne at Laurence Miller

The photographs of Petah Coyne explore realms of perception in abstract thought. This is central to modernist theory, which approaches reality in order to revitalize our knowledge of it--and hopefully also reality itself. The particular modernist tendency it resembles is linked to a need to instill order while simultaneously avoiding the traditional expression of order handed down to artists since the Renaissance. This was the case with Marinetti and Braque as it is with Petah Coyne. Primarily known as a sculptor, Coyne has also practiced photography. 

There are four distinct groups, each containing a different authorial remove and a degree of abstraction. The first is comprised of "Untitled # 738, 831 & 735". This series is the earliest of Coyne's attempts at photographing the monks, dating from 1992. The monks float while walking, the image of them blurred but still distinct  as a photograph of something. The second series finds her photographing them while caught in the mindless motion of a ceremonial dance, and action which may have satisfied the need her medium to become more plastic.