My friend Veronica and I had an interesting discussion recently about women and photography. Specifically, how so often the wife and mom ends up missing from so many photographs because she is usually the force behind the camera, eager to document big events and special small moments. I think sometimes we’re uncomfortable with being the focus of a photograph because of what it may reveal about who we are at that moment– maybe frustrated with our family or having a bad hair day or feeling bloated. We’d rather be the ones to decide the image we present to the world.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the idea of image and influence. So when We Are The Contributors co-creators Sandra Harris & Melanie Biehle announced a mini-week-long Instagram#selfie project, I was intrigued and wondered how I could express something different and worthwhile with my selfie contributions?
i am.. o’keeffe
Project participants take one photograph of themselves and post it on Instagram each day for a week. I started with a simple selfie Mr. Forager and I took while celebrating our anniversary in Coeur d’Alene this weekend. But as I was lying in bed that night, waiting for sleep to come, I thought, I can do better. I can say something more with this project. Something about who I am.
I thought about the roles I’ve played in the past and the ones I’m playing now, about the people who have influenced me. Then it struck me, what I wanted to explore– the artists who’ve had a profound effect on me. The ones whose lives, work, and words inspired me to begin my journey along this art strewn road and those I keep discovering anew.
So for the rest of the week, I’ll be posting on Instagram a selfie paying homage to my greatest artistic influences, along with a short story about their impact on who I’ve become. I hope you’ll follow along and, if you’d like join in the project! To join, just post a self-portrait on Instagram with the hashtags #selfie #miniproject #acontributor.
One of the things that continues to draw Mr. F and I to the Northwest is the bigness of this world. Everything just seems to exist on a grand scale here– trees tower, mountains loom, rivers stretch far and wide. In his sculptural work, artist Matt Wedel creates fantastical oversized forms and flowers, leaving no doubt that sometimes bigger is indeed better.
Wedel’s larger than life flowers and plant forms spring forth from craggy rock-like shapes, fairly bursting forth as if they simply cannot be contained. Color spills down from their petals, as if the life held therein is overflowing onto the rock below. Exaggerated faces and fantastical forms create a wonderland where we might come to recognize that humans really are so very small.
It seems a long while since I shared thoughts on my latest artsy read! As a woman, it does follow that I’ve always been interested in the female artists who’ve made their marks on art history. But lately, I’d been especially intrigued by a female artist who hated being gender labeled, but whose career trajectory veered a bit off course, thanks to becoming a wife. Mrs. Jackson Pollock aka abstract expressionist artist Lee Krasner.
In her biography of Krasner, Gail Levin introduces us to a fiercely independent, sensual, and opinionated young woman who would become one of the founding members of the Abstract Expressionist movement. She would be eclipsed for much of her career not just by the talent, personality and notorious nature of her husband, but by the sexist leanings of the modern mid-century art world, eventually winning for herself the respect and recognition she so deserved.
What struck me most, when reading Levin’s account and Krasner’s own words, were her formidable strength when opposed, yet tenderness, graciousness, and respect reserved for the man she willingly sacrificed for. I found myself dog-earing pages so that I could go back and take in her words again. This artist who was always studying, taught me some valuable lessons.
This young girl, raised in a traditional Russian Orthodox Jewish home, early on saw the inequities in her familial religion, soon relinquishing its hold. She fought against tradition when expected to marry her widowed brother-in-law after her older sister died. But she remained true to her fiercely independent self and her desire to become an artist. She spoke out against inequalities and injustices whenever she recognized them. At a time not long following women finally gaining the right to vote, Krasner was a leader among early abstract painters.
I think few who knew her would describe Krasner as humble. Yet, she recognized, supported and nurtured the talent in her husband. She was his biggest fan and champion, and after his death, the manager of his estate. She describes being “blown away” by first seeing his work. She had a great deal of respect for her husband’s artistic mind and sensibilities, bolstering his career while still working away on her own. When it was speculated that Krasner may have acted differently had she & Pollock gotten together in the age of feminism, she maintained, “I think I would do the same, identical thing all over again in the presence of talent like that..“
3 | don’t be afraid to share the spotlight or even give it up for a while.
In Levin’s biography, it is intimated often that Krasner believed Pollock to be the greater artist. She was confident in her own talent and work, and yet she recognized and respected his genius. “Painting is revelation, an act of love. There is no competitiveness in it. As a painter, I can’t experience it any other way.”, Krasner said when asked about the prejudice she’d experienced as Pollock’s wife. She worked away on her own, building her own portfolio and figuring out her own visual language, while allowing Pollock to shine. Her time would eventually come.
