artsy forager

Category: Photography

  • Great Expectations: Denise Prince

    Great Expectations: Denise Prince

    Yesterday, I shared with you Lucky Jackson‘s work and wrote about the masks we wear.  Well, it seems like I’m on a bit of an identity-crisis train this week, so hop aboard!  I was really struck by this series of photographs by Austin artist Denise Prince, in which we find women dressed in finery, yet seeming very out of place.

    Jesus, Empire Waist by Denise Prince Block Ice by Denise Price Daughters of Industry by Denise Prince Store Bought Lemonade by Denise Prince American Bingo by Denise Prince

    These women, decked out in evening wear, seem frozen in time, not just physically, but perhaps spiritually as well.  They could be the homecoming queens whose lives began with such hopes for greatness, only to find themselves living a much more ordinary, less glamorous life than they ever expected.  Sometimes, we put such expectations on our future, don’t we?  Of course it’s perfectly normal to have dreams.  Haven’t we all, especially when we were young, dreamt of accepting an Oscar or Grammy in our evening gown or tux?  Maybe we expected our lives to turn out differently.  But no matter what turns life has taken, we can always still be the star of our own story, just perhaps less formally attired.

    Want to see more of Denise Prince‘s work?  Please visit her website.

    All images via the artist’s profile at Saatchi Online.

  • Pocket-Sized Memories: Jefferson Hayman

    Pocket-Sized Memories: Jefferson Hayman

    There were days when, to commemorate an engagement or a special occasion, one might have a tiny portrait painted for a loved one.  Or perhaps even now you wear a locket around your neck, or carry a special stone in your pocket.  There’s something enchanting about the preciousness of miniature treasures, isn’t there?  Tappan, NY artist Jefferson Hayman forges his own liliputian remembrances in his small framed photographs.

    Metropolis by Jefferson Hayman Good Fortune Locket by Jefferson Hayman Secret Little City by Jefferson Hayman Daymoon by Jefferson Hayman Martini by Jefferson Hayman

    The handcrafted silver gelatin and platinum prints are a delightful surprise when tucked inside antique boxes or frames of the artist’s making.  Larger than life places like Manhattan and the moon seem forever caught in a moment inside each little box, there to charm us all over again each time they are revealed.

    To see more of Jefferson Hayman‘s work, please visit his website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Home Is..: Nan Brown

    Home Is..: Nan Brown

    Although we technically don’t have a home of our own these days, the idea of home is on my mind a lot.  Just this morning I was browsing through realtor.com, as you do, checking out what’s around in our price range.  I find the need to remind myself that home isn’t always about the roof over your head.  The Trailers Collected series by the late photographer Nan Brown prove that often home is in the eye and heart of the beholder.

    Brown_Trailers Collected 43 Brown_Trailers Collected 19 Brown_Trailers Collected 1 Brown_Trailers Collected 8 Brown_Trailers Collected, 40

    It might sound corny, but it’s so very true.  Home is where the heart is.  If a place is filled with the people we love, it provides us shelter, not just in the physical sense but in the emotional and spiritual senses.  By capturing these humble abodes, some well cared, for others, barely hanging on, Brown captures the essence of what home can be.

    To see more of Nan Brown‘s work, please visit her website.  The artist passed away earlier this summer after a long illness.  She leaves behind a legacy of thoughtful, sensitive work.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Pink Soldiers: Richard Mosse

    Pink Soldiers: Richard Mosse

    While the world tweets about Miley’s twerking, understandably, I’ve seen lots of folks online upset that the antics of a 20-something spoiled starlet are making bigger headlines than little things like wars and children dying.  Admittedly, I love my guilty pleasures as much as the next gal, but find myself wondering, how do we draw more attention to real, impactful events happening around the world?  Leave it to an artist to figure it out.  Irish photographer Richard Mosse brings the civil war in the DR Congo to life using bright pink tones to colorfully engage the viewer into the country’s story.

