Presentation

Presentation in this series is all about the formal tradition of the still life image combined with an academic photo making process. The roots of still life painting and how that has influenced contemporary american still life photography leading to my work. 

The roots of the still life as a genre reach far back in the western tradition. The earliest examples of what would become still life painting come from the funerary documents of Egypt. Shown as illustrations on papyrus scrolls of the Book of the Dead, relief sculpture and wall paintings in tombs the earliest still life images depicted offerings of to gods. The diagrams would illuminate the offerings that were mummified with the deceased to help the spirit transition to the afterlife.

In french the word for the dead is morte, the still life is known as a Nature Morte.

Still life painting as we know it began in the 16th century in the Netherlands. The painters of that time began to experiment with early camera technology, the camera obscura, which enabled stunning levels detail to be rendered. A distinctive characteristic of paintings from this period thought to be from the camera obscuras fixed point of view would define the compositional foundations of the still life genre and influence it to this day.   

Time II

Only using a visual image as a simplification of a concept when language is insufficient often falls short of my expectations. This is rooted in my childhood experiences living abroad. I grew up in a military family, the brat lifestyle was nomadic. The chaos of change was omnipresent. It’s accompaniment was often loss of friends, possessions and sense of belonging. Starting over every few years was normal. The wanderlust of these years would stick with me until I settled in New York City. During my early education we were relocated to Germany. The signage was in a foreign tongue. It was disorienting but had vibrations of the familiar. The letters were the same 26 I learned a few years earlier but their arrangement wasn’t decipherable. Often the exception came from advertising. I knew what advertising was selling me while being unable to ask for directions.

The energy of my compositions radiates from outside to inside in these still lifes. It is my direct translation of NYC during the pandemic. The outside world was threatening our lives. Everywhere I looked I saw the grave consequences associated with the coronavirus. Some evenings the world rang out flashing sirens. Bike rides around the city were eerily vacant. Any people we saw were avoided by a large berth. In the evenings we clapped our hands outside of open windows in appreciation of healthcare workers. Secretly we were letting the world know that we are still alive.

Time

In this series I was exploring my memory of a traumatic event. The process of creating artwork while in the midst of the memory being made. Throughout my life I’ve had a spark of recalling an event at random. My specific brain chemistry loves to identify synchronicity. Often silly minutiae spark a profound deja vu. A crumpled foil bag of chips takes on the role of a marker representing that I am on the correct path in life. When these synapses fire this way I am reassured that with the things and people involved everything will be OK.

The idea of memory is explored on the periphery of the work. Most of the connections that I have made during the creation of this work are recognized looking back at the series.

“Empty” is a still life photographic series created during a definitive time in American history. It was begun in sync with the emergence of the Covid-19 global pandemic. At the time I was living in the epicenter of The United States outbreak. This new series began at random but as it progressed milestones (i.e. shoot days, painting days, etc) began to coincide with developments in dealing with the trauma surrounding its beginning. 

The Covid-19 pandemic hit the USA while I was living in Queens, NY. The world outside my one bedroom apartment was a blaze with viral uncertainty. I retreated inwards. Every surface hot with threat, electrified with the fear of sickness and transmission. My home became a fortification against the unseen. The days became strange markers of coping routines. Wake up, don't get dressed for the day, pajamas are fine, get comfortable, grasp information on how to stay safe, talk to family on the phone, cocktails at 5, dinner, snacks, sweets... I began making the series that you are seeing as a response to the retreat into pattern.

Composition

As if the shapes are punched out of the minimalist sets. In some of the compositions it is as if the subjects are there to function as additional subtractive elements. Creating voids that give relief from the energetic setting. While acting as a visual counterpoint the opaque function as a balancing element. Further the use of black and white establish the additive and subtractive color mixing that inspired the root nature of the series.  

Balance

The stillness of the subjects is a welcome element of balance. It is a contrast to the setting that vibrates with visual energy. The subjects are calm in the storm.

Evoking a meditation of stillness and balance in a chaotic environment. Peaceful and calm the objects are lost in the rhythm created by the environment. It is a restful place that provides a sense of safety. A clash between the Italian traditions of colore and designo.  

The grounded figures/objects lending stability to an overwhelming amount of visual energy.  Overall the subjects being grounded in the scene is a balancing element. The strong connection of the figure to the ground adds weight to the objects. As an artistic decision it reduces tension overall while opening the door for it to be created by the interaction of the objects themselves.The idea of balance is seen quite literally in the photographs where objects are stacked precariously. Tension is created through a tug of war with the visual.

Solid effects when using contrasting objects and backgrounds… white on black or black on white. The compositions are quite distinct based on the binary black and white contrast but were lacking dimension when texture was lost. I think that the setups would be lacking visual interest if the background foreground was strictly a black and white choice. The visual movement would be lacking balance and energy in a distinctive way. It is unknown how successful a visual exploration using solid colored objects in a similarly colored setting could be. Therefore the question of using contrasting relationships is only partially explored in this series.

Lines / Stripes

The use of line creates an aura of enclosure through toughness in repetition. The repeating lines seen are fences/window bars are evoked in the use of line. The associated idea of enclosure isn’t far fetched when using lines. The work similarly creates what could be abstracted slats in a quantum world.

The foreground and background are colored stripes that create a rhythm similar to the monotony experienced over the last year. The repeating lines work as an element of sameness that unifies the black and white stand-ins for daytime and nighttime. Throughout the series the set colors shift from composition to composition but the palette is intentionally limited colors as another way to emphasize the similarities day in and day out.

The concept of earning stripes, proving that on the Künstlerroman progress is being made. The stripe when found in the natural environment specifically on animals works as camouflage. A repeating pattern breaks up the silhouette of the wearer/animal. This creates the appearance that many have become a single unit when in a group. In the case of the individual the stripe creates a blending effect for example with a tiger in tall grass.

Line work creates stability... hearkening(?) a sense of order and discipline through rigid angles. Order and discipline was established through perpendicular lines and strong relationships during the Egyptian dynasties. I have taken the idea of order and discipline and amplified it through repetition, angle and color. Creating an oppressive energy that places weight on to the solid colored objects. What has its origin in stability has became threatening with visual energy. Similarly the venomous amphibians of the amazon display colored patterns that warn with visual cues.

Colored Stripes are evocative of the lines on writing paper, implying there is a story waiting to be written in the background of these compositions. A series of repeating lines represents so many things in these photographs. A blank sheet of writing paper scored with vast stretches of imaginative possibilities. The heavy energy of repetition creating a palimpsest of what indistinguishable daily life became. Outside the safety of the rooms of our apartment the world became a threatening series of surfaces, all of them glowing to me like the memory of the first stove's touch. The lines came to represent the bars that we imprisoned ourselves with over the course of the making of the series.  

The lines also represent a stage of development… i.e. writing, early education, learning to create written language in schooling. The lines are an early memory of learning. During the first year of studies in America, referred to as Kindergarten from the German Kinder which translates to child and garten which translates to garden, implying this is where childhood is nurtured through interaction and education,  the standard of working within the lines is introduced. This is where I learned that shape can have corresponding sound. Taking this idea to the visual arts I’m exploring where basic shape can have corresponding emotional resonance.

When learning the principles of design as a student the exercises are almost uniformly taught in absence of the element of color. Allowing the focus to rest on the line, repetition, etc.