Krasner wasn’t afraid to fight for the recognition she deserved as an artist and member of the Abstract Expressionist movement. She knew her place in art history wasn’t merely being the wife of an important painter. She rightly believed she was a noteworthy artist in her own stead and, with the advent of the feminist movement and the increased interest in female artists, she was finally given the respect and recognition she deserved. She never once wavered in her steadfast belief that she was an good an artist as any of the male artists of her time which were so widely adored.
Before Krasner’s retrospective show opened at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, the artist chose to keep one finished painting so that she could have it at home to study. “I wanted to keep the one I just finished because I need to have my work to look at. Even when I’m just looking; I am working.”
Here was a modern female painter, who though overshadowed by the enormous talent of her husband, quietly produced a body of work that holds its own alongside any of her contemporaries. She was no shrinking violet, to be sure and her place in art history as someone other than the wife of Jackson Pollock was hard won. Yet never saw herself in competition with him. He was an artist. So was she. That was enough.
So much of what we see depends on how our eyes and brain work to create perception. Last week, I shared the work of a photographer who creates work to change our perception of the body. In her series, Things Fall Apart and Collection, artist Erin O’Keefe uses our methods of perception to create what seem to be three dimensional sculptures. Or are they?
Magicians and illusionists have been using our perceptions to create seemingly impossible tricks for centuries. In order to process information at such a rapid pace, our brains take short cuts for us, but sometimes, they get it wrong.
Erin O’Keefe crafts these “sculptures” from cut and torn photographic images. Using the visual elements within the images themselves, she creates the illusion of a three dimensional object. The “objects” are then photographed as if a piece of sculpture, further adding to the illusion and our brains’ confusion!
Were you fooled? To see more of the work of Erin O’Keefe, please visit her website. Be sure to have a peek at all her other stunning work!
What drew me to my college art history major wasn’t just the artwork itself, which obviously astounded me, but it was the stories of the artists themselves and how the way they lived influenced their work that fascinated me. In her grids of small scale works, London artist Holly Frean playfully gives us glimpses into art history and the lives of artists.
Small, seemingly insignificant moments like Rothko stretching or Picasso picnicking are captured alongside “larger” events like Lucian Freud painting Queen Elizabeth’sportrait. For all our adoration and their notoriety, works like Frean’s help us to remember that these master artists were every day people, experiencing much of the same mundane moments of life that we do, with a peppering of the extraordinary.
In these tiny little images, we get a film-strip like glimpse into a day or event in the life of the artist. Frean keeps her compositions simple so that much is conveyed with a small amount of visual information. The grids read almost like an Instagram feed, screen captures of each instant, which may reveal much or leave much to the imagination.
‘Tis the season for transformational decision making aka New Year’s resolutions. We’ve all made our lists of who we’d like to be by the end of 2014– physically, mentally, emotionally. We start off the year with such hopes and expectations for ourselves. We make concrete goals but have we given consideration to changes in thinking and perception? What if instead, we concentrated on how we see ourselves? In her Models as Surfaces series, photographer Isabelle Wenzel challenges our perceptions by treating the human body as sculpture.
We most likely think of ourselves in labels that have been put upon us by others– she’s the pretty one, he’s the funny one, etc. But we are so much more than who we are pigeonholed to be. We have the power to transform ourselves, just as Wenzel’s models transform their bodies into headless, sculptural shapes.
So maybe our resolutions shouldn’t be so much goal oriented as perception oriented. Instead of a resolution to create a painting a week, how about a goal of changing your perception of how you see yourself as an artist? Or instead of the highly popular diet resolution, change the way you view food and how your think about your own body. We can change our minds first and the rest will follow. I’m resolving to give it a shot! Who’s with me?
Have you made a list of resolutions for the new year? I’ve come to prefer the term goals instead, as something to shoot for, rather than promises to myself I’ll feel guilty about when I fail to keep them. In looking back over 2013, especially the last 9 months or so, something was missing. And that something was my creative passion! Sure I’ve been blogging like mad ( and loving it! ) but creative time away from the computer screen just wasn’t there. So I decided to force myself into a tiny little daily practice– enter #colorforaging2014!
Each day in 2014, I’ll be playing with paint and discovering color. Sometimes the color will be straight outta the tube, but more often I’ll be Ms. Mix-A-Lot, mixing paint combos and will share 365 days of my color finds on Instagram.
