artsy forager

Tag: photography

  • Innocence Forsaken: Isabelle Chapuis

    Innocence Forsaken: Isabelle Chapuis

    Do you truly remember what it was like to be a completely innocent child?  Free from guile and not yet succumbed to the pressures of the adult world?  For so many, that innocence is  taken away at a younger and younger age.  This series of photographs by French artist Isabelle Chapuis illustrates the striking juxtaposition between the push and pull of childhood innocence and the lurking aggression of adulthood beneath the surface.

    Isabelle Chapius Isabelle Chapius | artsy forager #art #photography Isabelle Chapius | artsy forager #art #photography Isabelle Chapius | artsy forager #art #photography Isabelle Chapius | artsy forager #art #photography

    When left to their own devices and free from outside pressure, kids will be kids.  All they want to do is play games, eat candy, enjoy and revel in a world without responsibility.  But in so many cultures, including our own, children are being raised with the expectation of becoming tiny versions of the adults by whom they are surrounded.  The overachieving mom expects her daughter to excel in every way, the young boy growing up around gang culture finds it hard to buck against those influences.

    There is a sadness about these photographs, even when the boy is taking a more “aggressive” stance, it seems to be a putting on of an act– there is a true feeling of reluctance and hesitation in each photo.  He seems to be a boy who is being coerced into a world in which he doesn’t belong, a child who only wants to enjoy the sweetness of life while it is still possible to do so.  Adulthood comes calling soon enough, unfortunately sooner for some than others.

    To see more of Isabelle Chapuis’ work, please visit her website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • We are the Wild: Christoffer Relander

    We are the Wild: Christoffer Relander

    If you’ve been reading the blog for a while, you might have caught on that Mr. F and I are hikers.  Not quite in the super long distance-backpackers way ( though Mr. F could do it and has! ), but when the weather is good, most of our weekends are spent winding our way through the woods.  We love winter time, the cold and the snow, but the chillier season means that we go for long stretches without out woodsy walking.  And that can make us a mite antsy.  In these in-camera(!!) multiple exposure portraits, UK photographer Christoffer Relander  reminds us that even in dormant seasons, there is a wilderness in each of us.

    Christoffer Relander Christoffer Relander Christoffer Relander Christoffer Relander Christoffer Relander

    It only had to do with how it felt to be in the wild. With what it was like to walk for miles for no reason other than to witness the accumulation of trees and meadows, mountains and deserts, streams and rock, rivers and grasses, sunrises and sunsets.
    — Cheryl Strayed, Wild

    I’ve been reading the book quoted above lately and so much of it rings true for me.  How we start out on each journey with so much baggage, slowly stripping ourselves of what isn’t necessary, how much nature welcomes us and takes care of us.  And once we spend time in her presence, how every other place no matter how welcome, feels foreign and cold.

    I’m hoping Mr. F and I are able to get out into the woods a little this weekend, my soul needs a bit of a recharge.  Hope you have a wonderful restful weekend, too!  Perhaps you’ll be able to embrace a bit of your own inner wilderness.

    To see more of Christoffer Relander‘s work, please visit his website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.  Artist found via This is Colossal.

  • Homages to Hopper: Richard Tuschman

    Homages to Hopper: Richard Tuschman

    Edward Hopper‘s body of work is one revered and admired by many artists and art lovers, including this Forager.  New York photographer Richard Tuschman  found himself drawn to the painter’s method of visual storytelling, saying so much with so very little.  He created the series Hopper Meditations as an homage to the renowned artist’s work, yet these are not exact recreations, Tuschman tells Hopper’s stories in much of his own language.

    Morning Sun by Richard Tuschman Pink Bedroom ( Window Seat ) by Richard Tuschman Green Bedroom ( Morning ) by Richard Tuschman Woman with Book and Letter by Richard Tuschman Pink Bedroom ( Family ) by Richard Tuschman

    The paintings of Edward Hopper focus on scenes from the stories that unfold in everyday life and just as minutia takes center stage, Tuschman methodically recreates Hopper’s compositions creating dioramas into which figures are painstakingly photoshopped.   It isn’t surprising that a photographer should find such inspiration in the work of Hopper, his paintings having an almost photographic, slice-of-life style of composition.  Yet, in Tuschman’s images, there is a softness to the light and a warmth to the palette that yields a sense of intimacy to the scenes, whereas Hopper’s originals seem much more cooly detached.

    To see more of Richard Tuschman‘s work, please visit his website.

    All images are via the artist’s website.

  • Behind the Curtain: Patty Carroll

    Behind the Curtain: Patty Carroll

    Mr. Forager and I are without a home.  We have a roof over our heads always, but as we move from furnished rental to furnished rental, none of them are actually home.  A place that is ours, filled with our own tastes and personalities.  In a way, it is incredibly freeing– if we had a home to decorate, believe me, I would spend waaay too much time doing so!  This idea of creating a beautiful, comfortable home has been around for centuries and continues to be perpetuated and heightened today by magazines, blogs, and social media. The burden of home-making, often self-inflicted, usually falls to women.  In her Anonymous Women: Draped series, photographer Patty Carroll explores the idea that we become so obsessed with creating a perfect space that we lose ourselves in the process.

    Pink Chair by Patty Carroll Easter Hat by Patty Carroll Pray by Patty Carroll Ecru Shade by Patty Carroll Serve by Patty Carroll

    From the artist’s website, “I am addressing the double edge of domesticity; the home as a place of comfort, or conversely, a place where decoration camouflages one’s individuality to the point of claustrophobia“. Or to the point of invisibility.  If, like me, you’re a reader of interior design blogs, think about the homes you see– don’t they all kind of look a bit alike?  We follow trends and take hold of popular styles, never really considering whether or not it truly reflects who we are.  I look back on some of my own choices and wonder, who was I?  The answer– I had no clue who I was, so my choices reflected that lost sense of self.

