Photography by David Ondrik

Go see http://www.artisdead.net, David Ondrik's web site of photography. I met David last weekend in Albuquerque, where he lives and works. He steered me toward this site as a way to get in touch with him and to sample his work.

Enough can be said by the work itself with little prodding by me, so I'll refrain from too much narrative here. But I am astonished by some of the pieces you'll see here, particularly "New Mexico," "Wasteland," and "Mirage."

Equally worthwhile are David's (and friends') narrative statements about technique, strategy, definition, purpose. So often I find artists can be maddeningly obtuse, even inarticulate, when making the traditional "artist's statement." And yes, I include Pablo Picasso in this unfortunate category. It's as though so many of them believe they have to make absurd or outlandish remarks about art and its social function, or lamely mysterious claims about the relationship between art and the artist, the World, Knowledge, Blah Blah Blah.

But this artist puts some thought into his craft and his art, always careful to include the role of the viewer in his deliberation. And he does so in clean, direct prose style.

But look at the photos first. They are powerful art, no doubt about it.