Sunday, February 17, 2013
Painting with Light by Eric Staller
Jerry Uelsmann Layered Images
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Nicholas Kahn and Richard Selesnick
A collaborative duo, Kahn and Selesnick work in staged and manipulated photography. They use themselves also in their images and piece together images via Photoshop. This 2011 series is only one of many series and is called Mars Adrift on the Hourglass Sea: Desolation and the Sublime on a Distant Planet.
For more information on their work see : http://www.kahnselesnick.com
And for an interview with the artists about this work:
Julie Blackmon
Through a complex process involving models, a highly staged set and carefully composed tableaux, Blackmon weaves intricate stories of the complexities of everyday life in large and busy households. Blackmon is one of the most exciting photographers working today.
As the oldest of nine children, Blackmon's work has always drawn inspiration from her familial life, her extended family playing the role of both model and muse. At the same time, her work looks far back into the history of art to the paintings of the Dutch Renaissance master Jan Steen, who was known for his carefully constructed scenes of domestic chaos. However, in this newest work, we see Blackmon taking a more contemporary approach by shifting her focus to the work of the French painter, Balthus. His paintings of street scenes include many figures who seem to exist each in their own worlds — often indifferent to what is going on around them. Like Blackmon's work, they are scenes in which time stands still, a moment of anticipation before the full story unfolds and reveals how these characters' lives may, or may not intertwine. Balthus's La Rue provides inspiration for Blackmon's image Homegrown Food, where a man in white carrying a wooden plank walks past another figure who looks cool, yet out of place leaning against a building smoking a cigarette. Both ignore the little girl holding a blue racket who runs into the scene to chase her red ball leaving us to imagine what might happen next.
From the New Yorker in December 2012:
Elaborately staged, frankly artificial photography has fallen out of fashion, but Blackmon is still having fun with the genre. Her antic, anecdotal tableaux take realism as a jumping-off point for various flights of fancy. Several pictures quote paintings, notably Balthus's dreamlike streetscapes, with their oddly isolated characters. One scenario takes place at a book club (its leggy members are reading "Fifty Shades of Grey"), but most revolve around large, unattended groups of children. In the most arresting of these, five kids and two toddlers stand on a dark lawn, basking in the glow of a small fire like fairy-tale figures in a Maxfield Parrish painting.
As the oldest of nine children, Blackmon's work has always drawn inspiration from her familial life, her extended family playing the role of both model and muse. At the same time, her work looks far back into the history of art to the paintings of the Dutch Renaissance master Jan Steen, who was known for his carefully constructed scenes of domestic chaos. However, in this newest work, we see Blackmon taking a more contemporary approach by shifting her focus to the work of the French painter, Balthus. His paintings of street scenes include many figures who seem to exist each in their own worlds — often indifferent to what is going on around them. Like Blackmon's work, they are scenes in which time stands still, a moment of anticipation before the full story unfolds and reveals how these characters' lives may, or may not intertwine. Balthus's La Rue provides inspiration for Blackmon's image Homegrown Food, where a man in white carrying a wooden plank walks past another figure who looks cool, yet out of place leaning against a building smoking a cigarette. Both ignore the little girl holding a blue racket who runs into the scene to chase her red ball leaving us to imagine what might happen next.
From the New Yorker in December 2012:
Elaborately staged, frankly artificial photography has fallen out of fashion, but Blackmon is still having fun with the genre. Her antic, anecdotal tableaux take realism as a jumping-off point for various flights of fancy. Several pictures quote paintings, notably Balthus's dreamlike streetscapes, with their oddly isolated characters. One scenario takes place at a book club (its leggy members are reading "Fifty Shades of Grey"), but most revolve around large, unattended groups of children. In the most arresting of these, five kids and two toddlers stand on a dark lawn, basking in the glow of a small fire like fairy-tale figures in a Maxfield Parrish painting.
Book Club, 2012
Garage, 2012
Fire, 2012
Night Movie, 2011
Stock Tank, 2012
Sharpie, 2011
Sharpie, 2011
Patio, 2010
Patio, 2010
Homegrown Food, 2012
Olive & Market Street, 2012
Paulette Tavormina: Natura Morta @ Robert Mann Gallery
I happened to stumble across the work of Paulette Tavormina while in Chelsea last wednesday. Wow. is all I can say...in the tradtion of classical still life, there is a subtelty and beauty here that is akin to chiaroscuro lighting and tight cropping and painting.