    Men of Good Fortune, North Kivu, Eastern Congo, 2011 by Richard Mosse
    Men of Good Fortune, North Kivu, Eastern Congo, 2011
    Growing Up in Public, North Kivu, Eastern Congo 2011 by Richard Mosse
    Growing Up in Public, North Kivu, Eastern Congo 2011

    Mosse’s use of an ifrared Aerochrome dia-film gives his photographs their striking hot pink hue.  That sugary, Victoria’s Secret hue belies the tragic story behind these photos, one of decades long conflict, government corruption, and innocence lost.

    Even better than the real thing, north kivu, eastern congo 2011 by Richard Mosse
    Even Better Than the Real Thing, North Kivu, Eastern Congo, 2011
    Ruby Tuesday, North Kivu, Eastern Congo, 2011 by Richard Mosse
    Ruby Tuesday, North Kivu, Eastern Congo, 2011

    The photographer takes documentary war photography and imbues it with a strange sense of playfulness.  The Pop Art pinks are surely what will draw our attention, but it is the faces there and the stories behind them that will keep it.

    Sticky Fingers, North Kivu, Eastern Congo 2011 by Richard Mosse
    Sticky Fingers, North Kivu, Eastern Congo 2011
    La Vie En Rose, North Kivu, Eastern Congo, 2010 by Richard Mosse
    La Vie En Rose, North Kivu, Eastern Congo, 2010

    If you’d like to see more of Richard Mosse‘s work, please visit his website.

    All images via the artist’s website.

  • In the City: Daniel Everett

    In the City: Daniel Everett

    As much as I love the quiet of rural settings, there is something undeniably appealing about the structures in urban life.  As we were showing Mr. F’s sister around Seattle last week, she was in awe of the architecture and I was reminded, too, to look up and around and take notice.  The work of artist Daniel Everett takes those intriguing bits of urbanity and isolates them in all their glory.

    Untitled, from Monument series by Daniel Everett
    Untitled, from Monument series
    Untitled, three pieces by Daniel Everett
    Three recent untitled works
    Untitled, from Monument series by Daniel Everett
    Untitled, from Monument series
    Untitled, from Monument series by Daniel Everett
    Untitled, from Monument series

    Sometimes, the structure is set starkly against a colorful, seemingly computer generated hue, and then others seem to almost melt into a white sky, pastel lines graphically juxtaposed.  Everett is taking those slices of urban infrastructure and challenging us to see them in a new way, for someone, this is the spot where they spend each day, perhaps a job they worked hard to get or their refuge from the rest of the world.

    And just because it’s awesome and I loved it too much to not include it, I give you..

    Artist Statement II by Daniel Everett
    Artist Statement II, gum

    Want to see more work from Daniel Everett?  Check out his website and Tumblr.

    All images via the artist’s website or Tumblr feed.

     

  • Double Take: Timothy Pakron

    Double Take: Timothy Pakron

    Remember in the old days when you would accidentally double expose a photo and you’d be a little bummed when it didn’t turn out perfectly, but secretly pleased because the double exposure was super cool?  Me too I mean, I’m not nearly old enough to remember that, but perhaps you are. 😉  Anyhoo.. these photographs by Mississippi born  NYC artist Timothy Pakron have me longing for the days of happy photographical accidents.

    Wash Away by Timothy Pakron
    Wash Away, archival inkjet print, edition of 5, 40×40
    Lazy Blue Eyes by Timothy Pakron
    Lazy Blue Eyes, archival inket print, edition of 5, 40×40

    His blurred figures take on a bit of a ghostly quality and we can’t be quite sure whether or not we can trust our own eyes.

    Distance by Timothy Pakron
    Distance, archival inkjet print, edition of 5, 40×40
    Fade by Timothy Pakron
    Fade, archival inkjet print, 40×40

    These could almost take on a slightly sinister quality, but I prefer to see them as a bit day dreamy.  Like that hazy fog between sleep and wakefulness, there is a pleasant light-headedness to them that I completely dig.

    This Side of the Blue by Timothy Pakron
    This Side of the Blue, archival inkjet print, edition of 5, 40×40

    Want to see more of Timothy Pakron’s work?  Check out his website.

