Glow

ARTIST
Jacob Kruger

SENIOR
Glen

ARTFORM
Visual Arts (Photography)

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Glen is a very interesting man who has lived and worked in Ft McMurray for decades in the
hospitality industry. It was very clear that he is rightly very proud of his achievements and
service to the community that range from chef to management in the industry. I found
myself wondering how many of our city’s great successes and achievements have been
celebrated around a great meal prepared by Glen.

His memories of our city span decades more than my own, and it was very interesting to
hear how we have changed, and how we have stayed the same. We both feel that this is a
great city to live, and both want to live out our lives here.

The photo I have produced is an abstract image that I recently took in Jasper national park
specifically with this project in mind. It represents something of a reminder and history for
both of us at this stage in our lives. It uses a technique called Intentional camera
movement (ICM – but I personally dislike acronyms, so I prefer to write it out.). I also used
a bit of PhotoShop acrobatics to put some “Glow” into the tree trunks, road surface, and
fall colors.

As I drove back from Jasper I thought about a caption for this photo and came up with the
following.

“Glen, we are both in what people call the autumn of our lives, and that is what this image
is about. Our road through this life looks a bit fuzzy now, it has curves, and there are dark
areas around it, but just look at all the bright spots we left in peoples lives. There are times
we stood proud and tall along the way, and lots of colorful experiences too. In the distance it curves, and then just disappears completely, but that is also where we shine at our brightest. Remember the bright and colorful times, and forget the dark spots, they already have no
detail left in them.”