Keith Carter has always been interested in the swamps of Southeast Texas, finding a spiritual quality to the way the trees’ canopies diffused the light.
Carter’s latest book, “Ghostlight,” is the culmination of a project several years in the making. Carter will sign copies of his 15th book, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday in the Dishman Art Museum.
Carter is Lamar University’s endowed Walles Chair in Fine Arts and has been taking artistic photographs for more than 50 years.
Dating back to his first published book from 1988, “From Uncertain to Blue,” Cart’ers work focuses on finding the magic in nature and everyday life.
His latest series, “Ghostlight,” follows this trend. It is an anthology of monochromatic photographs featuring the American swamplands.
“A lot of times, I make photographs to see what things look like photographed, and I’d never seen that kind of environment photographed in a non-scientific, aesthetic way,” Carter said. “It’s a mouthful and it’s full of hubris, but I was trying to make art out of the most ordinary/extraordinary places.”
Carter said the idea for the photos came from the “Baygalls” of Southeast Texas, swamp areas with bay trees, since his teen years. He was drawn to the eerie atmosphere of the swamps.
“Most people don’t venture into them, and they’re not pretty to the eyes at first glance,” Carter said. “I felt they were ethereal, elegant, a little dark and mysterious, and kind of a universal look at the ecosystem of the planet.
“I felt there was an almost spiritual quality to the topography and the way it looked, and the way light filtered through those canopies of dark, mysterious and brooding trees.”
Carter expanded out from there and traveled to five different states to take photos.
The Beaumont native says he has always been exposed to photography and was inspired to pursue it by the positive role models in his life.
“My mother was the head of a single-parent household, and she was a photographer of children, so I kind of grew up around it,” he said. “I was introduced to it at a young age, and I got interested in the latter part of my teen years.
“Good parenting encouraged me.”
Carter said he encourages aspiring artists to research the history of their medium, keep a clear head about pursuing art as a career, and above all, to love what they do.
“When I was 18, just starting, I thought it was a beautiful world out there,” Carter said. “Now, it’s been many decades since, and I’m no longer a young man. And I continue to think it’s a beautiful world out there.”
“Ghostlight” is available through the University of Texas Press. To reserve a book for the signing, which costs $50, call 409-880-8959. The Dishman Art Museum is located at 1030 E. Lavaca on the Lamar University campus.
For more, visit keithcarterphotographs.com.
(Originally published October 18, 2023 in the University Press)
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