I’ve always been drawn to color, fascinated by the way different shades interact, color theory and the psychology of color. A painting a day was a bit too much for my slightly commitment-phobic soul and I felt the need to get back to basics. So exploring color each day seemed like the perfect way to dip my toes back into the artsy water!
My hope is that by starting on this simple exercise each day, once the paints & brushes are out, I won’t just stop with that daily mix. Instead, I hope to feel the push to continue, to paint, to draw, to find color and inspiration all around me and to truly see it and grow not just in my artistic practice but in the way I see and approach the world around me. Just this morning, I’ve already seen half a dozen examples of Naples Yellow ( color #1 )surrounding me without even leaving our apartment!
I hope you’ll follow along with me, offer up your own thoughts on color, and most of all, keep me accountable! I’ll post a new color daily on Instagram, ( follow #colorforaging2014 ) but will only occasionally pop in with a #colorforaging2014 update here on the blog.
I’m so excited about this and what 2014 may hold, I can’t even tell you, Artsies. I’m ready to give up what doesn’t really matter for what makes my heart sing. I hope you’ll join me on my color-filled journey! Follow along on Instagram, #colorforaging2014.
Mr. Forager and I have been talking a lot lately about our eventual home. We have no idea where exactly it will be located, but we keep honing in on what our wants and needs will be. While we love the idea of building our own from scratch, so that we suit it precisely to our needs and desires, I can’t help but keep going back to the idea of reviving a home that has lost its luster. These paintings by Memphis artist Jared Small celebrate the past lives of decaying structures and perhaps give a nod to the potential sparkle still to be found.
Small uses light to great effect in showcasing these structures, using it to add emotionality and personality to each composition. In some, the houses recede into the darkness, shy and retreating, like a scared child hiding behind his mother’s legs. But for others, the houses are lit up and gleaming through the darkness like a beacon, letting us know that although the outside may seem run down, there is still hope and joy to be found therein.
To see more of Jared Small‘s work, please visit his website. If you happen to be in the Memphis area, you can see his work in person at the David Lusk Gallery.
Happy 2014, Artsies! I can hardly believe we have turned the calendar over to a new year so soon! 2013 was a year filled with changes and opportunities, some worked out, some didn’t, but I hope we all have come out stronger and wiser and read to take on the world in the year ’14! I’ve lined up a slew of fabulous artists taking part in the monthly Featured Artist program ( going strong for nearly 2 years now! ) for this year and am excited to kick off the year with the lovely work of Memphis artist Christy Kinard, who’ll be gracing the blog and AF social media all this month!
Like me, Christy is a Southern girl whose work lovingly reflects the bounty and color of life in the South. Southerners in general are great lovers of beauty, and often lovingly tend gardens exploding with color. In these mixed media paintings, Christy weaves a tale of Southern charm and tradition, taking inspiration not only from Southern gardens and flora, but also from quilt making and childhood memories.
Her work has layers of texture and color, much like life anywhere, deeply rich and filled with meaning, memory and secrets. The bouquets she chooses to paint aren’t necessarily prim and proper, they’re a bit messy and beautiful in their imperfections.
To more work from Christy Kinard, please visit her website and Facebook page. And while you’re doing the Facebook thing, head over to the Artsy Forager page to check out Christy’s cover art and an album of some of my personal favorites from her portfolio!
I don’t know about you, dear Artsies, but I am ready to say goodbye to 2013 and get to the good stuff that I just know is waiting in the New Year! All in all, 2013 was a pretty good year for me and Mr. Forager. For today’s This Artsy Life post, I put together a little look back at some of our favorite moments from 2013 [ in case you’re wondering about the song choice, it is “our song” and still fits Mr. F & I so perfectly ]–
No life is ever perfect and ours, though exciting and full of adventure compared to most, is no different. We learned a lot this year, about ourselves and each other. We each went down new roads, sometimes things worked out and sometimes they didn’t. But in the process, we grew and we feel like we know better now what we want and where we’d like to be.
You can catch up on the specifics of our year in the This Artsy Life archives. Starting in 2014, I’ll take a break from doing these features each week but will be posting scenes from our life on Instagram and will pop in here on the blog with an occasional This Artsy Life post when I have something special to share. Meanwhile, I’m excited to begin a daily creative exercise that I’ll be posting on Instagram each day! More on that later this week!
Mr. Forager and I wish you all the very best in the New Year! Thank you for coming along on this journey with us.
All images by Artsy Forager. Video created using the Flipagram app.