From the press release from the Gallery:
"Natura Morta will bring together a selection of exquisite still life photographs that recall the traditions of 17th century Old Master painting. Luscious fruit and flowers among other things are rendered in a painterly perspective reminiscent of Francisco de Zurbaran, Adriaen Coorte and Giovanna Garzoni, whom Tavormina counts among her greatest influences.
An avid collector of butterflies and insects, shells, dried flowers, and ceramics, the sourcing of props is a crucial part of her process. Each object is closely tied to the place it was discovered - fresh produce from a New York City farmer's market, horseshoe crabs tossed ashore in Nantucket, ladybugs found at a taxidermy shop in Paris. Not only do these objects look to the art historical roots of the genre of the still life, but their meaning is often multi-layered, a fig perhaps referring to the artist's own Sicilian heritage.
Within the long tradition of la natura morta in photography, which calls to mind the compositions of Irving Penn or the anthropomorphic quality of Edward Weston's still lifes, what sets Tavormina's work apart is her reverence for the objects themselves. These pictures are as much about the the life cycles of the objects and the memories they evoke for the artist as they are about the lighting and composition, which make them feel intensely personal. They are her poetic way of expressing respect for the human condition.
Largely self-taught, Tavormina has been exhibited internationally and was the winner of the Grand Prix at the 2010 International Culinaire Photography Festival in Paris. She has worked on set as a food stylist in Hollywood and also photographs works of art for Sotheby's. Her work has been featured in several publications including the New York Times, Boston Globe, L'Express, Martha Stewart magazine and Photo Technique magazine. She lives and works in New York City. "
Red Cherries and Plums, after .GG., 2011 from the series Natura Morta
Strawberries, 2009 from the series Natura Morta
Figs and Morning Glories, after G.G., 2010from the series Natura Morta
Flowers and Fish III, after G.V.S., 2012 from the series Flowers, Fish and Fantasies
Flowers and Fish IV, after G.V.S., 2012 from the series Flowers, Fish and Fantasies
Oysters and Lemon, after W.C.H., 2008 from the series Natura Morta
Yellow Cherries and Crab Apples, after G.G., 2011 from the series Natura Morta
Persimmons, after A. C., 2009 from the series Natura Morta
Watermelon Radishes, 2008
from the series Natura Morta
Apples and Peas, after J.S.C., 2010 from the series Natura Morta
Artichokes, after J.V. H., 2008 from the series Natura Morta
Lemons and Pomegranates, after J.V.H., 2010 from the series Natura Morta
From the press release from the Gallery:
"Natura Morta will bring together a selection of exquisite still life photographs that recall the traditions of 17th century Old Master painting. Luscious fruit and flowers among other things are rendered in a painterly perspective reminiscent of Francisco de Zurbaran, Adriaen Coorte and Giovanna Garzoni, whom Tavormina counts among her greatest influences.
An avid collector of butterflies and insects, shells, dried flowers, and ceramics, the sourcing of props is a crucial part of her process. Each object is closely tied to the place it was discovered - fresh produce from a New York City farmer's market, horseshoe crabs tossed ashore in Nantucket, ladybugs found at a taxidermy shop in Paris. Not only do these objects look to the art historical roots of the genre of the still life, but their meaning is often multi-layered, a fig perhaps referring to the artist's own Sicilian heritage.
Within the long tradition of la natura morta in photography, which calls to mind the compositions of Irving Penn or the anthropomorphic quality of Edward Weston's still lifes, what sets Tavormina's work apart is her reverence for the objects themselves. These pictures are as much about the the life cycles of the objects and the memories they evoke for the artist as they are about the lighting and composition, which make them feel intensely personal. They are her poetic way of expressing respect for the human condition.
Largely self-taught, Tavormina has been exhibited internationally and was the winner of the Grand Prix at the 2010 International Culinaire Photography Festival in Paris. She has worked on set as a food stylist in Hollywood and also photographs works of art for Sotheby's. Her work has been featured in several publications including the New York Times, Boston Globe, L'Express, Martha Stewart magazine and Photo Technique magazine. She lives and works in New York City. "
Cranberry Beans, after G.G., 2009 from the series Natura Morta
from the series Natura Morta
Friday, February 15, 2013
Taylor Swift Poses as Rapunzel by Annie Leibovitz
My two favorites meet. Annie shot Taylor Swift (one of my favorite singers) as Rapunzel for her lasest Disney portrait. LOVE IT.
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