The fantastical work of Jamie Baldridge weaves for the viewer visually complex stories that engage the mind and entrance the spirit.
Phrases From A Broken Language
Baldridge, a professor of photography at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, creates his fantastical works by utilizing not only photography, but also digital manipulation and collage. The resulting images are full of depth, texture and an extraordinary sense of light.
The Socrates Safe Co.
His Vermeerish palette lends the eccentric images an old-worldly feel and their dark sensibilities recall the iconography and symbolism of the Victorians. Yet there is something inherently modern about them– perhaps it is the subtly infused humor or the fashiony bent to some of the work.
A Confluence of Extraordinary IdeasA Pair of Gnostics Burdened On A Platform
There are stories at work here, some obvious, others more subversive, but all entirely up to the viewer to complete. Baldridge has opened up the book to a random middle page and it is up to us to find the beginning and end.
To see more of Jamie Baldridge’s fascinating work, please visit his website. I first saw his work this weekend at the Thomas Lee Gallery in Ashland, OR, so if you’re anywhere near the area, you could do the same. ( Note to the Thomas Lee gallerist: Immediately going into the archival paper, framing and pricing of an intriguing work of art is NOT the way to sell it. Just sayin’. )
Please enjoy this oldie by goodie while I spend the next two weeks camping, packing, visiting with the mom-in-law and moving from WA to OR. See you in September!
I can’t believe it is the end of another week already. The time is quickly flying by as George and I prepare to make our way to the West Coast. I plan to take LOTS of photos both on our trip and once we have arrived. But alas, I am merely the point & shoot type. Oh, I try to compose a nice shot or get all artsy with the angles and such, but I have a long way to go.
I took a few photography classes in high school and college and well, let’s just say I never did quite get the hang of it. I am mechanically challenged to say the least. I have such respect for fine art photographers, because I know how difficult getting that perfect shot can be. So today’s faves feature some of my favorite photogs!
Upon first seeing Lori Nix’s photographs, you might think she must have an unbelievable knack for scoping out interesting places in various states of destruction and decay. But look a little closer. These places aren’t real at all. They are tiny apocalyptic scenes of the artist’s own making.
Laundromat, 2008
This Brooklyn-based artist designs and creates a miniature diorama for each scene, always keeping in mind the angle from which the scene will eventually be shot. The tiny models can take up to seven months to complete and two weeks to shoot. The photos are reproduced at a large scale, so attention to even the minutest detail is crucial.
Library, 2007
Why the images of destruction? Nix spent her childhood in rural Kansas, where natural disasters are a way of life. As a child, she remembers the destruction as exciting, something new and unexpected breaking up the doldrums of every day life. She is also influenced by the Hudson River School for its characteristics of romanticism and The Sublime movement, which focused on an “evocation of profound emotion”.
Aquarium, 2007
There is something quite fascinating about these images of devastation, in the wonderment of what could have wreaked such chaos, whether natural disaster, human neglect or perhaps something more sinister and subversive.
Fountain, 2008
In the deconstruction of the scenes, there is created a greater depth than there would be in an intact space. We are caught in the midst of a story, like beginning a dream in the middle of the action.
Beauty Shop, 2010
I first saw Lori’s work in ClampArt gallery in NYC in 2009 and it stayed with me. If you like it as much as I do, be sure to check out the artist’s website and Facebook page. If you’re in the Portland, OR area, her work can be seen at G. Gibson Gallery or in New York at ClampArt.
Featured image is Natural History 2005 by Lori Nix. All images are courtesty of the artist’s website.
Today I was stuck on what or who to feature on the blog. Nothing was jumping out at me. Desperate, I asked my husband. His first ( joke ) repsonse was “Thomas Kinkade”. Hardee har har. His next suggestion was “Guy Art”. I was like art featuring guys? Art by guys? No, art guys like. Oh! I asked if the blog was becoming too girly.. he said no, but I have my doubts. There’s been a plethora of pink around here lately. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. But my taste in art isn’t always so feminine. I like a bit of edge and irony, too. So in honor of my hubby, whose own appreciation for art is growing every day, here are some examples of art that any guy would be happy to hang in his swingin’ bachelor pad.
Martyr by Alwin Jackson
Alwin Jackson is a painter. He doesn’t put up a front of pretentious, artsy bullsh**. Maybe that comes from having been in the corporate advertising world for twenty years. His images are clean and bold and I think most guys would appreciate their no-nonsense attitude. This girl certainly does.
Untitled ( History Painting ) 2011 by Tony Rodrigues
Tony Rodrigues’ work takes an introspective look back at icons from childhood and pop culture. What grown man doesn’t have memories of playing “cowboys and indians” when he was young? His sentimental take on figures and themes take us back to the “good ol’ days”, but leave us wondering, how good were they, really?
Beats in Paint by Robert Leedy
It is a truth universally acknowledged that most guys wish they were musicians. ( My hubby will attest to this fact, though I think he’s a better guitar player than he gives himself credit for ). How many rockstars started out by picking up an instrument as a way to meet girls? I bet Robert Leedy’sBeats in Paint make you want to wail on a drumset like you’re Keith Moon.
