Stephen Jay Gould once wrote that “the human mind delights in finding pattern—so much so that we often mistake coincidence or forced analogy for profound meaning. No other habit of thought lies so deeply within the soul of a small creature trying to make sense of a complex world.” This is the spirit that influences the work of Jürgen Bergbauer, a German-born, RISD-educated photographer whose images highlight the tense harmonies that exist between man and his natural surroundings. “That’s my understanding of photography,” Bergbauer says. “It’s about registering the visual world and endowing it with order and meaning. It’s a strong human desire.”
