Seas of Glass and Barriers of Substance A Survey of Windows and Portals Book by Author Marques Vickers

Photographer Marques Vickers escorts you through a diverse global survey of windows and portals that symbolically serve as both openings or exits to consciousness. This edition features interplay of photographic tonality and density with a diverse selection of subject matter.

Shadow, light and contorted distortion alter familiar structures into recreated compositions upholding the theme. The employment of alternating lens is a consistent signature of Vickers’ imagery. Over 475 images elude simple explanation and are left to the viewer’s interpretation. The visual plasticity of structure accentuates specific architectural details.

This compilation constitutes a visual diary of Vickers’ world travels. The selection interplays a cross between the scaling heights of aristocracy and penthouses to the more humorous confines of an outhouse. Each features entry and escape whether glorifying aesthetics or essential utility.

The resolve of the photographer is to experiment with composition and context and subtlety introduce an alternative perspective. The concept of a window or portal is examined without commentary. This book is a visual palette of the apparently evident and the interpreted.

One views a window and may penetrate clarity or by contrast a mirrored reflection dependent upon the positional perspective. One views a portal as an implied inviting entrance or a barrier emphatically preventive assimilation. The duality in potential meaning becomes our vernacular and semantics of vision through Vickers’ camera lens.

The façade dressing of civilization and architecture are subjective. Whether the objects are rectangular, arched or circular, the diversity of styling awakens our interpretation of purpose, functionality and value.