From Art New England By Susan Mulski April/May 2006 Mary Lang: GROUNDLESS and Karen Schiff: WATER MARKS Mary Lang's photographs of water, titled "groundless", use an ambiguous orientation with no direct reference to the surrounding shore or sky. They are full of water from edge to edge, taking the ripples, waves, and wind-blown surfaces as their subject. In the fifteen photos, water takes on many textures reminiscient of painterly brush strokes to smooth reflective surfaces. In gallery notes, Lang mentions her affintity with the "vast undiluted" natural spaces she photographs. While the images capture water's reflected elements (sun, sky, clouds), the subject of these photos is what is not visible in the camera lens. Lang calles it a "freedom from concept" and it allows for endless possibilities. These photographs don't capture the grandeur of an ocean or the magnificence of a waterfall. With their understated, muted coloration and textures they require careful looking to appreciate their subtle nuances. The gallery website mentions Lang's interest in meditation, and the connection to water as a contemplative aid is obvious. As much as Lang's works are about a stillness of mind, in contrast Karen Schiff's video "Water Marks" is about water's luminous movement. The black-and-white video captures the kinesis of reflected light across different bodies of water, creating mesmerizing patterns across the screen. This "light writing", as described by the artist, resembles a kind of calligraphy, a cryptic code or language. The effect is a hypnotic video formed by dancing shapes of light. Joined together by their use of water, the artists diverge in their resultant meditative works. While Lang's photographs are passive, using the natural world to draw the senses inward, Schiff's video creates a dynamic action for meditation -- like walking a spiral labyrinth. Both succeed in making us appreciate the fleeting beauty of light on the water.