Artist Takeover: Cody Cobb

[embed]https://vimeo.com/222554741[/embed]This week’s StandardVision artist takeover on the SVLA1 screen at the Marriott Courtyard Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles features work by photographer Cody Cobb. Cobb is the latest artist to be invited to take over the two week-long recurring 15-second spot to showcase their work to the public.Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, Cody Cobb spent his youth exploring abandoned buildings and driving through the night in search of excitement and solace. It wasn’t until his move to the Pacific Northwest that he became enamored with the solitude of the landscape, photographing what he calls “grand epochs of geological disarray.” Rugged coastlines meet dense old-growth forests, glaciated valleys lead into deserts, glaciers and canyons collide with exposed ridgelines in the vast expanse of the American west, and all are the ultimate inspirations for Cobb’s visual narrative of these regions.Each image stands on its own to give us windows into seemingly alternative and mysterious dimensions, appearing almost austere and primordial – an impossibility in a world where we travel from city to city and forget about the land in between. These places have become harder and further to find for Cobb, and he finds himself traveling for months at a time in pursuit of solitude. For him the sudden entries and exits into civilization are chaotic, mirroring his work that attempts to capture brief moments of stillness from the chaos of nature.Photography for Cobb is an escape from the stress of daily life. While his images have a painterly and almost timeless look to them, he admits to being more inspired by process – reducing nature to basic elements of shape, color, and light in lieu of traditionally composing images through a frame. The resulting images are free of human interaction and interference, presenting us with a true image of solitude. You can see Cody’s work on the #svla1 screen in downtown LA until July 2. You can see more of his work in his Instagram, and a portfolio on his website.