Building Faces- Crown Fountain Juxaposition, Chicago, IL by Doug Eng
Boys love to build stuff. It’s why Erector Sets and Legos have been around for so long. Many men have contributed to the architecture of great cities like New York and Chicago. Doug Eng captures a glimpse of humanity among the concrete and steel, reminding us that these buildings are built for, built by and filled with, people.
Freedom by Steve Williams
Teddy Roosevelt was a man’s man president. A boxer, a soldier, a hunter and outdoorsman, embodying his ideology to “Speak softly and carry a big stick”. Artist Steve Williams pays his due to this former president in his Currency series.
Stoic by Brian McGuffey
For those guys who want to show off their bagged game, but not actually, you know, kill a beautiful wild creature just for the bragging rights, Brian McGuffey’sStoic is just the thing. I don’t know, this deer looks seriously ticked off for having been decapitated. I wouldn’t cross him if I were you. Just nod gently and let him be.
Remember that thing about guys wanting to be rockstars? Is there a rockstar cooler than the gravelly-voiced Tom Waits? Seriously. John Duckworth renders his steely glaze perfectly. And yes, there’s some pink in there. Duckworth and Waits aren’t afraid to rock the pink.
It seems that the hipster craft craze has given birds a bad name in the art world. If you’ve seen the “Put a Bird On it” sketch from IFC’s hilarious Portlandia, you know what I’m talkin’ about. Bird “art” is everywhere. It’s those mixed-media collagey things that you see at outdoor art festivals and markets, it’s the ubiquitous black bird on a bare branch. Now don’t get me wrong, some of this bird art is lovely and fun. But after a while, it all begins to look the same.
I want to set the record straight. Restore the good name of bird art. Here’s a round up of my favorite pieces featuring our fine feathered friends…
Barn Owl by Mary Alayne ThomasTrespasser by Camille EngelClover by Jim DraperGolden Light by Diane FarrisBeginnings by Susan HallCaeli by Vicki Sawyer
Think we may be doing a bit of bird watching this weekend. If you’d like to do some online birding, check out the featured artists’ websites for more ornithological goodies.
Artists have long held a fascination for horses. Some of the earliest cave drawings were filled with equine imagery. Modern artists are no different. Today’s faves feature artists with a penchant for ponies. Enjoy!
In this digital age, it seems like you can’t spit without hitting a self-proclaimed “photographer”. I don’t begrudge anyone a creative outlet– if you want to take photos with your digital SLR, slap ’em up on Facebook and call yourself a photographer, I guess that’s your beeswax. But for me, there is a point where photography ends and artistry begins. There are photographers who are truly artists of their craft and Thomas Hager is a master.
Tom takes the simplest of forms, like the sweetgum pods above and isolates them and infuses them with a ethereal quality. These are no longer those annoying, sharp little balls that litter the sidewalk, they are now magical spheres where fairies reside.
A simple floral stem becomes a beanstalk for a boy named Jack.
Shore birds become ghostly apparitions in a watery tableau. Are they really there or are our eyes playing tricks again?
Is the water moving or is it the earth? Where does the reflection end and the reality begin? Does it even matter?
Check out more of Tom’s work on his website and be sure to stop by the site for his brilliant limited edition line, Town Editions. Oh and did I mention he has a show opening tonightat the University of Maine Museum of Art? Now I just have to get him out here on the West Coast..
Today is my birthday, ya’ll. I will be happily spending the day with the one who birthed me, touring the Downtown Jacksonville studio of Christina Foard and researching downtown galleries for an article I’m writing for EU Magazine ( my first published print article! ). In the spirit of Steve Martin’s SNL “Christmas Wish” sketch, I’m indulging in my own Birthday Wish list.
These are works of art that, “If I could have but one birthday wish this birthday”… to own any one of these would be my birthday wish. These are the pieces I covet, the pieces that I know I would love forever and ever and give them a kind and loving home.
The title alone makes me smile. I love how the palette is both warm and cool AND neutral all at the same time. And I have a thing for circles. I’ve seen this in person and it is stunning.
I fell in love with this the first time I saw it on Christina’s Facebook page. It reminds me of the devotion and complete commitment it takes to make a life with someone, to be a united front through thick and thin, to be sure of each other no matter what may lie ahead. Maybe I’m just a starry-eyed newlywed.
I could go on and on adding more and more to this list– believe me, there are MANY more! But I was raised to not be greedy, so I’m limiting myself to these five. Even if I don’t have the real thing, they will always be here for me to gaze upon lovingly. Happy birthday to me!
Happy Friday everyone! If you’re in North Florida, no, that light coming through your windows is not an April Fool’s Day joke– the sun is finally shining! If you haven’t made it to the beach yet, here are a few of my favorite beachy pieces to get your through until then.. each one brings a little somethin’ different, dontcha think?
