At the other end of the photography spectrum is Edward Bateman. His Cycles show us – and confound us – with imagery as polished as a Surrealist painting. The work relies heavily upon skill, manipulation and scale. Think for a moment. Would this piece work if it were 8x10 inches? It successfully suspends our belief in what we see, creating a marvelous juxtaposition between the 19th and 20th centuries. The old and the new stare at us with different forms of magic. One long dead, even the child we see, and the other bent on watching our faces as we ask, "How did he do that?"

Tom Livesay, director
Whatcom Museum of History and Art
Bellingham, WA