    And its not only in decorating our homes that we lose ourselves, but in fashion, work, tradition, emotion, even as members of larger groups, we immerse ourselves, taking on characteristics that may not otherwise have been a part of who we are.  Then, its only when we separate ourselves that we realize that the entire time we felt that sense of belonging, we, as individuals, were actually lost.

    More work by Patty Carroll can be seen on her website— please do check it out!

    All images are via the artist’s website.  Artist found via Trendland.

  • Color Harvest: Artsy Winter Blues

    Color Harvest: Artsy Winter Blues

    I’ve heard of this phenomena called the January Blues.  A condition in which the post-holiday, short, usually cold and cloudy days get some folks down.  I’m thankful not to suffer that affliction!  If anything, I absolutely revel in the winter blues of January.

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     image via artsy forager on instagram

    I love the fading light of late afternoon, the silhouette of bare tree limbs and the softness of the snow covered landscape.  The world slows down, cools down, literally and figuratively, and our minds are given the chance to rest and renew.  I’ve been pinning some of my favorite wintery images on my An Artsy Winter Pinterest board and thought I’d share some of them with you!

    artsy winter collage

    clockwise from top left | found here here  here here here and here 

    I hope that maybe this post and peeking around the board will help you find the beauty in your winter blues!  To see more selections, visit the An Artsy Winter board on Pinterest.  If it doesn’t do the trick, turn on a heat lamp, pour yourself a cup of cocoa and count the days until spring! 😉

    All image sources linked above.

  • Terrestrial Manipulations: Mark Dorf

    Terrestrial Manipulations: Mark Dorf

    One of our favorite things about taking time out for hiking and camping is getting unplugged.  No laptops, no iPad, no phone.  Only a camera.  I believe these excursions truly help Mr. Forager and I in our ability to willingly step away from the devices that seem to be ever present.  In his photo series //_PATH, photographer Mark Dorf  examines our dependency on technology and the impact that attachment is making on society.

    //_Path by Mark Dorf //_Path by Mark Dorf //_Path by Mark Dorf //_Path by Mark Dorf //_Path by Mark Dorf

    The photographer imposes 3D renderings and collage into photographs of lush forests, deserted beaches and snow capped mountains.  This technology we welcome so readily into our lives is encroaching ever so rapidly upon everything we touch, everything we see and do.  How long until our phones work in the now unreachable depths of the woods?  How long until we are no longer able to switch off?

    To see more of Mark Dorf’s work, please visit his website.  Was unplugging more one of your resolutions for 2014?  How are you doing so far?

    Artist found via Design Boom.

  • Sculpted Illusions: Erin O’Keefe

    Sculpted Illusions: Erin O’Keefe

    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?

    Folded Mirror by Erin O'Keefe Scholar's Rock by Erin O'Keefe Venus by Erin O'Keefe Cicada by Erin O'Keefe Red Box by Erin O'Keefe

    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!

    All images via the artist’s website.

  • The Body Sculptural: Isabelle Wenzel

    The Body Sculptural: Isabelle Wenzel

    ‘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.

    Model #5 by Isabelle Wenzel Model #2 by Isabelle Wenzel Model #1 by Isabelle Wenzel Model #7 by Isabelle Wenzel Model #6 by Isabelle Wenzel

    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?

    If you’d like to see more of Isabelle Wenzel‘s work, please visit her website.

    All images via the artist’s website.  Artist found via Design For Mankind.

  • Moving In Shadow: Nanna Hanninen

    Moving In Shadow: Nanna Hanninen

    Do you ever feel like life isn’t quite real?  Like you’re sleep walking or drifting in and out of a surreal existence.  Occasionally, I get the strangest sense of deja vu.  Its like finding yourself in a place you experienced in a dream, but this time in reality.  These photographs by Finnish artist Nanna Hanninen have that same kind of unreal fluidity.

    Hannanin_People2 Hanninen_Prayer Tree I Hanninen_Plant VI Hanninen_People III Hanninen_People I

     

    Her figures are obscured, seeming to float on the surface, wandering in and out of the frame.  I feel like there’s a parallel somewhere for our lives, the way we roam from place to place, whether physically, mentally or spiritually.  How often do we find ourselves in one place, but feeling like we belong to another?  We are physically present but the mind and soul are elsewhere.  It happens, too, in our daily interactions.  Are we truly present in each and every conversation?  Or are we allowing ourselves to be someplace else?

    To see more of Nanna Hanninen‘s work, please visit her website.

    All images via the artist’s website.

  • From the Outside: Todd Hido

    From the Outside: Todd Hido

    I love the warm glow of window light at night.  In fact, when I lived alone, I used to put my lights on timers so that I came home at night to a welcoming glowing light.  In his Homes at Night series, photographer Todd Hido focuses his lens on the glow of evening abodes.

    Todd Hido Todd Hido Todd Hido Todd Hido

    Todd Hido

    There is a strange phenomenon that happens in the dark of night.  Some things become softer, more welcoming in the night, while others take on a more oppressive, sinister air.  Hido’s work strikes me as having elements of both, making me wonder what is going on beyond those lit windows.  Warmth and laughter?  Loneliness and despair?  I love the ambiguity of these photographs.  Each one seems to be the beginning of a story.

    More work by Todd Hido can be seen on his website.

    All images via the artist’s website.