Of Roots and Religion - Photo Show at The Millburn Library Opens

Of Roots and Religion: A Look at Ted Barkhorn, The Pareidolia Photographer

Contemporary Photography on view in March at The Millburn Library

By Aaron Greenbaum

Pareidolia: noun
A tendency to perceive a specific, often meaningful image in a random or ambiguous visual pattern. It is also the inspiration for photographer Ted Barkhorn’s upcoming art show at the Millburn library.

If you have rested on the grass, looked up at the sky, and saw a cloud that resembles a rabbit, you have experienced Pareidolia. Or, if you have looked at the back of a car or maybe even a rock, and thought it resembled a face, that’s also Pareidolia.

Everyone experiences Pareidolia differently. To photographer Ted Barkhorn, Pareidolia is a spiritual if not religious experience; one that he wants to share. Barkhorn, a Short Hills native, attended Seton Hall but did not get a degree in photography. He initially had dreams of becoming a chemist, but like most college students, he needed to take some elective courses. Seton Hall offered many, but he opted for photography classes, a decision that would shape his future.

During his third year in college, Barkhorn found an ad in the paper for a corporate photographer at Ciba Geigy Pharmaceuticals, previously located in Summit, N.J. This part-time position proved an excellent way to use his skills, and it eventually blossomed into a full-time job. However, it didn’t provide much stability. “I was living out of a suitcase, traveling all over the place,” Barkhorn explained. He eventually became a landscaper, inspired by those who worked with the plants, trees and flowers shaping their placement in the earth and nurturing their growth; craftsmen he grew up with in New Jersey with them frequently as his father was a contractor. For a time then as he focused on his other true passion, he put his photography on the backburner.

Fast forward to 2010 when Barkhorn went on a hike with his family at the Mohonk Preserve in New Paltz, NY, there he stumbled upon what he calls “ancient” Redwood tree roots in a meadow looking like organic modern art sculptures. The roots of these trees so brutally harvested early in the 20^th Century, were “rescued” and placed on the East Coast in a park of their own. Barkhorn snapped a few pictures intrigued by these twisted forms but eventually forgot about them. Several years later, an unexpected business development came up and the images came in handy.

Barkhorn’s accountant helped make resolution of the business challenges as smooth as possible, and to streamline the process, she requested Barkhorn provide a portfolio of pictures that featured his landscaping work. While it was not directly related to his business, Barkhorn included one of the Redwood root photographs in the portfolio. Surprisingly, his accountant said she saw the Virgin Mary in the picture. This comment, according to Barkhorn, “took the veil off [my] eyes” and was the beginning of his career as The Pareidolia Photographer.

Today, most of Barkhorn’s work evolves from a single, large Redwood root that serves as a focal point in his back yard. Depending on the angle and the lighting, he can photograph different sections of this root to create varied Pareidolia-inspired images. A picture taken during the summer will reveal different details/patterns/figures/messages than an almost identical picture taken during the winter after a snowstorm, and these revelatory changes lend themselves to Pareidolia.

However, sometimes a simple picture is not enough. Occasionally, Barkhorn mirrors an element of the image digitally to accentuate specific aspects, usually adding a splash of color. Barkhorn’s art reflects small segments of this majestic root, appearing over and over again, to create surreal, kaleidoscopic landscapes. Regardless of the digital wizardry that goes into this mirroring of the image, each of Barkhorn’s pieces reveals the phenomenon of Pareidolia using the natural curves and bumps of this extraordinary Redwood root as its subject.

Although Barkhorn’s art revolves around photography that demonstrates Pareidolia, it is influenced by the work of three master artists: Vincent van Gogh, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci. Barkhorn speaks to his use of color as inspired by van Gogh’s novel color palettes; he envisions pictures within three-dimensional pieces like Michelangelo, and his art reveals whole new forms when mirrored, not unlike da Vinci’s.

Through Pareidolia, Barkhorn finds that people and places from the Bible appear in the Redwood roots he photographs; his work is fueled by religion and spirituality. He views his art in the same way medieval stained-glass windows were originally perceived - a combination of art, information, and religion. Reading the Bible was out of the question for many during earlier Christian eras; a book was a luxury. Religion’s messaging was dependent on visual communication; the draw of brilliantly colored windows telling tales from the Scripture drew communities and Christian worshippers into churches.

However, even though Barkhorn sees religious iconography hiding in plain sight when he views his art, he isn’t trying to convert anyone with his images. He firmly believes his pictures demonstrate how God works, but he openly welcomes different interpretations of Pareidolia. His favorite quote embodying the messages of his art is Henry David Thoreau’s, “It’s not what you look at what matters, it’s what you see.” A close second is Albert Einstein’s, “Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.”

Pareidolia is considered a form of apophenia, a phenomenon where people perceive connections and patterns between unrelated objects and ideas. Apophenia, and by extension Pareidolia, is based in perception. Some people find patterns where others don’t. Even though Barkhorn sees Jesus in the roots of a Redwood, some might see another face, and others might see the roots as a seemingly random pattern of gnarled wood.

Barkhorn’s art, at its root – pardon the pun – doesn’t have a set message. Instead, he wants people to form their own meanings when they examine his work. “What my imagery is really is a reflection of my spirituality. Today people are exceptionally stressed out,” explains Barkhorn. “With my work, I want to take them away from the internet for a minute, stop their obsession with social media. I’m bringing nature to them, encouraging them to just relax and look at the work, to meditate on what rewards them naturally, visually.”

You can visit Barkhorn’s gallery of work online at https://tedbarkhorn.com/. However, if you live near Millburn, NJ, you can visit the Millburn Library at 200 Glenn Avenue to see his art on display. Ted Barkhorn's photography is on view at the Free Public Library in Millburn through March 31^st.