    All images via the artist’s website.  Artist found via Michael Mitchell Gallery.

  • Strange World: Lottie Davies

    Strange World: Lottie Davies

    Our minds are funny things. Especially when we are young and the world is filled with magic and everything seems so much bigger, both physically and metaphorically. We see things in ways as children that we gradually lose as we grow into adulthood. UK photographer Lottie Davies artistically arranges photographic scenes that mimic the strangeness of being a child in a grown-up world.

    Davies2
    Most of our childhoods weren’t always idyllic and the eerie atmosphere of Davies’ work reflects that. There seems to be a lurking sinisterness in each scene, as if there is something more going on than meets the eye.
    Davies1 Davies3
    How many times have we thought back to a childhood memory, only to realize we’d been recalling it through rosé colored glasses? Or maybe we sugar coated our world as children, only to realize as adults what life was really like when we were kids.
    Davies4
    What do you think of Lottie Davies’ work? I love that we seem to find ourselves in the midst of a story with each one. Want to see more from this artist? Please visit her Lottie Davies.

    All images via the artist’s website.

  • Nothing But Blue: Vittorio Ciccarelli

    Nothing But Blue: Vittorio Ciccarelli

    After yesterday’s afternoon post, it seems my obsession with blues continues, but this time, I’m gushing over the blue skies of photographer Vittorio Ciccarelli’s Invisible series.

    Invisible 1 by Vittorio Ciccarelli

    Invisible 2 by Vittorio Ciccarelli

    We’ve had no shortage of cloudless, blue sky days lately and I’m always struck, as it seems Ciccarelli is, by the juxtaposition of architecture against an azure expanse.  The skies in Ciccarelli’s work almost seem unreal, unbelievably translucent.

    Invisible 6 by Vittorio Ciccarelli Invisible 8 by Vittorio Ciccarelli

    The bright aqua skies leave our eyes to feast upon the simply beauty in the ordinary urban sights we take for granted.  Suddenly, we notice the gentle curve of the street lamp, never realizing before its beauty.

    Invisible 9 by Vittorio CiccarelliIf you’d like to see more of Vittorio Ciccarelli’s work, please visit his Behance page.

    All images are via Behance.  Artist found via Trendland.

  • Color Harvest: The Deep Blue Sea

    Color Harvest: The Deep Blue Sea

    Maybe it’s finally living in a place surrounded by water after living in the desert last year, but I have been finding such inspiration in the various hues of blue to be found in the waters around Seattle!  So many gorgeous shades from the deepest, darkest blue to green aquas, I just want to plunge right in and see what mysteries await!

    IMG_1114It’s only natural that this blue obsession is trickling over into the artwork I’m foraging on my Pinterest boards.. here’s a little deep blue sea inspiration to get your own seas churning!

    Color Harvest_Deep Blue Sea

     

    [ clockwise, from top left: Elena Kalis |  John Armleder | Miranda Lake | Emily Ferretti studio | Michal Fargo | Jennifer JL Jones

    What colors are inspiring you this summer?

    All image credits linked above.

     

     

  • In the Atmosphere: Mimi Ko

    In the Atmosphere: Mimi Ko

    It’s so difficult to capture the feeling of a place, a moment, a mood.  Sometimes I get so caught up in the beauty of moment that I forget to snap a photo or more often, I don’t want to take myself out of the moment to grab the camera.  New York photographer Mimi Ko creates an ambience of feeling in each captured click of her camera.

    Mimi Ko Mimi Ko

    Though her subjects are occasionally dressed in period garb, there is a timelessness to the spells she is weaving.  The shadows and soft light create a quiet moodiness and feeling of anticipation.

    Mimi Ko

    With each image, she is letting us into a small part of the story.  The possible narrative is only one element in the composition, the scenes she is setting are more about what isn’t being said rather than what is.

    Mimi Ko Mimi Ko

    Want to see more of Mimi Ko’s work?  Please visit the artist’s website.

    All images via the artist’s website.