Dana Keeton
A response to Rachel Yoder
Process Notes
My visual response to Rachel's story is informed by visceral reactions to the story as a whole, as well as specific sentences and ideas. The branches of dead leaves and dried bulbous forms in the photographs echo thoughts of the skirts dragging on the ground gathering debris and suggest a cycle of decay and renewal. The glow of the bulbs reminds me of the luminous spirit inherent in the women, despite being weighed down and smothered by social norms. The delicate, paper-thin bulbs and their evocative details bring to mind the grace, fierceness, and beauty of the women at the end of the story who become naked and let go of their shame.
Responses to Rachel Yoder's Work
Dana Keeton
My current work is primarily focused on the subtleties of form and texture that reveal the drama inherent in natural forms, as well as the common visual relationships found in disparate ecological systems. Rooted in the documentary tradition, my interests have evolved over the years from photographing people, events, and man-made spaces to a focus on the dynamic natural world. A relatively new Iowa City resident, I had the opportunity to explore and acclimate to the Iowa landscape through a collaborative project with a multidisciplinary team for the Iowa City Public Arts Program. I created a photographic mural that is part of a STEAM wall installation at the Robert A. Lee Recreation Center titled Exploring Iowa’s Renewable Energy. I worked closely with the team’s engineer, who designed an algorithm to create a photographic mosaic made up of more than 6,500 of my photographs.